White Paper Directory
See Abstracts Below
1 - "Getting Back To Basics in Understanding Risk in the Forestry Investment Sector"
2 - "Problem Solving Using the Business SCORE Analysis"
3 - "Break Even Financial Reports for the Sawmill Operator"
4 - "Engineering The Executive's DashBoard - Forestry Insights Into Human Metric"
5 - "Organizing Your Office's Filing System - Forestry Practices"
6 - "Supporting Your Millwright's Preventative Maintenance Program"
7 - "Biomass Fueled Energy for the 21st Century"
8 - "Information Sharing in the Hardwood Supply Chain"
1 - "Getting Back To Basics in Understanding Risk in the Forestry Investment Sector"
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This paper was written to reveal the nature and source causation of all risk, including investment risk. It specifically risk mitigating tools that are now available to institutional investors including forestry investment groups.
Times have changed and forestry investment is no longer what it was just a few years ago. The recent financial domino chain illuminates that notion that questions that should have been asked weren't and the timber industry is no exception.
Now more than ever, there is a tremendous amount of pressure and need for plan sponsor's and there CIO's to continually seek ways to construct and maintain a more efficient, risk adjusted rate of return on their allocated investments.
Now, more than ever they need to know through QA reports and protocols that their TIMOS, REITS, institutional money managers, etc. are employing state-of-the-art forestry investment management practices relating to a whole host of uncovered opportunities as well as risks inherent within the timber industry.
This paper provides a condensed overview that plan sponsors can now use to establish an Executive Dashboard priority and methodology to evaluate the efficiency of their portfolio's risk-to-return operating profile.
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2 - "Problem Solving Using the Business SCORE Analysis"
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Epistemology is the study and understanding of how man knows ... that he knows. In essence, it is the study of the human's mental cognitive processes including how one thinks, knows and trusts the business decisions that they make. This paper was written to offer the reader a NEW AND COMPLEMENTRY way of thinking ... about how to think.
The most cunningly vile adversary man has ...
are the beliefs that have him trained and convinced ...
he already knows.
Convinced <= Latin [ com = thoroughly + vincere = to concquer ]
Convinced, to concquer thoroughly
In this paper the reader will review the way our human minds have been culturally trained and socially programmed to: i) assess problems and opportunities and then ii) make decisions and respond in ways that are not always effective or appropriate.
Then - and this is obviously a very bold statement, I will present an alternative 5-step process that digs down to the very "core source of causation" of every strategic opportunity and problematic issue your organization will ever face with no exception.
This paper was adapted from a 200 page manuscript "Minding Your P's & Q's – Seeing Beyond Your Illusionary Mirror of Beliefs" to provide those in forestry supply chain management an alternative way of thinking about solving problems in today's complex set of forestry practices.
It is hoped that those in the timber research, forestry business, and sawmill services including sawmill marketing and sales will provide feedback to the author regarding the ACTUAL hands-on applied value produced in assessing and managing their business's "actual" risks and future opportunities.
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3 – "Break Even Financial Reports for the Sawmill Operator"
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In the timber industry, investors, sawmill services, and sawmill operators alike all need to understand exactly how their financial statements accurately portray what is really going on out in the field and in the plant on a day-by-day basis.
Overseeing a hardwood plantation or operating a sawmill that costs up to $275.00 every minuet absolutely demands common sense accounting that anyone can readily understand and use to make timely and profitable decisions. This principles addressed in this paper are just a few of the many that must be integrated within the Executive's Dashboard for the 21st Century.
In this paper the reader will get a brief overview of the difference between those old fashion CPA formatted financial statements for bankers ... as opposed to the contribution margin formatted financial statements needed by operators responsible for daily decisions to conserve on costs, drive fiber overruns and sales yields. Plantation and sawmill performance can not be effectively managed if their key metrics are not known or misunderstood.
Through this revised way of seeing, the reader will learn of numerous and alternative ways of understanding and applying these tools and concepts throughout their organization. Not knowing what one does not know is man's greatest barrier to success.
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4 - "Engineering The Executive's Dashboard - Forestry Insights Into Human Metrics"
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Risk does not exist for the Greek Gods filled with exuberant commitment and absolute knowhow. Risk only exists were one or both of those leadership attributes are missing. Commitment and knowhow is the oracle's signature key to success in any industry timber operations and sawmill management is no exception.
