A strategic partnership with UPM brings added value to our customers

Puumerkki has 11 terminals in Finland, from which we deliver, for example, birch plywood to retailers, construction companies, and industrial customers nationwide. We also operate in all Baltic countries.

“We want to offer our customers a wide and high-quality product range, good availability, and efficient, fast distribution. We have invested in optimizing our order and delivery chain, our online store, and the quality of our customer service, also utilizing analytics and artificial intelligence. Our cooperation with UPM has deepened into a strategic partnership. Like UPM, we value quality, safety, and sustainability,” says Puumerkki’s CEO Panu Miettinen.

 

 

Domestic wood is traceable from forest to store and consumer

We deliver UPM’s WISA spruce plywood, made from domestic wood, to our customers. The primary raw material comes from sustainably managed forests. The availability and delivery reliability of domestic wood are excellent – ensuring stable deliveries and predictability for our customers.

“Finnish-made WISA plywood products promote sustainable construction. The carbon footprint of transporting locally sourced timber and the resulting spruce plywood is lower than that of imported wood products. The origin of the wood can be traced throughout the ‘forest-to-store-and-consumer’ process. For every tree we use, we plant four new seedlings,” says UPM Plywood Regional Sales Director Jari Kosonen. “Together with Puumerkki professionals, we have worked to optimize WISA plywood deliveries to Puumerkki terminals and from there to the end users of our products.”

 

 

Meeting customers’ growing sustainability needs

Changing regulations, such as the EU deforestation regulation, increase discussions around the responsible use of wood in construction. Our customers need a partner who can help them meet these requirements.

“We have observed that more and more of our customers are interested not only in price and quality but also in the domestic origin of wood,” notes our Sales Director Janne Lahtinen. “Wood is a renewable and incredibly versatile building material. We believe that the popularity of timber construction will grow as the market recovers and sustainability discussions increase. Together with UPM, we are at the forefront of promoting more sustainable construction.”

 

 

Our services save our customers time and money

Janne Lahtinen highlights the opportunities offered by new technology and Puumerkki’s growing service sales to accelerate sustainable and efficient construction. “We process and further refine our products as a service according to our customers’ needs. Construction becomes significantly more efficient when products are delivered to sites pre-cut and ready for installation. Builders save time and costs,” says Lahtinen. “We are also developing our service platform, utilizing data, analytics, and artificial intelligence. The platform allows us to optimize our order and delivery chain, gain valuable market insights, and better anticipate plywood demand and price developments for different products.”

“We leverage data, analytics, and AI in our service platform. This translates to better availability, more accurate delivery time predictions, and more competitive pricing for our customers. We can anticipate the market and ensure the right products are available at the right time.”

 

 

A reliable partner even in challenging market conditions

Demand for wood products varies seasonally, but our customers need a partner they can rely on year-round.

 

“Our strategic and well-planned partnership with UPM has also delivered results,” emphasizes Miettinen. “Together, we have grown sales of responsible domestic plywood in a challenging market by double-digit percentages.”