Ecommerce Awards



TIMBERWeb PLC

(External) www.timberweb.com
Background
TIMBERWeb was created by Ipswich-based timber trading company KDM International PLC. TIMBERWeb enables timber traders to buy and sell timber and forestry products online. In September 2000, TIMBERWeb demerged from KDM and now employs 18 staff.
The Business Opportunity
KDM International invested in IT since its inception and recognised that the Internet could pose a threat to intermediaries in a lot of businesses, including the timber industry. KDM had to make a shift in the way that it worked or risk gradually going out of business. Chairman and CEO Keith Richmond recognised that there was the opportunity to provide an online marketplace where people involved in the industry could advertise their services and trade products.
The Solution
After recruiting web programmers and designers, the company produced the world's first timber and forestry e-market and in 1997 TIMBERWeb was launched. The site offers vital information on timber and forestry, more than 5,500 timber industry web links and free access to a database of over 212,000 timber related businesses - believed to be the largest of its kind in the world.
The e-trading platform allows buyers to put in requests for quotes from sellers and then evaluate the offers and set time frames. All users of the marketplace are verified and established timber companies, and a legally binding e-contract has been developed to enable traders to conclude deals through the site.
The site also offers in-depth news coverage from Reuters and members can advertise job vacancies free of charge.
Success
Since its launch the growth of TIMBERWeb has been impressive. The web site now has over 600 paying members from 65 different countries and regular users from over 100 countries. During November 2000 the site notched up 1.5 million hits - an increase of 25% per cent since June 2000. Following the split from KDM, TIMBERWeb has become a successful company in its own right.
Year Overview
The Future
The aim of TIMBERWeb is to become the preferred global timber e-market. This will mean constantly refining and developing the e-trading software to provide the best possible service to the industry. Keith Richmond's goal is to make TIMBERWeb as synonymous with timber as Amazon is with books.

Fast Facts

Business areas
Business Services
Sector
Agriculture
Technologies
www, e-mail, online trading
Size of firm
18 employees
Location
Ipswich
Geographic impact
National, International
Award benefits
 Keith Richmond, chairman and CEO of TIMBERWeb PLC, said:
"The external recognition from UK online for business has been invaluable to TIMBERWeb. It has given confidence to investors and shareholders and has been key in helping us form strategic alliances with foreign organisations. Since winning the award we have received a great deal of positive media coverage, which has raised our profile enormously."
Advice for Other Companies
Keith Richmond said: "We have learnt the importance of the right choice of software platforms - which aspects of the e-Market should be developed in-house and which should be left to others to develop - thereby embracing the spirit of the virtual organisation. Skill shortages, scaleability and large players in the market are factors that can influence the success of a company when expanding into e-commerce."
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