In this white paper, "Engineering the Executive's DashBoard - Forestry Insights into Human Metrics" its author, Mr. Carson wanted to share a few innovative insights into the driving nature of what plantation and sawmill reporting should be about but are still failing to address, the undeniable, empirically validated metrics that drives the softwood and hardwood plantation as well as sawmill performance.
World Class excellence in forestry management, forestry practices, the creation and execution of a sawmill business plan, intended to drive sawmill performance are all the results of only two principle drivers both of which spring from the human metrics of productivity.
In this paper he will address a number of "out of the box" concepts including i) The supply chain of wisdom; ii) Attribution analysis of high performing teams; iii) Define the engineering principles behind the Executive Dashboard for world class organizations; iv) Engineering principles within the human metrics supply chain; and finally, v)
Provide reference to a Power Point springboard for the reader to access the means and wherewithal to begin to know, implement and thus understanding the power of passion within all World Class Organizations
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5 - "Organizing Your Office's Filing System - Forestry Practices"
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All of us have our own way of getting ourselves organized, especially those in the timber, lumber and sawmill business. And a lot of ‘us' tell ourselves "Some day I am gonna get organized." Ya, right! We all say it. We all mean it. And we all continue to avoid it. The question is "Why?" Well perhaps this article might help.
- The universe has a perverse sense of humor and an impeccable sense of timing and you are its subject
- Don't subject your subconscious mind to holding on to all that "stuff"
- Do what works ... so it will work for you
- We sleep much better when we are organized
- Everything in its place ... and a place for everything
- Be Organized ... Manage Your Time ... and Sleep Well
6 - "Supporting Your Millwright's Preventative Maintenance Program"
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There are three critical "strategic priorities" or drivers that should be linked to every sawmill’s preventative maintenance program:
- Reduce people, property and financial risks.
- Eliminate unproductive costs and cash flow drains resulting from unscheduled shut downs.
- Increase operating profits and return on resources (time, capital and investment)
Benjamin Franklin and common sense tells us that ten thousand dollars saved is ten thousand dollars earned. Unscheduled sawmill shutdowns are very, very expensive. For instance, if your operations are shut down due to an otherwise preventable unscheduled event (risk) causing a lost profit of $10,000.00, in all likelihood that probably translates to over $250,000.00 in lost sellable throughput. Corporate leadership that supports their millwright’s preventative maintenance program not only makes a lot of sense ... it also saves a lot of otherwise lost opportunities ... including dollars.
In Exhibit B, World Class Organizations Continual Improvement Support Systems - Understanding the Assessment Process we have outlined the four key "transition points" that energize world class, competitive and sustainable operations. The four processes key to any competitive system enabling them to survive and continually evolve in an ever changing world include:
- Aware – Is your team aware of what tomorrow demands of them ... today?
- Reflect – Are they willing and able to think differently from yesterday?
- Respond – Are they excited to seek out and produce a winner’s competitive edge?
- Result – Do they know how they impact customer trust, appreciation and loyalty?
And finally, we will touch upon the prime cause of all of organizational problems, i) not wanting to change ... and then ii) not knowing how to ... or ... not knowing what specifically needs to be changed. In summary, World Class leaders both enjoy AND have learned how to change ... how ... what ... and why ... they and their people think about ... alter their priorities ... self discipline ... and meaningful performance.
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7 - "Biomass Fueled Energy for the 21st Century"
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Recently there has been a considerable amount of news and noise in the press discussing the pros and cons of bio energy. However in the investor’s world of risk and returns the question remains, which metric is going to outpace the other, i.e. risk or reward? And just like a horse race, what are the odds makers telling us about the risks and rewards about to unfold on the bio-energy race track in the future?
Before one places their bet through there bookie, one should know something about who’s running, what’s there track record and absolutely, what is the condition of the track. One needs to consider where all risks in this race are going come from. Experience tells us that risks come from the uncertainty of change, from answers and issues never asked or resolved. In this brochure a number of quantifiable metric based questions will be discussed such as:
- What are and will continue to be the Key Profit Drivers and Deterrents in the industry?
- What are the biomass site supply estimates telling us?
- How do haul times statistically correlate to bio-waste haul costs?
