The application enables users to provide the forest owner with a fixed price for early cleaning and pre-commercial thinning already 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. It also takes the varying difficulty level of the work on the site into account. The modelling uses location-precise working time data, satellite images, and extensive and versatile spatial datasets measured in connection with previously completed sites.
Metsä Group has developed and tested the AI application in cooperation with forestry contractors. Thanks to the application, forestry contractors no longer need to measure the removed logs, which saves time on the site and improves the occupational safety of young stand management. 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.
The new solution will replace Metsä Group’s current matrix pricing for young stand management in phases nationwide in 2026. Thanks to the new pricing model, we can approach our owner-members more precisely with offers related to their forests. Metsä Group’s goal is to combine new technology and young stand management practices to facilitate forest owners’ decision-making and the everyday lives of forestry contractors.