As we learnt at the conference, WoodSolutions are undertaking many projects within the timber supply chain to help the industry grow, innovative and improve. One of those projects is one being undertaken by Chris Hay of Manufacturing Logistics exploring why Builders may be turning to steel.
To fully understand how the industry worked across the supply chain, Chris provided this image which outlined the interactions between each player within the sector. Compare this to the Steel Frame & Truss Supply chain and it was less complicated, so this is an area, where our sector needs to focus on which is already happening.
In general, the findings of Chris’s study to date showed that home owners don’t really care about the material used for frames and trusses as they aren’t products they see. As everyone knows however, this is something I strongly disagree with and is an area where I believe we can make a difference with a concerted industry unified message.
However, at the moment, the power in the supply chain rests with the builder, they have the key influence over what product is used and they want a streamlined process, something our sector can improve on.
There is no doubt the timber shortage of 2018 caused a lot of uncertainty and again, with a unified message and by the industry supply chain working together we can address this issue and ensure it does not happen again.
The positives out of Chris’s presentation was that there is definitely a positive bias towards timber with most suppliers and key decision makers and if the industry has a unified strategy we can continue to build on improving relationships with builders.
If you know of builders that are considering going to steel, or have changed to steel please contact Chris Hay at Manufacturing Logistics to discuss further as we can only learn if we explore the reasons behind these changes.