- How is one’s sustainable transportation cost levels assessed?
- What are regional marginal cost curves and why are they a critical metric?
- How is the sustainability of any Biomass Facility Location and Scale Size impacted by the energy balance?
- Should one incorporate the energy balance algorithms into one’s simulation model prior to placing the bets?
- What metrics matter most: i) Dollars, ii) Btu’s/joules, iii) Transportation miles vs. hours, etc.
- What are the key variable drivers behind a risk/return financial feasibility simulation model?
- What is the baseline assessment utilization of FIA and regional infrastructure data?
- Supply, Demand and Governmental Intervention (Risk & Opportunity) Projections?
- Monthly Macroeconomic U.S Forecasts with emphasis on the forest products industry.
And finally, all businesses, irrespective of culture, country origin, industry or sector, all operate under a very simple business model: i) understand the problem, ii) produce the solution and iii) deliver the benefit to your customers. Having Atica’s advisory group of highly trained and experienced professional engineers, foresters, economist and hands-on operators on your side can and will take the guess work out of your decision. Do you want to invest in your future or bet on the race?
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8 - "Information Sharing in the Hardwood Supply Chain" - Timothy S. Stiess, PhD
CAUTION - 286 PAGES
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The Hardwood Industry in United States has been challenged by low-cost competition from overseas. Although cost reduction strategies have had minimal success, the proximity of industry to the domestic market has large implications on a more customer focused strategy.
Economy of Size vs. Customer Focus
The problem arises that individual companies and supply chains evolved based on the principles of economies of size and not on the flexibility to adapt to customer needs and changing resource constraints. An increased rate at which material and information flows through the hardwood supply chains is the key to the industries’ ability to be customer focused. Information systems may offer benefits for the industry, but changes in material flow of a company or supply chain cannot necessarily be predicted when implementing information systems.
Value Stream Mapping of Information and Material Flows
It was hypothesized that by understanding the dynamics between information flow and material flow throughout the supply chain, performance improvement would be possible through more effective release and use of information. A case study analysis of a hardwood supply chain was utilized to identify the effect of increased information flow on the material flow of the supply chain. Value Stream Mapping was utilized to benchmark the current state of lead times of information flow and material flow. System Dynamics was utilized to understand the relationships between the information flow and the material flow. Finally, simulations were performed to identify the specific effects on material flow as increased information flow is released through different information strategies.
The study showed that increased information flow between supply chain members increased material flow through the supply chain. For a case study supply chain, an increase in information flow, through advanced knowledge of customer demand by a supplier, was found to reduce the inventory buffers throughout the supply chain by up to 38 percent and increase the total material flow through the supply chain by 10 percent. In addition to the increased information flow caused by the advanced knowledge of demand (18 percent), information flow would increase (by an additional 7 percent) based on the reductions in buffer inventory within each company of the supply chain.
Pages Total 286
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9 - "Knowing Your Customers" - Timothy S. Stiess, PhD
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Two Case Studies
Part I - Beliefs Manage BehaviorWe all know what I am about to share, including me...yet do we really act upon what we know to be common sense? It is easy to lose sight of the driving forces of success in a company, especially when a company has been manufacturing the same wood products for years.
The beliefs that the customer will always be there and the margins and markets will remain the same as long as we keep doing the same thing can be emotionally reassuring... yet those same beliefs produce the very tornadoes of a financial disaster. And within that one single belief alone hides the very source for huge risks to many wood related companies. Beliefs lead behavior, not common sense.
In Part I we will present a short two case history background on two primary drivers of success or failure:
- The Illusion of Certainty ... Sires Disaster.
- Understanding what your company ... really makes.
The purpose of this section - once again is to assist our readers to refresh there curiosity and common sense thinking. As leaders seeking to guide our companies into the future, what really is our job? Who are our customers? What are their underlying needs and wants that will continue to finance our people's jobs and our company's future? What should our company be doing today ... tomorrow ... and always ... to inspire our customers to do business with us? And finally, what really do we really make?
A Prescriptive Inquiry- REALITY CHECK No. 1: Banks Don't Finance Anything...
- REALITY CHECK No. 2: If Leaders Don't Measure What Matters...
They Are Not Managing. - REALITY CHECK No. 3: Survey Your Customers Before...
They Survey Your Competition.
