The Wood Industry Network System Defined



INTRODUCTION:
Buy standing timber, sell standing timber - buy logs, sell logs - buy lumber, sell lumber - buy boards, sell boards - buy dimension lumber, sell dimension lumber - buy veneer, sell veneer - buy plywood, sell plywood - buy OSB, sell OSB - buy cut stock, sell cut stock - buy hardwood dimension, sell hardwood dimension - buy downfall (offal), sell downfall - buy and/or sell any of more than 4000 items currently listed in our wood products library.
 
Wood Industry Network provides varied services to help buyers and sellers of wood products arrange wholesale (non taxable) transactions. Each service utilizes a unique targeted approach which provides a very efficient method of finding buyers for sellers and sellers for buyers. Our purpose is to provide the locating and communicating tools which facilitate the b2b (business to business) transaction process. To remain neutral, Wood Industry Network does not buy or sell material. All transactions are direct between the buyer and seller and services are limited to wholesale transactions only.
   
IN BRIEF:
   

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 WIN-System™ - This is the combined services provided by Wood Industry Network that helps ‘buyers find sellers’ and ‘sellers find buyers’. It includes the following described services and the functions and features provided within those services.
 

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 WIN-Engine™ - This is the search engine that enables our system to help locate sellers for buyers and buyers for sellers based on what product is being bought or sold. This is utilized by the WIN-System™ to deliver Inquiries, Offers, and Downfall Listings to targeted markets.
 

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 WIN-Inquiry™ - This service helps buyers locate companies that can sell them what they are looking for and then be able to buy from the companies that provide the best deals relative to quality, availability, and price.
 

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 WIN-Offer™ - This service helps sellers locate companies that can buy what they have available for sale and then be able to sell to the companies that provide the best opportunities relative to availability, delivery cost, and price.
 

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 WIN-Listing™ - This service helps buyers find companies that have Downfall / Overstock items, Equipment, or a Business available for sale, and helps sellers find companies that can buy Downfall / Overstock items, Equipment, or a Business.
 

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 WIN-Freight™ - This service helps members determine freight cost for a specific delivery before it ships, and then when it’s ready to ship, helps find truckers able to move the load.
 

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 WIN-Credit™ - This service helps members reduce their credit risk by guaranteeing partial or full payment for loads sold through the WIN-System™.
 

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 WIN-Library™ - This is a reference source of Products, Terms, Definitions, Specie Classifications, Common versus Botanical specie names, Product Grades, Grade Agencies, and other handy information.
 
MORE SPECIFIC:
 
The WIN-System™ is the combined services provided by Wood Industry Network that helps ‘buyers find sellers’ and ‘sellers find buyers’. This combination of the functions and features provides users with connectivity to thousands of other companies throughout the Wood Industry. Each company in our proprietary database is identified as to their position within the industry and by what products and services they buy and sell. This company information is connected through the WIN-Engine™ to a high-speed communication system. This combination of sub-systems is able to identify and communicate to any target market, geographic area, or industry sector desired so that when an item or service is defined, the WIN-System™ is able to identify most of the potential buyers or sellers of that item or service and then communicate directly to each of them in a method that each recipient wants to receive. We offer multiple communication methods because less than 20% of the companies in the Wood Industry currently utilize the Internet for buying and selling their products so the WIN-System™ is responsive to that fact by communicating via Internet, Email, or Fax, depending on each company's capability and choice. By combining all of these communication methods with the company information database, the WIN-System™ becomes WINtelligent™ and makes it possible for companies to communicate their Inquiries, Offers, and Downfall items to a majority of the industry for the purpose of buying and selling their products.
 
The WIN-Engine™ is the search engine that enables our Inquiry Service, Offer Service, and Downfall Service, to identify buyers and/or sellers of specific products and services. This engine is capable of searching through tens of thousands of companies and billions of product description combinations to identify just those companies that match the user’s search criterion. This search criterion is defined while creating Inquiries, Offers, and Downfall Listings.
 
