IBM on Forest2Market

Does F2M have any competitors at this time? If so, can you provide more information on the competitive landscape?

In the timber pricing service space, we have one competitor. Timber Mart South, a not for profit organization that has been in existence for about twenty-five years.  The chart below illustrates some of the key differences between Forest2Market® and our competitor.  

Can you provide any quantified benefits other than reduction to only 15 minutes for comprehensive market analysts?

1.  Timberland owner customers’ are better able to judge the market value of their timber enabling them to time the sale advantageously as well as assess the competitiveness of the bids they receive for the sale of their harvested timber. Depending on tract size and market conditions, accepting an offer of $0.25 per ton below fair market price could translate to a loss of thousands of dollars for the ill-informed timberland owner.

2.  Timber buying customers can evaluate market conditions improve their bid efficiency and competitiveness.  A timber buying company could pay too much for a timber tract or conversely lose the opportunity to buy a premium tract by bidding too low.

Are there any elements of the F2M web site that make it innovative or revolutionary?

The web site was the first and remains the only online timber pricing system based on actual transactions between buyers and sellers.  Using sophisticated statistical modeling techniques, Forest2Market® has identified the key tract and sale characteristics that drive timber price.  Segmentation of tract and sale attributes enables subscribers to find timber prices paid on tracts with similar characteristics, in the same geography.  The application features are scaled to meet the unique data requirements of buyers, sellers and influencers both large and small and the subscription fees are priced accordingly.

How long did it take wood product customers to access prices previously?

Prior to Forest2Market®, detailed timber sale data based on actual timber sales was not available.