For Logent, contract logistics means helping clients create tailored supply chain solutions that improve efficiency, increase flexibility and capacity, and deliver long-term value.

In our previous article, “Contract logistics is not just about outsourcing—it’sabout unlocking the full potential of your operations,” Logent experts Johan Edström, Business Development Director, Scandinavian market, and Richard Hjertquist, Business Unit Director, logistics operations for Sweden and Norway, explored the strategic role of contract logistics. Here, they highlight how contract logistics supports scalable business growth in practice.

Creating long-term value through partnership

Edström and Hjertquist emphasize that the value of contract logistics evolves over time and delivers the highest value when approached as a long-term partnership rather than a purely transactional outsourcing arrangement.

In the short term, the focus is often on improving operational efficiency, optimizing processes, and creating additional capacity within existing facilities. However, over time the partnership becomes increasingly strategic, helping customers to build scalable logistics capabilities, strengthen supply chain performance, and prepare for future growth. Success ultimately depends on choosing a partner that understands your industry, adapts to evolving business needs, and is committed to creating sustainable long-term value rather than short-term transactions.

“Logent’s approach is based on creating transparency from the very beginning. By clearly visualizing the customer’s current situation and future requirements, Logent helps customers to understand the gap between their existing setup and the proposed solution, making it easier to identify both operational improvements and long-term development opportunities,” describes Edström.

This collaborative approach, he adds, enables Logent to help clients turn supply chain operations into a strategic advantage.

Adapting logistics to changing business needs

Logent’s experts describe flexibility and rapid operational scaling as two of the most important factors for maintaining service quality and operational stability in today’s logistics environment. As supply chains and warehouse operations face seasonal peaks, rapid growth in online shopping, changing customer expectations, and expansion into new markets, companies need operations that can quickly adapt and scale according to changing demand.

This is especially important in environments where order volumes may change significantly in a short timeframe. Rather than maintaining unnecessarily high fixed labor costs during quieter periods, companies need the ability to scale resources up and down while still meeting expectations for speed, accuracy, and reliable deliveries.

“Managing rapid fluctuations in volume is a core part of Logent’s expertise and operational model. Equally important is the ability to combine stable core personnel with flexible staffing solutions that can scale in line with customer forecasts and real-time demand,” they say.

Edström points out that, for example, as much as 75–80% of weekly e-commerce orders may accumulate during the weekend, creating a substantial need for additional picking, packing, and shipping capacity at the beginning of the week. As a result, operations may require 50–100% more staff on Mondays and Tuesdays compared to the rest of the week. Logistics providers must also manage seasonal peaks during campaigns, holidays, summer, Black Friday, etc., when order volumes can rise as much as 200% compared to an average week.

Throughout Logent’s 20-year history, there have been numerous cases where close collaboration, operational expertise, and continuous improvement have helped clients create more efficient, flexible, and scalable supply chain operations. Even operations previously thought to be at full capacity have been optimized so effectively that the same volume can now be handled using only approximately 75% of the original capacity. In practice, this optimization creates significant additional capacity within existing premises without requiring major investments or expansion.

Hjertquist shares an example from a warehouse operation in Norway, where the client increased capacity significantly without expanding the facility. In this case, the focus was placed on process optimization, clearer KPIs, and more structured working methods.

“The client initially believed they needed additional warehouse space to support future volumes. By improving operational flow, clarifying responsibilities, and increasing visibility in daily follow-up, we were able to create additional capacity within the existing facility while also reducing operational costs. This ability to unlock more capacity, flexibility, and efficiency through smarter operations without unnecessary investments is one of our greatest strengths,” he explains.

Supporting rapid growth through scalable operations

Maintaining operational efficiency and consistent service quality requires a scalable workforce model that can adapt to fluctuating demand and seasonal peaks. By combining stable core personnel with flexible staffing solutions, organizations can remain agile without compromising performance.

“Our strength lies in combining deep operational expertise with proven best practices. With highly experienced logistics engineers and a strong KPI-driven approach, we help companies scale their operations efficiently, often without requiring additional investments, simply by improving operational performance and ways of working,” says Edström.

Hjertquist illustrates this with an example from the food industry in Sweden, where a client was unprepared for sudden growth and needed a partner that could rapidly scale operations. The situation was highly demanding: within just two years, the client’s operations expanded from eight employees working three days per week to approximately 1,400 employees operating seven days per week.

The rapid growth created major operational challenges related to recruitment, onboarding, workforce coordination, and daily operational management. Additional complexity was caused by the location of the operation in a small village with a limited local labor pool, requiring employees to be transported daily from nearby cities.

The facility was not originally designed for high-volume logistics operations, which increased the operational complexity during the rapid expansion. Simultaneously, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated demand for food delivery services, placing additional pressure on capacity and service reliability. zg emphasized that continuous coordination and close client collaboration were critical for maintaining operational performance throughout the scaling process.

The case demonstrates how experienced logistics engineering and proven operational practices can help organizations scale efficiently by unlocking existing capacity and improving performance, rather than relying primarily on additional investments.

To support this type of performance-driven growth, organizations need clearly defined KPIs and continuous performance monitoring. Because operational scalability is driven by flexible staffing, standardized processes, optimized workflows, and efficient warehouse design, it is critical to ensure that performance metrics are transparently aligned with customer requirements.

As Edström explains, the key is finding the right balance between investment, operational efficiency, and long-term flexibility: “It’s about understanding when to invest, when operational improvements are enough, and how to create the capacity and flexibility the business needs in the most cost-efficient way,” he says.

Using data and operational insights to support growth

As illustrated in the case, scaling operations successfully require visibility into performance and the ability to respond quickly to changing operational demands.

According to Hjertquist, these management practices support more proactive and informed decision-making across warehouse and logistics operations.

Building a credible operational solution also requires extensive analysis during the early stages of customer cooperation. By looking at operational data, analyzing processes, and using industry knowledge, logistics providers can assess various operating models and find solutions that balance cost, growth potential, adaptability, and long-term needs.

As Edström notes:

“Our role is to paint the whole picture—balancing cost efficiency, scalability, flexibility, and long-term operational needs and then successfully bring that vision to life.

For example, we support the setup of entirely new warehouse operations several times every year. By comparison, even a highly experienced logistics director may only go through such a project once during their career. That repeated hands-on experience provides us with a unique perspective, proven methodologies, and the ability to avoid common pitfalls while accelerating implementation and results,” he adds.

To conclude, using data and operational insights to support decision-making can significantly improve both operational efficiency and scalability in contract logistics. When combined with practical operational expertise and continuous KPI monitoring, enhanced operational visibility enables faster responses to changing demand, better inventory optimization, and more effective resource utilization. Often, the greatest benefits arise from learning more about operations and optimizing the existing resources. In an increasingly dynamic logistics environment, this operational intelligence can become a significant competitive advantage.

For 20 years, Logent has partnered with customers to turn logistics challenges into opportunities. We look forward to exploring howour tailored solutions can support your business.