Changes in the make-up of commercial forest resources, priorities for wood and timber quality, forest ownership and customer structure, as well as changes in global and local climate pose challenges to timber harvesting methods, transportation logistics, information systems and entire chains of wood utilisation. The working and business environment has already altered in ways that emphasise the need for skills in economic management and customer interface within harvesting and wood processing companies. In today’s environmentally-conscious business environment, the sustainability, renewability and safety of wood as a raw material, its capability to store carbon, and other positive environmental performance elements combine to give a strong competitive advantage to the wood products sector. New value-adding wood products and customer solutions based on integrated product systems and service functions diversify the uses of wood and increase its competitiveness as a construction and furnishing material.
The Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) has launched a five-year-long (2009–2013) interdisciplinary research programme “Renewing wood product value chains and timber procurement solutions (PUU)” in the fields of wood science and technology, forest engineering, and business economics. The programme serves timber producers, procurement organisations and wood product industries by improving their strategic development and operative planning. It also supports national and regional forest policy initiatives to promote the uses of wood and the development of wood product industries. The programme consists of three different themes: 1) Raw material potentials of wood and timber trade functions, 2) Timber procurement and competitiveness of harvesting companies, and 3) Wood products and customer solutions. These themes are further divided into research topics and detailed research projects. The versatile concept of value chain analysis can cross from one theme to another to provide an advantage to the individual research projects. Annually, approximately 30–50 researchers from Metla and its partner organisations will work in the projects.
Keywords: competitive ability, harvesting, timber procurement, wood-based value chains, wood product industries, wood raw materials
Authors
Heräjärvi H.
Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Unit, Joensuu, Finland
Verkasalo E.
Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Unit, Joensuu, Finland,
Sirén M.
Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Unit, Vantaa, Finland
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