A more market oriented approach in the forest industry is the way to get out of the present crisis.
This was the message of Mr Mikael Selling, partner and one of the founders of the company Opticom International Research, when he gave a speech in PricewaterhouseCoopers forest industry seminar in Vancouver in May.

— The forest industry in the Scandinavian countries and in North America is now considered to be a crisis branch with structural problems. It is too focused on cutting costs and the companies do not pay enough attention to their customers.

There is extremely hard competition in the forestry industry and profitability is far from satisfactory. — Now is the time to focus on the market and to listen very carefully to customers, to learn to understand their situation and their needs. It is extremely necessary now when the branch is confronted with more and more serious challenges.

— The companies should carefully examine their own business from their customers' point of view. A continuous dialogue with customers is the way to make better and more attractive offers, as well as to create a distinct profile in relation to competitors. This is the way to improve the company's position as supplier, to increase competitiveness and to achieve better profit margins.

Selling says that such an approach offers extraordinary and so far unexploited opportunities for forest industry companies. As an example to be followed he pointed out how the consumer product industry operates.

Even though most forest industry companies do not yet apply this approach, there are some examples of far-sighted and future oriented companies. Södra Cell International, one of the leading producers of pulp on global level, is a good example of a company with such a new market oriented strategy.