Entering Sweden through distributors: wholesalers, framework agreements and a first e-mail the law allows

Sweden is open to a well-prepared foreign supplier: English is widely understood, the law lets you write to a company first, and part of public demand runs through framework agreements that a distributor can hold for you. What it asks in return is Swedish product information, patience with a decision that involves several people, and an offer that stands up in a framework tender.

Putting it simply: Swedish professional customers are served by wholesalers and specialist distributors, whose territory may be Sweden alone or the wider Nordic region. Public demand runs partly through framework agreements, from Statens inköpscentral at Kammarkollegiet for State agencies and from Adda for municipalities and regions, and through each buyer's own procurements, advertised in databases registered with Konkurrensverket and, above the EU thresholds, on TED. A first e-mail to a limited company's general address is lawful if every message carries an opt-out address (sole traders need consent); invoices to public buyers must be electronic.

How the market buys

Wholesalers and specialist distributors

In most technical and professional categories the manufacturer sells to a Swedish wholesaler or specialist distributor, which holds stock, handles logistics over long distances and sells to installers, retailers, companies and public buyers. Trade bodies are a quick map of each sector. Svensk Handel is the trade and employer organisation for "parti-, detalj- och e-handeln", wholesale, retail and e-commerce. In health technology, Swedish Medtech gathers just over 200 member companies, some with their own manufacturing, some running a local sales company, and some that "är distributörer".

Framework agreements set the rules for many buyers

Two central bodies matter. Statens inköpscentral at Kammarkollegiet states its task plainly: "att upphandla ramavtal för varor och tjänster åt andra statliga myndigheter", and in IT and telecoms its agreements can also cover municipalities and regions. It also warns suppliers that "Att bli ramavtalsleverantör innebär inte att du är garanterad att få leverera": orders depend on your ranking or on a mini-competition between the suppliers on the agreement. Its procurements can be split by region, and a company may take part as a subcontractor or reseller (återförsäljare), which is one route for a manufacturer working through a Swedish distributor.

Adda, owned by the association of municipalities and regions (SKR) and a majority of Sweden's municipalities, supports "kommuner och regioner för samordnad försörjning av varor och tjänster". Municipalities and regions also run their own procurements. A framework value is a ceiling, not a sales forecast; see why the headline value is not the sales figure.

Where public demand is visible

Sweden has no single national portal. Upphandlingsmyndigheten, the National Agency for Public Procurement, sets out the rule: all procurements except direct awards must in principle be advertised in a database registered with Konkurrensverket, the Swedish Competition Authority, and procurements above the EU thresholds must as a rule also be advertised on TED. Advertised procurements, above and below the thresholds, must be followed by an award notice (efterannons). Konkurrensverket keeps the register of approved databases, and the database operators report data from notices and award notices to Upphandlingsmyndigheten, the statistics authority.

From 1 January 2026 the thresholds for goods and services are SEK 1,589,140 for central government and SEK 2,451,816 for other contracting authorities. Below SEK 700,000 a buyer may use a direct award (direktupphandling), which need not be advertised; that part of the market is easiest to reach through a distributor the buyer already knows.

For a manufacturer, the award notices are the useful record: they name the wholesaler or distributor that won a framework or contract in your category, and for which buyer. On TED they form a common record across the databases for the larger contracts.

Who decides and what a first meeting looks like

At a Swedish distributor the decision on a new range usually involves several people, so expect more than one meeting and keep to what you agree in each. Expect to discuss openly: margin, territory (Sweden alone or the Nordic region), account ownership and exclusivity, lead times you can keep over long distances, stock within reach, spare parts and returns, and the environmental and chemical-content data public buyers ask for. The Sweden market page lists these expectations step by step.

Language and documentation

English is widely understood: Sweden ranks 8th in the EF English Proficiency Index 2025, so a first approach and early technical discussion in English are normal. Swedish is still the language of the system. The Language Act makes Swedish the principal language of the country (section 4) and the language of public authorities and other bodies performing public functions (section 10), so expect tender documents in Swedish. Distributors will want product information in Swedish for their customers, such as instructions, price lists and marketing text, with English technical files as a starting point.

Payment terms and invoicing

Under the Interest Act (räntelagen), a claim for goods or services between businesses falls due no later than 30 days after the creditor has demanded payment; a later date applies only if the creditor has expressly accepted it, and that exception does not extend to public bodies, which must pay within the 30 days (section 2 a). Late payment carries interest at the reference rate plus eight percentage points (section 6).

Since 1 April 2019, invoices issued to a contracting authority as a result of public procurement must be electronic invoices that follow the European e-invoicing standard, unless supplier and buyer agree on another standard; contracting authorities must accept them, and a supplier that does not comply can be ordered to, under penalty of a fine (Act 2018:1277, sections 4, 5 and 7). If you or your distributor invoice public buyers, plan for it from the first contract.

Lawful first contact

Sweden allows the first e-mail to a limited company or other legal person. Section 19 of the Marketing Act (2008:486) requires prior consent only for marketing by e-mail to a natural person — sole traders (enskild näringsidkare) included, as the bill behind it says; section 20 requires every marketing e-mail to contain a valid address for opting out, and states that this "gäller även vid marknadsföring till en juridisk person". Write to the general address (info@, order@, sales@), identify your company in full, give a working opt-out and stop at once if asked; whether a named employee's address counts as a natural person is not settled, so treat it as personal. The Consumer Ombudsman (KO), who heads the Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket), enforces the Act and can issue injunctions backed by a fine (section 28). The rule is explained in Italy, the Netherlands and the Nordics: where B2B e-mail needs consent and on the Sweden market page.

Where Cresques fits

Create a market for Sweden, choose your CPV categories (or let the materials reader suggest them from a brochure or website), and Cresques shows the companies named in TED award notices for those categories, with personal details removed. Below the EU thresholds, search the registered advertising databases yourself. Company profiles with an AI-researched role and first messages drafted in the local language are live; e-mail alerts on new awards come with paid plans.

What this means for a manufacturer

• Find the distributors through the award notices: TED for the larger contracts, the registered databases for the rest.
• Check whether your category is covered by a Statens inköpscentral or Adda framework; the suppliers on it are the companies to approach.
• Start in English, but prepare Swedish product information and environmental and chemical data.
• Quote 30-day terms unless the distributor asks and you agree otherwise; public buyers pay within 30 days.
• Be ready to send public buyers e-invoices to the European standard.
• E-mail the distributor's general address with a working opt-out (a sole trader needs consent first), then expect a decision that takes several conversations.