Post Covid Timber Era – What have we learned from this pandemic?

In spite of the current circumstances in the economy, the timber market is performing strongly this year.
UK Sawmills have revealed solid market increases for Fencing, Decking and Construction Products. Outdoor landscaping products have been in huge demand all through the lockdown, resulting the biggest product shortage the past decade.
Importers have seen Carcassing demands go off the scale but the high demand has not been satisfied by the International supply chain and this has created a sharp increase in prices for ”available” stock.

But what have we actually learned from this global pandemic?

During uncertainty there is always opportunity.

Consumers and Businesses vaulted five years in the adoption of digital life in just 8 weeks. Their decisions have shifted the focus of industry.

Technology is playing a bigger role in our business life.

Zoom calls replaced our face-to-face meetings, enabling us to still do business and have insightful conversations to understand the current business needs and how to better support our clients.
Those businesses with online trading platforms are busier than ever and those without are paying the price but have adopted them latterly as an important and much needed business channel.
This is a shift that will actually stick because e-commerce is gaining more and more room in every industry. After all, trading online is often more efficient, less expensive and safer for both ends.

Brand consistency is a thing.

Budget cuts, redundancies and furlough schemes created uncertainty worldwide.
When we first dived into the March lockdown, every industry needed to find new, effective ways to maintain and grow visibility for their brand – and quickly. The obvious step was to create brand authority digitally with businesses investing in improving the user experience of their websites and adding smart e-commerce solutions. These have been developed as an addition to, and not a replacement of, existing trading practices. Businesses that embraced this are futureproofing themselves and gaining stakeholder support.

In conclusion, this pandemic has clearly taught us that flexibility and willingness to adapt, are key components to thrive in this new era and advanced technology plays a major role into supporting both B2B and B2C businesses.

written by Maria-Christina Antoniou.