Gustav Claesson, ForestX: ”Challenges aren’t always due to the IT system”
Gustav Claesson is the consultant at ForestX who prefers not to talk too much about IT. His driving force lies in project management, process mapping, and needs analysis.
Gustav Claesson is a trained forester and has previously worked in business development, marketing, and sales. For the past year and a half, he has been working at ForestX as a consultant.
– There’s a lot of momentum at ForestX right now, things are happening, and we’re moving forward, he explains his choice of employer, and continues:
– At ForestX, I can work as a consultant while still being part of a team. I didn’t want to work completely on my own—I’m a social person.”
Breadth with a European Perspective
He sees several advantages in working as a consultant with some of Sweden’s and Europe’s leading forestry and sawmill companies.
– You get to learn from different companies, and that provides many valuable perspectives.
Currently, Gustav Claesson is project manager for a part of the larger initiative that ForestX is undertaking together with Holmen Skog. Alongside his colleague Johan Hedlund, he is working on process mapping and needs analysis to create a strategically anchored foundation for Holmen to identify the next steps in their development work.
Understanding the current state and needs before discussing IT solutions
This is exactly the area Gustav prefers to work in—needs analysis and process mapping, looking at both the current state and the future—essentially before the word ”IT solution” is even mentioned.
– By identifying the customer’s current state, we capture the challenges they face today. And those challenges aren’t necessarily due to the IT system. They could be about workflows, routines, or something else entirely.
– It’s also important to build trust for the future changes these types of projects lead to. That means really listening to what the organization thinks. It’s also vital to identify good practices that could be scaled up across the organization.
There are many aspects of this phase of the process that Gustav appreciates:
– I get to talk to a lot of different people. Through interviews and meetings, I hear different perspectives. Mapping processes, which I’m doing a lot of in my current project, can be difficult. But I find it very rewarding to succeed in creating simple and understandable documentation out of complex, parallel processes.
The work also involves a great deal of creativity—translating needs and moving from the current state to the desired future state. That part usually includes fun and challenging workshops.
Dynamic collaboration benefits the customer
Another important part of ForestX’s work is the collaboration between colleagues and the dynamic that comes from it. In Gustav’s case, it’s his partnership with colleague Johan Hedlund.
– Together, we form a dynamic team. Johan brings creativity, a challenging approach, and deep industry and IT knowledge. I contribute more structured qualities in project management and documentation. Together, it’s a strong concept that benefits the customer.
– This is a concept we’re confident we can further develop and apply with more clients.
Gustav Claesson’s current project will be completed in the spring.
– After this, Europe might be next for me. My colleague Torben Hansen in Hamburg and I are discussing potential joint projects in Germany.
Fact Box: Atlas
ForestX is now two years into its collaboration with Holmen Skog. The project, named Atlas, is extensive and touches on many core processes.
Holmen is one of Sweden’s largest forest owners. The business area Holmen Skog is responsible for managing and developing the group’s land holdings, which total approximately 1.3 million hectares.
Holmen Skog is the first in Sweden and Scandinavia to choose Trimble Forestry’s Connected Forest suite as a comprehensive forestry business system. The decision to implement Connected Forest is rooted in Holmen’s strategic aim to work in a more data-driven way.
