Timbeter as a company started off in 2013 because simply there was no tool available that could be used for objective, transparent, quick and accurate measurement. Today we have particular measurement regimes for pulp-and fuelwood and sawlogs. There’s also a separate solution (Timbeter Container) available for marshalling and stevedore companies that are dealing with timber export in containers. Our goal from the beginning was to create something that would be easy to use and affordable for everyone – from the forest owner to the manufacturing company.
Still, we face many doubts just for the reason that we are the new technology on the market. In the software industry, there used to be a saying that nobody ever got fired for buying IBM. It feels that saying still applies in the timber industry.
It is understandable that nobody wants to risk his or her daily activities and processes by implementing new technology and sometimes it feels so much safer to stick to old processes and habits even-though these are time-consuming and ineffective. Our clients around the world have proven that implementing an innovative tool like Timbeter speeds up the processes and enables much better control.
Companies spend less manpower to get accurate measurements, less time on solving disagreements and less time on paperwork. Also, companies have a clear overview of the timber in the forest, managers have needed information for logistics planning, and each log ends up in a production facility that maximizes the value of it.
Below I have listed ten most common reasons why companies are afraid of using Timbeter and the answers to these fears.
1. The technology is not stable
Our users make more than 1000 measurements each day, and the service runs 24/7. Whenever we release new versions of Timbeter, we always guarantee that everything is up and running without interruptions. Our clients are active worldwide and different time-zones so we make sure that they can run their daily processes smoothly.
2. The technology has not been on the market long enough.
Timbeter got the first concurrent users on-board in 2014, and they have been with us until now. We are continually enhancing our state of the art algorithm to minimize any editing for the measurement. Also, we use all the measured data for detecting more logs in the most extreme cases. We add new features and functionalities so our clients could use our solution more widely. The technology is currently being used on a daily basis in more than 20 countries.
3. Still risky. What if I get wrong results with Timbeter
Every time we start cooperation with a new client, we go through the free trial period. During this time, a company can test the accuracy and compare Timbeter measurements to manual ones or the measurement-line results. All measurements done with Timbeter are always easy to control and re-measured if needed. Manually done measurements do not have any proof – there’s only figures on paper. With Timbeter you always have clear digital proof. In fact, you will decrease the risk of possible measurement or data entry error with Timbeter.
4. It is impossible to start using Timbeter as then I would need to stop my operations
No worries. Our storage module allows you enter already the data regarding the manually done measurements and start adding new measurements done with Timbeter. That way you will always have a clear overview of the timber in stock and don’t need to do everything from scratch.
5. I might lose the data, and it is safer to have everything on paper.
Even if something happens to your device (gets broken or lost) we always have the measurements stored in the cloud. Therefore it is much safer to use Timbeter as all needed information is always stored instead of writing data to the paper.
6. Our employees in the field are not capable of using new technology
We have proven that even the most skeptical people can use Timbeter. In our development we have addressed the usability issue with the individual care, so Timbeter is easy to use. Besides, we have the step-by-step tutorials and Youtube videos demonstrating the different measurement regimes. Also, our team is ready to provide training whenever or wherever needed. Moreover, our customer support team is closely following users during the trials and is always notified when something is done incorrectly.
7. What if other parties do not accept the Timbeter’s results and they do not want to cooperate anymore
There’s always a possibility to compare during the trial the results with the receiving party. In our experience, the counterparts of our customers are much happier with Timbeter as they can see measurement results with each picture. This eliminates the possibility that an error has occurred during the measurement or the data entry process. Timbeter enables sharing the measurement results via link instantly. Companies using Timbeter Container have reported a significantly decreased number of disagreements with buyers.
8. The company is not big enough
We are a team of 10 in total, having five different nationalities. We are serving our customers in 7 different languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Russian, Polish and Estonian. Our small size enables us to be flexible and quick, so all decisions and answers are made quickly.
9. Still don’t understand, how it is possible that technology does the job better compared to a human.
Timbeter’s log detection algorithm has been trained on more than 250,000 pictures – logs from real-life situations. Timbeter’s results are objective (you cannot bribe the computer, correct) repeatable and transparent.
10. I do not even know where Timbeter is from.
Timbeter is from Estonia. A small country in the northern part of Europe. Estonia is well known for its e-governmental solutions and is rich in forests. Timbeter is a combination of these two.
