1. Wood Fiber Supply Chain Relationship Workshops
July 2017

2. The Forest Resources Association is the only national advocacy organization for wood supply chain companies including wood consumers, landowners, and suppliers. We focus on the safe, efficient and sustainable harvest of forest products and their transport from woods to mill, and advocate on federal policies that impact the forest products supply chain. Learn more about FRA by visiting the website:

3. Workshop Objective
To constructively identify factors that enhance, and factors that strain, the mill-wood supplier business relationship.
The program works extremely well in constructively identifying the factors that enhance, and the factors that strain, consuming mill/wood supplier business relationships.

4. Supplier-Consumer Workshop – Introduction
Designed to open communication between mills and suppliers
Facilitated by FRA staff at your location
Get results specific to your location

5. Webinar Logistics
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6. Wood Fiber Supply Chain Relationships Workshops
2,000+ suppliers
150+ locations
25 states

7. Note – FRA has also successfully conducted this workshop for large landowners, with the landowners and land managers being one party, and contract loggers being the other party. There may be other applications of this proven format as well, which FRA would be happy to discuss.

8. Wood Fiber Supply Chain
Timberland Wood Consuming Mill Consuming Mill
Timberland Owner Supplier Wood Procurement Manufacturing
FRA’s members

9. Meet separately to identify and record positive as well as strained factors.
First the wood supplier group and the mill personnel groups meet separately.
Under the guidance of a trained FRA discussion leader each group identifies and records those positive business factors that enhance the business relationship, as well as those factors that tend to strain the business relationship—or “opportunities for improvement.”

10. Meet together to review positive & strained factors
Develop possible solutions
Move items from strained side to positive side

11. Ground Rules
Any factors affecting the business relationships can be aired in Workshop Sessions except those that may violate antitrust laws like:
Individual contract rates
Purchase prices
Competitive stumpage bidding
Other items that violate anti-trust law

12. What is discussed at these workshops?
Wood quality and wood specifications
Truck unloading issues
Wood inventory
Wood yard policies
Safety
Truck turn-around time
NOT prices or contract rates (anti-trust issues)

13. Sample Workshop Schedule
3:00 PM-3:25 PM - Welcome, Self-introductions,
Workshop Objectives,
Ground Rules, Schedule, etc.
3:25 PM-5:10 PM – Wood Supplier Issues
Breakout Session
3:25 PM-5:10 PM – Mill Issues
The program works extremely well in constructively identifying the factors that enhance, and the factors that strain, consuming mill/wood supplier business relationships

14. Sample Workshop Schedule
5:10 PM - 6:00 PM – Dinner
6:00 PM - 7:55 PM – Final Group Session
7:55 PM - 8:10 PM – Closing Remarks, Workshop
Critique, Workshop Follow-up
Activities.
The program works extremely well in constructively identifying the factors that enhance, and the factors that strain, consuming mill/wood supplier business relationships

15. FRA Supplier – Consumer Workshops Can build:
Commitment
Trust
Reduced costs
Greater efficiency

16. What Past Attendees Have Said:
“I think it’s an excellent forum for two sides of a business that need each other to get together and understand each other’s issues” – logger
“I was surprised at how simple some of the issues were to solve” – mill manager

17. “My advice to anyone out listening to this program would be to give it a try. I was somewhat skeptical at the beginning, because I thought it would be sort of a very controversial type meeting and that we really wouldn’t get anything done. As it turned out, we really got to some of the primary issues and found that people in the wood supply business are just like the people that work in our woodyard, and everybody wants to do the right thing and get the business done.”
Chuck Bogatie, Mill Manager

18. Who participates? Company Personnel Wood Suppliers General manager
Plant manager
Unloading operator
Scaler
Wood procurement team
Others as appropriate
Total group
A representative sample of wood suppliers
If trucking issues may surface, then some truck drivers as well
Total group size

19. To conduct a workshop: Contact your FRA Regional Manager
Can also contact Deb Hawkinson at
(202)  
Cost is $1,000 workshop fee, plus FRA facilitator direct travel costs and meal / facility charges
Typically $2,000 to $3,000 total cost
Set workshop date ~2 months ahead of time
Company commitments at this time
Invitations to suppliers a month ahead of time
Follow-up shortly before workshop

20. Workshop Experience Randy Blomberg, Blomberg Logging
Chairman, FRA Supplier-Consumer Relations Committee
D.J. Aderman, Futurewood Corp
Vice-Chair, FRA Supplier-Consumer Relations Committee

21. Questions & Discussion