105 years of warehousing solutions

From a local transportation company to an innovative supply chain director that operates worldwide: this describes the journey taken by Oldenburger|Fritom over the past 105 years. What started with a horse-drawn vehicle has now grown into transportation solutions by road, air, water and rail. In addition, our company has also undergone a multifaceted development in the field of warehousing. Here too, the customer demand has always been leading.

Foundation
Although founder Jan Oldenburger and his sons stored goods, the Oldenburger Brothers (Gebroeders Oldenburger) were the first to structurally combine transportation and storage. In 1968 the grandsons of the founder (Jan, Willy and Simon) continued our company at the Middenweg in Veendam. Over time, however, the brothers concluded that this location offered insufficient opportunities. That is why they decided to move to the current headquarters of our company at De Zwaaikom. They subsequently had the first steel business halls built here in the 1990s. By doing so, they laid – literally and figuratively – the foundation of our warehousing activities in the here and now.

Changing customer demand
After the construction, the Oldenburger Brothers focused more and more on the inbound, storage and outbound of goods. Nevertheless, the main focus remained on transportation. This changed after the Fritom Logistic Solutions Group took over our company in 1999. It was the same period in which customer demand shifted from transportation to logistics service provision. Initially, this changing demand only came from existing customers that were active in the sectors known to our company. Until 2005, the year in which we offered our logistic solutions to customers in the high-tech sector for the first time.

VAS and e-fulfillment
The demand of customers in the high-tech sector consisted and consists of more than just regular warehousing activities. In fact, it is precisely our Value-Added Services with which these customers want to add value to their supply chain. This includes flexible cross-docking, repacking and labeling, but also assembly, quality checks and inventory management. Since 2005, we have therefore continuously focused on improvements, optimizations and innovations in this area. For example, we also have a bonded warehouse type C. Our customers can store goods here for an unlimited period of time, without having to pay import duties or VAT.

Another important aspect that we have focused on in recent years is the development of an advanced digital infrastructure. Partly because of this, e-fulfillment solutions are now also part of our service provision. Furthermore, we manage the complete online store of customers that are active in various sectors. Among others in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and in the medical sector.

BREEAM Outstanding DC
In 2018, there was a lack of warehouse space in Veendam due to the increasing demand of our customers. That is why we decided to build a new distribution center across from our existing warehouse complex. The distribution center had to meet the highest sustainability requirements. This aim was reinforced by the earthquake problem in the province of Groningen. That is why our BREEAM Outstanding distribution center has been built earthquake-proof and without a gas connection. At the same time, we also had our existing warehouse complex at De Zwaaikom 24 renovated in accordance with BREEAM Excellent. With both prime examples of sustainability, we now focus on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.