Gothenburg warehouse opens doors to new innovation: from bonding to product configuration

Having opened in 2001 in a prime location just 5 kilometres from the Port of Gothenburg, Maersk’s BREEAM-certified warehouse has evolved over the years and now delivers innovative services that deliver extra capability, versatility, and cost-efficiencies to Maersk customers, in ways that new customers might not expect.

Maersk's 17,500m2 multi-purpose Gothenburg warehouse sits in a logistics 'golden triangle' which connects major Scandinavian cities by road or rail – with Oslo to the north, Stockholm to the east and Malmö and Copenhagen to the south. Gothenburg port itself is a gateway to the Nordics, yet Maersk offers far more than shipping within the region, with added value within the warehouse itself.

In a typical day at our Gothenburg warehouse, you might see a customer saving on demurrage and detention charges with our cross-docking services; deconsolidation and consolidation services at work to maximise use of container space; pick and pack services which improve cashflow through our bonded facility; or non-perishable goods being held in a Distribution Centre bypass process for a major supermarket.

What brings all these together is a strong belief in creating highly efficient end-to-end services that customers can select, or combine, to suit their business needs.

The products even return to the warehouse after their lease period, to be refurbished by the Maersk team for eventual resale and shipping. These services take the weight off the customer's own operations, by outsourcing what are usually considered to be specialised, internally handled tasks.

While integrated logistics support of this kind can be for the long-term, the Gothenburg warehouse has also supported seasonal retail and eCommerce campaigns with similar flexibility. During demand spikes, we provide first level sorting and a DC bypass solution to keeps goods moving to their end destination, using Maersk’s end-to-end logistics solutions in Sweden and beyond to avoid costly stopovers.

Since Gothenburg is strategically located for distribution to these and other non-EU destinations, customers can use our bonded warehouse as the first point of entry into the EU, store their cargo, and ship it to non-EU territories with only a single charge.

That's a strong cost saving opportunity for customers, particularly in fast moving lifestyle and retail industries, and Maersk can even work with other bonded warehouses in the supply chain to streamline fulfilment.

Fresh thinking for the future

Maersk is already seeing a great deal of industrial, technical and automotive development taking place in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and much of it will require new ways of working.

As customers increasingly assess their supply chains to find different ways of storing and moving cargo; converting CAPEX into OPEX by using third party facilities; or increasing the focus on decarbonising transportation – particularly important in Sweden – our Gothenburg team is ready to support and be part of these conversations with customers. We're in a prime location with a strong future, and a large part of that future may well in delivering added value services.

As part of an end-to-end service, Maersk at Gothenburg can even configure products closer to the customer, before shipping to the Nordics.

Goods depart to Norway from Gothenburg for a customer who will not face a double charge on taxes, thanks to using our bonded warehouse as the first point of entry into Europe.