Metsä Fibre’s multifaceted expert services support the processes and business operations of sawn timber customers. In addition to receiving technical support and quality information based on the Timber FOX index, customers benefit from our online store for sawn timber and efficient monitoring of deliveries. EXPERT SERVICES COMPLETE QUALITY
Sawn timber leaving for export from the Vuosaari terminal in Helsinki, Finland.
MARKKU RIMPILÄINEN, photo SAMI VALLIUS
Ordering products from the online store is easy. The stock availability at each sawmill is shown on the online store, and an order placed by a customer is submitted directly to the sawmill that will fulfill the order. Products can be shipped as quickly as within 24 hours. The delivery time is 2–3 days within Finland, around a week to the rest of Europe and 2–3 weeks to Asia. The online store provides customers with additional support and flexibility for stock management. If custom- ers' stock levels fall for whatever reason, they can restock quickly. This way, the stock size and value can be kept optimal at all times. EXPLORING FOREST IN METSÄ DAY Metsä Day forest visits provide customers with support for their work to promote sustainable development. A Metsä Day visit is an illustrative way to obtain information about Finnish forests and the origin of raw materials for sawn timber. During a one- or two-day on-site visit, the participants will learn about sustainable forest management, tracking the origin of wood, various harvesting patterns, and forest regeneration. The programme for each Metsä Day visit is designed to meet the participants’ needs, and the visits are hosted by our experts. In addition to learning about forest manage- ment, the participants will visit a Metsä Fibre sawmill to see sawn timber production in practice. •
Our business model is based on high product quality, reliable deliveries, and strong expertise, which is always available to our customers through a wide range of ser- vices. Our technical expert services enable customers to en- sure, for example, that the batch of products they pur- chased is suitable for further processing in the best way possible, and that its quality is exactly as agreed. Our ser- vices support customers’ business operations and improve the quality of the final products. TIMBER FOX PROMOTES QUALITY MANAGEMENT Our sawmills use the Timber FOX index to assess the con- sistency of the quality of their products. The index consists of five quality factors, and a permit- ted range and a weighting factor has been determined for each quality factor. If an individual quality criterion is not within the permitted range, the overall index value will decrease. If all the quality criteria meet the target, the index value is 100. The values of the quality criteria are measured at the end of the production line, and the quality index value is calculated based on these results. The quality index provides customers with more com- prehensive information about the characteristics of sawn timber, and they can use this information in their business operations. The quality of the information that customers obtain about their product improves, as well as the trans- parency of the overall process.
Continuous quality control guarantees the quality of the final product. Any variations are addressed quickly, and deviations can be removed before products are delivered to the customer. INDIVIDUAL TIMBER PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS Different raw materials are needed for different purposes. Factors important to a customer may include, for example, the length or density of annual growth and the heartwood content of the product. The Timber Performance Analysis service finds the prod- ucts that best meet the customer’s needs and, if necessary, the raw material for the products in question. The analysis begins with determining the desired qualities and the required sawing patterns. Then our experts exam- ine the availability and cost of the raw material, as well as the desired product's suitability for the sawmills’ products. A Timber Performance Analysis is always conducted in close cooperation with the customer, and the suitability of the products for the customer’s process is ensured. The service model also includes the detailed control and co- ordination of deliveries. In addition, the supply of wood raw material can be controlled in accordance with the customer’s needs. EXPERT TECHNICAL SUPPORT AVAILABLE Product managers support the sales organisation for sawn timber in technical matters. They ensure that customers
receive the technical support they need through sales con- tact persons. Product managers help in planning the product to be offered to the customer, for example. They answer the cus- tomer’s questions and ensure that customers are provided with exactly the sawn timber that best suits their needs. Product managers serve as a link between sales and pro- duction, enabling sales to respond accurately to customer’s needs. Customer feedback is also processed by product managers first. TRACK & TRACE INDICATES DELIVERY STATUS We also help our customers with transport monitoring and stock management. Through the Track & Trace online service, customers can monitor the status and location of their order relia- bly in real time during delivery. The service also provides an estimated time of delivery for the order. All relevant documents related to the order are also available as part of the service. Through the service, the customer knows the exact de- livery times and can ensure an uninterrupted production process and availability of raw materials. ONLINE STORE TIMBER MARKETPLACE Timber Marketplace is an online store for sawn timber. The online store allows customers to purchase products in stock at sawmills with short delivery times.
46
47
Powered by FlippingBook