"Now, the time is ripe for change"

He began as a trainee at Ikea at the early age of 24. After that, he was a faithful employee of the furniture giant for twenty six years. During those years, Sven-Olof Kulldorff worked with logistics, as a business controller and sales manager, and during his last ten years there, as purchasing manager for the Ikea Group.

"At Ikea, personnel are sometimes encouraged to change jobs and work within different functions. For me this has been incredibly valuable since it provided me with a comprehensive view on doing business. Unfortunately, purchasers and logisticians often work within the same areas for their entire careers," says Sven-Olof Kulldorff. For almost ten years he worked as the global purchasing director at Ikea. In that capacity he worked very closely with Ingvar Kamprad, who has always had a major focus on purchasing.

"Those years were perhaps the best and most fun of my occupational life. We reduced purchasing prices by more than 35 percent, substantially increased accessibility to our goods, created competition between suppliers and increased the percentage of global purchases. I would never have had the success I had in my work without my previous experiences," says Sven-Olof Kulldorff.

The work as purchasing director at Ikea involved constant travels to over 40 of the Group’s purchasing offices throughout the world, negotiations with suppliers, and most importantly, a lot of development, change and improvements. "In order for purchasers and logisticians to succeed in developing, improving and creating value, they have to have a comprehensive view of the value chain," says Sven-Olof Kulldorff, who slaps his palm on the desk to emphasize what he says.

"I have been in the change industry for 30 years. Right now, there is a downturn in the business cycle, which means that the time is ripe for change. If purchasers and logisticians are going to succeed they have to work together and with other functions based on an understanding of the whole."

Cross-functional cooperation

Ikea’s successes are largely due to the ability to get people to work together – both within the organization and together with suppliers and partners. Sven-Olof Kulldorf describes Ikea’s working method by quickly and engagingly giving a series of examples about how Ikea’s personnel cooperate and solve problems – daily, year-round. He tells about how the manufacture of a table in China was developed by a team that went to the factory together in order to create concrete improvements. The team consisted of a designer, a sawmill expert, a logistician and several other specialists. The logistician immediately saw that if the table was designed slightly differently that transport would be simpler. The sawmill expert saw that the table should be designed a little differently to adapt to the standards of Chinese sawmills. Through their cooperation, the team was able to solve a series of problems, reduce costs and increase the level of value created.

"This way of working in your supply chain is the key to Ikea’s successes. I could give many examples of positive cross-boundary cooperation. Unfortunately, it is the exception rather than the rule that companies work in this way," says Kulldorff. "You get the place you deserve". Purchasers and logisticians are seldom represented in the company’s executive management even though 50-75 percent of the business sector’s sales consist of purchasing. In addition, logistics is becoming increasingly important for competitiveness. Consequently, many purchasers and logisticians complain that they are not listened to and not given the opportunity to show what they can do.

Sven-Olof Kulldorff also thinks that it’s unfortunate that purchasers and logisticians do not play a larger role, and simultaneously emphasises that power, responsibility and influence are not things that come automatically. "You get the role and position you deserve. Purchasers and logisticians must make themselves heard, present radical concepts, ask for resources and deliver results. We have to be courageous and show what we can contribute with," he says, and stresses and summarises his thesis by shouting: "No guts no glory!" Almost two years ago Sven-Olof Kulldorff left his position as vice-president and supply chain manager at ICA and started working on various boards and as an advisor and investor. And he is as happy about this as a fish in water.

"Now I am engaged in fifteen companies. In almost half of them I am a partner and board member. You can say that I am benefiting from all the experience I’ve gotten over the years."

Kulldorff is a partner and board member in the logistics specialist company, Sonat, and in the Bufab Group, which is a company in Nordic Capital’s investment portfolio. He is also an advisor to construction conglomerate, NCC

By Stefan Karlöf