MARITIME LOGISTICS FOR RELIABLE DELIVERIES
The Maritime Logistics Service Centre supervises Metsä Group’s global transport of pulp and sawn timber. Its job is to make sure deliveries reach their destination as agreed and that customers know when to expect them.
MARKKU RIMPILÄINEN, photos SAMI VALLIUS & SEPPO SAMULI
Maritime logistics control plays an important part in Metsä Fibre’s customer service. “Our business is global, and our markets are often far away across the ocean. So, to ensure on-time customer deliveries, we need to have excellent control of maritime traffic,” says Timi Hyppänen , Vice President, Supply Chain at Metsä Fibre. At the beginning of the year, Metsä Group launched a new Maritime Logistics Service Centre, which now houses the operational activities for maritime transport of Metsä Fibre and the Group’s other business operations. Agree- ments with ports and shipping companies were already being concluded at the Group level. “The strategic and tactical management, planning and operational activities for maritime logistics are now han- dled at a single location. We can now improve operational reliability and satisfy customer needs better than ever,” says Hyppänen. FORWARD PLANNING The Service Centre works together with business opera- tions, shipping companies and ports to predict changes in the demand for pulp and sawn timber, as well as long-term transport needs, as accurately as possible. “We now have an overall view of the situation and cus- tomer needs in all business operations. We can plan our
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