A business plan is an essential tool in starting and managing a new or expanding venture. It is not only a comprehensive gathering of ideas and information on the potential business and its feasibility, but it is also a way of monitoring that business, once established. Business plans are important...
There has been an increasing realization of the value of innovativeness, the orientation toward innovation, for firms thriving to gain competitive edge. The US forest products industry is no different in this respect and many companies have active initiatives to bring about creativity from their own employees. At the same...
The Northwest forest products industry has been under severe economic pressure for the past several years. Many Northwest forest products companies have gone out of business entirely and others have closed portions of their operations. This monograph describes how one company has instituted a productivity improvement program to reduce its...
Due to growing global competition, especially in the last decade, the United States wood and wood-based industries have suffered significant market share losses. The wood industry in Germany is facing similar challenges. To stay competitive in an increasingly global marketplace, many wood manufacturers are adopting new management/manufacturing approaches. Lean manufacturing...
Recently, the millwork industry in Oregon, an important consumer
of pine lumber produced in this region, has undergone a series of changes which have seemingly affected its structure and marketing organization.
The principal purpose of this study is to explain these changes in terms of economic analysis and to find...
Forest certification—or, as it is sometimes called, green certification—aims to identify forestland that is managed to meet agreed-upon standards and, sometimes, to label products originating from those forests. The underlying goal of forest certification is to promote forest practices that are environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable over the long term....