Ongoing is a fast-growing, Swedish-based software company specializing in a web-based Warehouse Management System (WMS) for logistics-intensive companies, such as 3PLs and those managing their own warehousing. Ongoing has a strong international presence with customers in thirty-plus countries.
Henrik Ekman and Gerhard Guron founded Ongoing Warehouse in 2008 and have since then been working actively within the company. Ongoing Warehouse has its office in Gothenburg, Sweden from where we serve our customers worldwide. Ongoing Warehouse is the market leader in Scandinavia and growing rapidly in Europe as well as rest of the world.
Ongoing Warehouse is an founder-owned and financially stable company. The company has shown profitable growth every year since the start 2008 and has no loans or external capital. The Swedish business newspapers Dagens Industri and Veckans Affärer has given the awards "Gazelle Company" respective "Super Company" to Ongoing Warehouse on multiple occasions.
We aim to democratize complex software—making it more accessible, user-friendly, and affordable for more companies.
At the same time, we simplify warehouse operations so our customers can work more efficiently to increase profitability and fulfill their customers' expectations to increase their revenue.
Scalability is a key principle that runs through everything we do.
We focus on seamlessly linking the warehouse with surrounding IT systems through cost-effective integrations.
This means offering strong, ready-made scalable connections to industry-leading cloud platforms.
Enabling and encouraging others to connect through our APIs for their own use or to create resalable packaged integration offerings.
With this integration strength, we make onboarding cheaper for our customers and open the door to new opportunities.
In 2007, Gerhard Guron and Henrik Ekman meet for the first time which would later be the spark for their future business together. At the time, Gerhard works as a manager for a logistics software company, while Henrik runs his own business, developing logistics systems for an international market. They both share a vision of a new way to develop, distribute, implement, and update software within the warehouse and logistics industry. Their new business idea, a cloud-based WMS as a Software as a Service is born.
To embody their shared vision and make time for planning the start-up of the company they have both envisioned, Gerhard quits his position at the logistics software company. In the meanwhile, Henrik continues developing his WMS software and making it ready to eventually hit the market.
In 2008, Ongoing is founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, by Henrik Ekman and Gerhard Guron. Confident in their product and aiming for fast growth, they fund the company with personal savings—no loans or credits involved.
The name Ongoing reflects the founders’ vision: a company, team, and software in constant evolution. With the name in place, the first logotype is created.
The first office is in the attic of Chalmers University of Technology. Gerhard focuses on sales while Henrik supports onboarding the first customers.
Ongoing offers a cloud-based Warehouse Management System (WMS) as a SaaS product—easy to start with, no setup fee, and a monthly charge based on the number of users. This model lowers the barrier for new customers.
At the time, most WMS and logistics systems required large upfront investments, were slow to implement, and typically installed locally. Customers had to manage servers, database licenses, and complex updates. Integration with other systems was also time-consuming and difficult.
Ongoing’s first two customers—Tranås Åkeri, a small Swedish logistics provider, and logistics giant Schenker—had similar needs: a cloud-based WMS to manage goods for multiple clients. Both believed in the solution and remain customers to this day.
In 2009, the first employee, Mattias, is recruited. He is a 21-year-old student attending the Chalmers University of Technology and is working some extra hours in parallel to his studies.
At the time, the main clientele is small-sized logistics providers, but there is also a growing interest coming from bigger companies. The carrier DB Schenker and the supply chain management company Scandinavian Supply Chain are the first sizable companies to evaluate the product and eventually become customers.
Gerhard and Henrik are happy with their success and set the goal to at some point in the future reach 1000 corporate customers.
Henrik continues developing the system in close collaboration with the customers. In Ongoing’s first years, service providers are the main clientele who are in need of a flexible WMS that is able to handle their multiple goods owners simultaneously.
The shipping platform Unifaun (nowadays nShift) becomes the first integration partner.
The company is growing at a high rate and soon outgrows the attic at Chalmers. The next office is on the second floor of a villa in Örgryte, Gothenburg.
Employee number two, Samuel Kjellberg, is soon hired in 2010. Just like the first employee, he has a master’s degree pursued at Chalmers University of Technology. Today, Samuel is COO of Ongoing and has a been a key person during the continued growth.
Ongoing now has ten customers and successfully exhibit at the Logistics Fair in Gothenburg.
In 2011-2012, Ongoing expands its business in Scandinavia thanks to a growing collaboration with several integration partners. The first Norwegian customers are Moss Transportforum and Colliflow. In Finland, the first customer is Kaukokiito, one of the biggest logistics providers in the country. The biotech company NOVO Nordisk becomes the first customer in Denmark.
A young and energetic computer engineer, Karl Henke, is hired to help onboard new customers. He is a newly masters grad from Chalmers University of Technology. Today, Karl is Technical Sales Manager and a driving force in Ongoings successful growth.
