Published on 17-Sep-2008
Validated on 10 May 2013
"By teaming with IBM Business Partner Shared Vision Group, we’ve created a timber-pricing solution that no one else can offer—and we completed the project on time and within our budget." - Jim Wood, chief information and administration officer, Forest2Market
Customer:
Forest2Market
Industry:
Industrial Products
Deployment country:
United States
Solution:
Business-to-Business, Business-to-Consumer, Enabling Business Flexibility, Information Integration, Innovation that matters, Transforming Business
IBM Business Partner:
Shared Vision Group
Overview
Forest2Market (F2M) strives to help companies address challenges like lengthy supply chains, logistical problems and environmental issues by bringing them into the e-business world.
Business need:
F2M needed a reliable solution provider to help it bring its new Web-based timber-pricing service to the marketplace within a limited budget.
Solution:
Working with IBM Business Partner Shared Vision Group, F2M launched a real-time timber-pricing system that provides accurate transaction information to timber buyers and sellers. The solution provides forest products companies, regional consulting companies and private landowners with real-time access to transaction-based pricing reports.
Benefits:
• Opens new revenue streams for F2M
• Reduces what was once a nine-hour market-analysis project to a simple yet highly accurate 15-minute Internet query
• Enables customers to buy and sell timber products more competitively
Case Study
Overview
Forest2Market
Charlotte, North Carolina,
United States
www.forest2market.com
Industry
• Industrial products
Products
• IBM WebSphere Commerce Express
• IBM System x
IBM Business Partner
• Shared Vision Group
Forest2Market (F2M) strives to help companies address challenges like lengthy supply chains, logistical problems and environmental issues by bringing them into the e-business world. The company serves a wide range of customers, from giants such as International Paper to more than 100,000 private landowners who provide timber for the industry.
Challenge
As a new organization based in North Carolina, F2M’s mission was to provide industry players with up-to-the-minute timber prices, which frequently fluctuate based on such variables as location, road access and weather conditions. F2M needed a reliable solution provider to help it bring its new Web-based service to the marketplace within a limited budget.
Solution
Working closely with IBM Business Partner Shared Vision Group, F2M launched a first-of-its-kind real-time timber-pricing system that provides accurate transaction information to timber buyers and sellers. Based on IBM WebSphere® software and IBM System x™ hardware, the solution provides forest products companies, regional consulting companies and private landowners with real-time access to transaction-based pricing reports, saving customers hours of analysis time. The solution opens new revenue streams for F2M and gives the company a distinct competitive advantage in the forest and wood products industries.
Benefits
• Opens new revenue streams for F2M
• Reduces what was once a nine-hour market-analysis project to a simple yet highly accurate 15-minute Internet query
• Enables customers to buy and sell timber products more competitively
"By teaming with IBM Business Partner Shared Vision Group, we've created a timber-pricing solution that no one else can offer--and we completed the project on time and within our budget." -- Jim Wood, chief information and administration officer, Forest2Market
Products and services used
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Hardware:
System x
Software:
WebSphere Commerce - Express
Legal Information
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2008 IBM Corporation 1 New Orchard Road Armonk, NY 10504 U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America 08-08 All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, WebSphere and System x are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. If these and other IBM trademarked terms are marked on their first occurrence in this information with a trademark symbol (® or ™), these symbols indicate U.S. registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the time this information was published. Such trademarks may also be registered or common law trademarks in other countries. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. The information contained in this documentation is provided for informational purposes only. While efforts were made to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information contained in this documentation, it is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. In addition, this information is based on IBM’s current product plans and strategy, which are subject to change by IBM without notice. IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arising out of the use of, or otherwise related to, this documentation or any other documentation. Nothing contained in this documentation is intended to, nor shall have the effect of, creating any warranties or representations from IBM (or its suppliers or licensors), or altering the terms and conditions of the applicable license agreement governing the use of IBM software. This document illustrates how one organization uses IBM products. Many factors have contributed to the results and benefits described; IBM does not guarantee comparable results elsewhere. References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates. IDC03002-USEN-00