The WIN-Inquiry™ or RFQ (Request for Quote) service provides the means for a buyer of nearly any wood product to locate companies that sell that product and purchase it from the company (or companies) that provides the best combination of quality, availability, and price. A buyer, who is ready to buy, would define his product through the WIN website ‘Inquiry Form”. While preparing his Inquiry, he is able to direct it to all potential sellers or choose to send it to just producers, or just resellers, or just to his own personal preferential suppliers. When submitted, the WIN-Engine™ identifies all of the potential sellers within the buyers input criterion and communicates the Inquiry directly to those sellers. The Inquiry is presented to sellers in the form of a RFQ that allows the supplier to quote the product to the buyer. All quotes are delivered to the buyer “Subject to Credit Approval” and “Subject to Prior Sale”. Upon review and acceptance, the buyer can purchase the product direct from the seller that best meets his needs. There is no middleman. All billings are issued direct from the seller to the buyer, and any sale is subject to the seller's approval of the buyer, and the buyer's approval of the seller. This service allows buyers to efficiently present their Inquiries to proven sellers, and allows sellers to receive Inquiries that they would otherwise not be aware of.
Note- Some sellers prefer to receive Inquiries to help locate new customers and/or monitor market activity while others prefer to deal only with their current customers and may not be concerned with market swings. Since these different opinions exist, each company is given the choice of whether they want to receive Inquiries and if so, by what communication method they choose to receive them. Inquiries will not be sent to companies that choose not to receive this type communication.
 
The WIN-Offer™ or OTS (Offer to Sell) service provides the means for a seller of nearly any wood product to locate companies that buy that product and sell it to the company (or companies) that provides the best combination of product availability, delivery cost, and price. A seller, who is ready to sell, would define his product through the WIN website “Offer Form”. While preparing his Offer, he is able to direct it to all of the potential buyers or choose to send it to just producers, or just resellers, or just to his own personal preferential buyers list. When submitted, the WIN-Engine™ identifies all of the potential buyers within the sellers input criterion and communicates the Offer directly to those buyers. The Offer is presented to buyers in the form of an OTS that allows the buyer to request pricing and/or Inquire about the product from the seller. In response, the seller can quote the product to the buyer. All quotes are delivered to the buyer “Subject to Credit Approval” and “Subject to Prior Sale”. Upon review and acceptance, the buyer can purchase the product direct from the seller. There is no middleman. All billings are issued direct from the seller to the buyer, and any sale is subject to the seller's approval of the buyer, and the buyer's approval of the seller. This service allows sellers to efficiently present their Offerings to proven buyers, and allows buyers to receive Offerings that they would otherwise not be aware of.
Note- Some buyers prefer to receive Offers to keep them aware of product availability, market trends, and/or to take advantage of deals, while others prefer to purchase items when they need them and do not want to receive Offers that may not be timely to their needs. Since these different opinions exist, each company is given the choice of whether they want to receive Offers, and if so, by what communication method they choose to receive them. Offerings will not be sent to companies that choose not to receive this type communication.
 
The WIN-Listing™ service provides the means for a company to have their Downfall / Overstock, Equipment, and Business listings communicated to potential buyers and sellers of these type items. This service is intended to make these listings known to the industry and in so doing, to help develop markets for normally un-marketed but common secondary type products like edge trims, end trims, and short cuttings and to help find buyers or sellers of industry Equipment and even a Business.
Downfall / Overstock Listings-  A company can list items ‘needed’ or items ‘available’ on our Downfall / Overstock Lists which we communicate via Internet website, E-mail, or Fax, depending on each recipient’s choice, to all secondary processors that desire to receive them and to several traders throughout the country who are actively engaged in buying and selling downfall and overstock items. While any item could be listed, typically these lists include overstock items or offal items that have less value than primary products and are secondary in nature to a company’s main product line. A search & view function is available to visitors on the Wood Industry Network website and members are able to inquire re-man facilities to determine what costs are required to have an item re-manned to their specifications. 
Equipment Listings- A company can list Equipment ‘needed’ or Equipment ‘available’ on our Equipment Lists which are communicated via Internet website, E-mail, or Fax, depending on each recipient’s choice, to all companies that desire to receive them and to several traders that buy and sell Equipment.
Business Listings- A company can list a Business ‘needed’ or Business ‘available’ on our Business Lists which are communicated via Internet website, E-mail, or Fax, depending on each recipient’s choice, to all companies that desire to receive them.
 
The WIN-Freight™ service is currently under construction but when complete, will provide the means for a buyer or seller of wood products to find out how much it would cost to have a load, or LTL shipments, moved from any U.S. city to any other U.S. city and then, when the load is ready to ship, this service can help locate a freight company that is able to move the load for the best combination of timing and price. –Under Construction--
 
The WIN-Credit™ service is currently under construction but when complete, will provide the means for a seller of wood products to reduce his credit risk by obtaining credit risk protection on products that have been sold through the WIN-System™. –Under Construction--
   
The WIN-Library™ provides useful information for people involved with Wood Products. This reference group includes a substantial Products and Terms library that defines hundreds of products and terms used by different parts of the industry. It also includes a Species table that identifies hundreds of domestic species by Hardwood versus Softwood and common name versus botanical name. Grade agencies and grades is another topic covered by this reference source.