This study is made in cooperation with Setragroup AB. Setra is Sweden?s biggest Sawmilling company with a turnover of almost 6 billion SEK. 45% of the produced volume goes to the Swedish market where the customers are the DIY-sector and industrial customers. Setra as well as the other Swedish Sawmilling companies operate in a very competitive environment.

The purpose of this study is to analyse how a distribution and sale-network for quality softwood lumber should be designed to fit Sawmilling companies? business concepts, and at the same time satisfy customer needs regarding delivery time and quality aspects. This thesis work is a case study based on a Sawmilling and retail company in Sweden. AB Karl Hedin is a private owned Sawmilling company with 500 employees. The company?s turnover is 1500 million SEK, it includes 4 sawmills, 16 builders merchants stores and a packaging company.

An old and well known problem in Sawmilling is to determine which dimensions /products those are most profitable to produce. Existing optimization models maximize the value of the log. In other words, based upon the market prices of the dimensions the models calculate the best way to split the log. Yet there is a great uncertainty if the most well paid dimensions really are the most profitable to produce. The costs of the process from lumber to sawn products are hard to determine and are therefore often left out from the optimization process. In this study the economic contribution of different dimensions/products are analysed.

The aim of this master thesis is to study the integration in Sweden between forestry and bulky industries as fiber- and Sawmilling companies. The analysis is based on theories about transaction cost economies and competitive strategy. The studied companies are active on the Swedish roundwood market. The buying actors on this market were divided into two groups; fiber- and sawmill industries. Three companies from each group were chosen subjectively by the author.

The study of the French market for softwood has been done in collaboration with VIDA AB. The aim of the study was to investigate important product quality and service quality dimensions, the customers? perception of the offering and generally describe the French market and present actors. The market for softwood around the world changes over time and new markets can mean opportunities for the Sawmilling industry. The French market is the second biggest European market for softwood, has had presence of actors with sourcing of raw material from the Nordic countries for decades and there is a growing interest for building with wood. Theory being used is about the different dimensions that make up the total quality of softwood, together with intangible dimensions making up the total offering that helps the Sawmilling industry to create positive perceived value for the customers. Methodological approach in the study was a case study research design, aimed at providing knowledge about one specific subject in one context. The general description was mostly carried out by literature studies and data from various statistics sources.