Friday, August 28, 2020
Mikko Hyvärinen, director of the Sales and Supply Chain Management team in an editorial published in the website of UPM sounded relieved as he mentioned, “The strikes and the Covid-19 pandemic have negatively affected many businesses but I am happy to say that UPM Timber has pulled through with minimal damage”.
While the specialty timber business can be unpredictable, it’s difficult to prepare for a strike because UPM’s sawmills are usually running at full production. “We cannot increase our inventory just in case. However, we respected our existing contracts which is not what all our competitors did. We showed our customers that we are strategic partners and they can trust us, as we can trust them in their difficult times,” he highlights.
Approximately 80% of UPM Timber’s business is done on a quarterly basis and, after great effort from the company’s sales team, they were eventually able to deliver sawn timber to customers in good volumes during the first and second quarters of 2020. The cornerstones of reliability and personal contact were established years ago and proved invaluable following the arrival of Covid-19. “Without face-to-face meetings, we decided to stay in touch with our strategic customers by phone, by email and by MS Teams. They were disappointed that we couldn’t travel but, because we have an excellent relationship, business went much better than we expected,” he recalls.
“Despite its challenges, 2020 has been an inspiring year because it has forced us to find different solutions to keep our business running. Even if it was negative, we tried to turn it to a positive because it will pay back well in the future,” he believes.
The sawn timber industry has been a traditional business when it comes to selling and buying, but Hyvärinen sees the future of the industry changing step by step thanks to a younger generation. “They have far better IT skills and we are developing all the time. We will become more up to date, while faster decisions and more business will be done online with our organisational tools,” he predicts.
UPM Timber’s outlook will also continue to champion sustainability and innovation, which are at the company’s strategic core. Environmental concerns are one of the most important issues being raised by customers, says Hyvärinen, adding that the sales team is happy to see the demand for environmentally friendly products growing around the world, especially in China.
Comments: