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Blog
July 16, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
July 16, 2021. – FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) publishes statistics of forest products. The figures are perhaps not super accurate, but still they illustrate the direction. The gigantic leap in global plywood production happened in the 2000s and the reason was China. China’s production grew from 11 million m3 in […]
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July 2, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
July 2, 2021. – Every company sometimes sees people leaving or retiring. That is something we cannot stop. But that is also a good thing because it opens opportunities for new employees and company renewal. However, finding good staff has never been easy. Whether it is a replacement or a hire for new growth, the […]
June 18, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
June 18, 2021. – World trade is 500 years old. In the early days, luxury products like spices, furs and tea were exciting and in demand. Trading was good business and merchants got wealthy. Soon someone invented customs duties as a good way to collect money for the state. A bit later the nation states […]
June 11, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
June 11, 2021. – In the USA, the plywood people hear that the European buyers pay high prices to win the volume game. In Europe the same story is turned upside down: USA offers better prices and suppliers ship everything there. It sounds like there is a lack of reasonable explanations why suppliers continuously increase […]
June 4, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
June 4, 2021. – As the weather gets sunnier and warmer, thoughts wander on how to spend the holiday. After a long and tiring quarantine winter, it feels stunning to get outside and enjoy nature. Part of the healing process is to get some time off from work. Crazy. That is the most used word […]
May 28, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
May 28, 2021. – Companies use marketing to create attention and trust. Now for many plywood suppliers, there are more than enough customers. Extra attention is not needed. It could be even harmful, as it might result in new inquiries that you can only answer “no”. Most of the companies want to associate their brand […]
May 21, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
May 21, 2021. – The way we pay has remained very similar for a long time in the B2B plywood business. Truck is loaded and an invoice is sent to the customer. Truck, invoice, payment. That is simple and works usually fine. When the physical or mental distance between the seller and buyer is longer, […]
May 14, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
May 14, 2021. – This week Raute, the Finland-based machinery company, held an online event for customers and other stakeholders. The company made a splendid effort bringing people together in a digital forum. A dynamic online session is not a simple task, but technically the event succeeded fairly well. However, the content could have been […]
May 7, 2021 / July 9, 2024 by Panu Anttila
May 7, 2021. – As much as we are used to remote work, we are alienated from the trade shows. The events have had a terrible year, and it is not looking any better towards the near future. Many people expect permanent changes to remote work and business traveling. Will the trade shows continue business […]
April 30, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
April 30, 2021. – Good customers are always welcome. They bring steady business, good volumes, decent margin, secure payments and professional contact persons. Every company would be happy to have these customers. The problem is that all the other suppliers are interested in the same clients. With these prospects, it’s hard to get your foot […]
April 23, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
April 23, 2021. – On Thursday this week, the European Central Bank decided to hold the interest rates on the current level. In addition, the pandemic stimulus by bond-buying will continue. These measures shall prevent the negative growth. But how does the stimulus fit the current building material sector? On several continents, builders complain about […]
April 16, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
April 16, 2021. – New business ventures are often valued by their ability to scale. Scalability describes a company’s capability to adapt easily to increased market demand. It makes a difference whether you are producing physical items or software. At the moment, many plywood mills have long order books. How does plywood business scale with […]
April 9, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
April 9, 2021. – 10 years ago companies with a climate agenda were judged to be greenwashing. Perhaps it was fluffy those days, but they needed to start somewhere. The intention was good. Good intention lasts for a while, but soon after that you need facts and measuring. What you measure is what you get. […]
March 26, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
March 26, 2021. – The pharmaceutical companies are struggling with overwhelming demand. Everyone is yelling for vaccinations. Countries are negotiating with all the producers and trying to maximise the shot volumes for their own citizens. Lately, the situation in the plywood market has sounded similar. There is more demand than supply. Lead times are long […]
March 19, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
March 19, 2021. – As a consumer, you can get what you want nowadays. Platforms like Aliexpress and Amazon have an endless variety of different products. Everything comes in thousands of colors and sizes. Often it feels that the big variety makes choosing more laborious. In industrial business, choosing is not difficult. Customers know what […]
March 12, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
March 12, 2021. – If your products are sold out, does it make sense to buy brand visibility? Or when the market is already down, can you sell more plywood by advertising? Industrial marketing used to be ads in industrial magazines, and trade shows. The primary purpose was to show your potential customers that you […]
March 5, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
March 05, 2021. – It’s been one year of non-travelling. The stop in February 2020 was sharp. No more daily shuttling to the office and back. No trips to see customers or other stakeholders. Traveling is a time sink. In spring 2020, I calculated I got an extra working day per week when skipping all […]
February 26, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
February 26, 2021. – In plywood business, the customer-supplier relationships are usually lengthy. Companies know each other from the past. A fresh buyer/seller usually gets her legacy contacts from the previous job holder. New companies emerge infrequently. They need to work harder to create attention and trust. Trust is built with time, numerous deliveries, and […]
February 19, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
February 19, 2021. – People are different. A few of my friends see risks everywhere. They are really cautious where to step next. Some of my friends seem like crazy lunatics. They may jump off the hill without further thinking what might happen. In business, it is good to be a bit of both. Listed […]
February 12, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
February 12, 2021. – Dog agility is a sport where dogs run through an obstacle course and are measured in time and accuracy. If your company were a dog, how well would it finish the track? Long-term demand projections are hard to make. Nowadays, an annual budget tastes like a silly game instead of business […]
February 5, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
February 5, 2021. – A recent McKinsey study says that the top 5% of the industrial brands capture 95% of the share voice. By share of voice, McKinsey means mentions in publications and consumer media in their sector. Every company would like to be mentioned among the first ones when customers are being asked about […]
January 29, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
January 29, 2021. – The term of the week in the stock market is “short squeeze”. With a wood brain like mine, these are difficult terms to understand. That’s why I usually turn them to something physical, like plywood. In “short selling”, I will borrow a pallet of plywood from my friend Sylvia. I expect […]
January 22, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
January 22, 2021. – Global cargo shipping is mixed up. Covid-era people need new stuff when staying and working at home. These consumer products come from Asia, and that impacts on trade flows. Soaring sea freight prices are disturbing the business. Empty containers are laying in the wrong locations. Even by paying a high price, […]
January 15, 2021 / February 1, 2022 by Panu Anttila
January 15, 2021. – Airlines are having hard times. The last happy landings were in March 2020, and most of the planes have been on ground ever since. No “bonus” miles are being collected or used. Airline companies have a long experience in customer loyalty programs, but without customers they both are out of work. […]
