The application enables Metsä Group to provide a fixed price for early cleaning and pre-commercial thinning at the bidding phase, and the price does not change after young stand management. Pricing is based on a unique method developed by Metsä Group, which models the working time on the site according to the varying difficulty level of the work. The modelling uses location-precise working time data, satellite images, and extensive and versatile spatial datasets measured in connection with previously completed sites.
Young stand management ensures that the log wood has sufficient room to grow and becomes sturdier quickly, so the forests remain viable and grow well. Timely and high-quality young stand management thus increases the yield of the forest.
“In recent years, Metsä Group has developed several new applications to support the planning and implementation of wood trade and forest services. The AI application we have now launched is a step towards more agile and transparent planning and implementation of forest management, with which we aim for an even better customer experience for forest owners,” says Juho Rantala, SVP, Wood Trade and Forest Services at Metsä Group.
“We are also aiming for clear growth in young stand management sales, and the new pricing model will enable us to approach our owner-members with increasingly precise data-driven offers for their forests. Our goal is to combine new technology and young stand management practices to facilitate forest owners’ decision-making and the everyday lives of forestry contractors,” Rantala says.
Metsä Group has developed and tested the AI application in cooperation with forestry contractors. Sievi-based forestry contractor Juho Hiltula participated in the development by recording data and working times on his work sites in the autumn of 2025.
“Based on four months of experience, the results are very comparable. The new pricing model will be fairer for both the forest owner and the forest worker, as everyone will be aware of the site’s difficulty and pricing before starting the work,” says Hiltula.
The new solution will replace Metsä Group’s current matrix pricing for young stand management in phases nationwide in 2026. The application removes the need for forestry contractors to measure exact drain data on the work site, saving time on-site, while improving the occupational safety of young stand management work. The application also brings greater accuracy and transparency to the pricing of young stand management, as it takes the internal variability of the site into account in more detail than the measurements from sample plots traditionally used as the basis for pricing.