Satisfaction of sawn timber customers at a good level despite challenges

Despite a challenging business environment, customer satisfaction remained at a good level. However, occasional delivery issues affected the customer survey results.
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  • 2024, Sawn timber

Despite a slight decline, sawn timber customer satisfaction remains high, Metsä Fibre’s latest customer survey shows.

“Past few years have been challenging for sawn timber producers. However, even in these circumstances, we maintained our position as the leading operator. According to the survey, Metsä Fibre is a reliable, collaborative company with high-quality products. Our quality, technical competence and customer experience, including customer service and the supporting teams, compensated for the delivery issues,” says Kustaa Laine, VP, Timber Sales.

Delivery issues decreased satisfaction

In the APAC and MEA regions, customer satisfaction remained at the same level as the year before. In Europe, the lower customer satisfaction is explained primarily due delivery issues.

“The decline in customer satisfaction in Europe is largely due to special circumstances, such as the impact of strikes on product availability and, therefore, delivery reliability. By sharpening our proactive communications during special circumstances, we can further improve the customer experience.”

Timber Marketplace as a development target

In 2021, Metsä Fibre launched the renewed Metsä Timber Online Marketplace platform for its sawn timber customers. On the platform, customers can purchase products, manage their orders and receive customer support, as well as check the availability and delivery times of products.

Metsä Timber Online Marketplace has become popular among European customers, whereas its adoption is still growing in the APAC and MEA regions.

According to the survey, the respondents need more information on how to use the system, and the more experienced users are looking for more information on the availability of products.

“Our goal is to increase the number of customers who use the platform regularly. With this in mind, we will offer in-person support to new users. We have also drafted a development plan to improve the use of the service and will be adding new features.”

Sawn timber customers gave positive feedback for:

  • Product quality, in particular
  • Reliability
  • Services
  • Collaboration
  • Reputation
  • Customer Relationship Management