Once again, the office is outgrown, and Ongoing moves to another villa in central Gothenburg in 2013. The business expands outside of the Scandinavian borders. The logistics provider Boomerang, located in Estonia, becomes the first Baltic customer.
Four more people join the Ongoing team, a well-needed addition to handle the company’s growth. They are all software developers with master’s degrees from the Chalmers University of Technology.
A wider assortment of integrations for shipping, business, and ecommerce platforms increases further growth.
More competent engineers are hired, and the company reaches the milestone of 100 customers. The 100th customer is the Norwegian logistics company RST Logistikk.
Fredrik Einarsson becomes the next CEO. Fredrik already has two years of experience within the company, first as a software developer and then as a sales manager.
The international expansion continues. Tiesse, a logistics provider in Italy, becomes a customer. One of Scandinavia’s biggest logistics providers, Aditro, becomes a customer.
The clientele of customers operating their own logistics and warehouses rapidly increases. The heavy progression of ecommerce creates a demand for a cloud-based WMS. One of many new customers is Proteinbolaget, the distributor of a dietary supplement.
The growing demand for communicative software paves the way for Ongoing’s strategic decision to not only make their own integrations, but also technical interfaces known as APIs to facilitate the development of integrations built by different parties.
Ongoing receives their 500th customer, the German logistics provider ITG Fulfillment GmbH.
Beyond the growing existence of ERPs, web shops, shipping platforms, and automation systems, many more integrated systems such as return management and purchasing systems are added.
At this time, Ongoing also makes a bigger design update of the digital interface.
Ongoing grows its amount of customers as well as employees. To keep up with the growth, the office space is doubled.
Over 6 000 company goods flows are run in Ongoing, and 8 500 users in 24 countries are using Ongoing on a daily basis.
The ecosystem of integrated software is rapidly growing. As of May 2022, there are 119 software integrated with Ongoing. The integrations make it possible to handle around 2 million orders per month in Ongoing, all shipped to 195 countries around the world with the only exceptions of South Sudan and Somalia.
The visual identity gets a facelift and Ongoing gets a new logo.
A hallmark of Ongoing's success is our flat organizational structure, which ensures every customer is paired with a dedicated and personal Software Engineer. This professional acts as the sole point of contact for all company-related inquiries and tasks, streamlining communication and enhancing efficiency.
While we embrace this approach for day-to-day operations, our management team plays a pivotal role in guiding our strategic vision. Learn more about our leadership and their contributions to our success in the section below.
Fredrik Einarsson, Chief Executive Officer, became CEO of Ongoing Warehouse on April 1, 2018, after serving as Consulting Software Engineer and later Marketing Director. He holds master’s degrees in Information Technology (Chalmers University of Technology) and Industrial Economics and Management (Blekinge Institute of Technology). With prior experience in industry IT solutions from Norway and the United States, Fredrik is confident in Ongoing Warehouse’s potential to deliver significant value to the market.
Karl Henke, Head of Sales at Ongoing, helps potential clients find the right fit with Ongoing WMS by identifying their needs and tailoring solutions within the system’s versatile framework. Holding a Master’s in Software Engineering and Technology, Karl joined Ongoing in 2012 and spent nine years as a customer-responsible software engineer. This technical foundation now fuels his success in technical sales, where he plays a key role in strengthening Ongoing’s market position.
Samuel Kjellberg, Chief Operation Officer (COO) of Ongoing, oversees daily operations, managing both client relationships and staff. Having been with the company from its early start-up days through its growth phase, he has played a key role in its success. He holds a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology and has extensive experience in warehouse management and logistics.
Daniel Svensson, Head of IT Security and Operations at Ongoing Warehouse, ensures system performance, reliability, and security for Ongoing WMS. With a Master’s in Engineering Physics, he joined in 2020 as a software engineer before specializing in scanning functionality and system operations. His blend of technical expertise and customer insight is key to maintaining high service quality.
Andreas Jönsson, Head of Software Development at Ongoing, leads all system development. He joined the company in 2015 as a software engineer, focusing on onboarding new customers and building key features. Andreas holds a master’s degree in Mathematics and has prior experience in logistics software.
Gerhard Guron, Co-Founder & Member of the Board of Directors, founded Ongoing Warehouse with Henrik Ekman in 2008 and later served as CEO. An experienced entrepreneur, he has built several businesses, including a logistics workforce company sold to a listed firm in 1998. Before founding Ongoing, he worked for many years with logistics systems as a manager at a major Swedish software company. Gerhard holds a degree in Economics from the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg, equivalent to a bachelor’s degree.
Henrik Ekman, Co-Founder & Chairman of the Board, founded Ongoing Warehouse with Gerhard Guron in 2008 and is the architect behind Ongoing WMS. As former Database Architect, he led the system’s step-by-step development into today’s market-leading WMS. Henrik holds a master’s degree from Chalmers University of Technology and has deep expertise in warehouse logistics, WMS, and integrated systems.