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Five value-added approachesby Gene Wengert, President
1. Add value to present product --Make it better; upgrade it --Make what the customer wants --Rename "low grade" lumber to "industrial grade" lumber --Manufacture short lumber (at least 10x more valuable than chips) 2. Sell the same product you now manufacture, but sell it to a different market (where it is more valuable) --sell to hobbyist --sell No.2 Common to furniture/cabinet --sell No.3 Common to flooring mill instead of pallet mill --sell cants 3. Make a new product (i.e., "new" for your operation) --Try to enter an existing market for wood; BEWARE: Often competition is well established --Enter a market where you are substituting wood for another non-wood product --Enter existing market, but market not well served or market with room for expansion --Enter new/developing market 4. Get more value from the present resource (less low value, less waste, better processing) --end coat logs (at least 4%) and lumber (up to 4% gain) --sawyer efficiency (up to 22%) --Don't sell veneer logs --Make lumber without stain; lumber that is flat and smooth 5. Improve marketing and sales --"I'd rather justify my prices being high than excuse my quality being low." --"Are you interested only in price" (17% say yes!) "or are you interested in quality and availability (delivery)?" (27% are not strongly interested in price) --Pick two * quick delivery * low price * high quality Would you like to add information to this article? Interested in writing or submitting an article? Have a question about this article? Have you reviewed the related Knowledge Base areas below? 
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