Stakeholder perspectives on the business potential of digitalization in the wood products industry

Authors

  • Marika Makkonen VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.

Keywords:

Digitalization, digital transformation, wood products industry, customer value, service logic

Abstract

Digitalization is reshaping traditional industries by interconnecting products, processes and services, and by transforming business models. The businesses that are able to leverage digitalization to improve customer value are in a better position to differentiate from rivals. The development also provides opportunities for the wood products industry, whose competitiveness has deteriorated throughout the 2010s. However, there is an apparent research gap in understanding how this industry could utilize digitalization to apply customer-oriented business strategies, and what are the development needs to achieve this goal. The present study aims to narrow this gap. The study was carried by qualitative interviews. The data consist of wood suppliers, sawmills, secondary wood processors, and the construction industry. The results show a seamless link between digitalization, improved customer orientation, and the functionality of wood value chains. Most of the business development ideas focused on improving process efficiency with digitalization. However, more knowledge is needed to unleash the potential related to new offerings (products and services) and completely new ways to conduct business in the knowledge-based wood products industry.

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Published

2018-08-16

Issue

2018: Volume 3, Number 6

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Empirical Manuscripts

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