N.H. firm launches online lumber purchasing platform

Woodbrowser aims to offer ‘more efficient’ buying process

Grantham-based Woodbrowser Inc. has launched what it says is the building industry’s only transparent purchasing platform for lumber and panel products.

Through Woodbrowser.com, the firm provides truckload-quantity purchasers with direct access to lumber at over 145 mills in North America via phone, email and online, as well as products from traditional wholesalers and distribution channels.

“Woodbrowser’s platform and sales process provides buyers and sellers of lumber products with a much more efficient method of price discovery on the open market, really as easy as sending an email,” said Chuck Gaede, president of Woodbrowser. “Our “True Price Finder” platform replicates the current sales cycle that can take hours when conducted traditionally via phone and email. We’ve transferred that process to an easy to use web platform that allows buyers to view bids from multiple mills and sellers simultaneously, negotiate, and then purchase all in the same place, which saves an enormous amount of time.”

He said the “True Price Finder” is Woodbrowser’s proprietary price discovery tool. The newly updated platform went live in June.

Gaede said Woodbrowser allows buyers to simply choose the products they are looking to purchase, and instantly send that quote request to multiple mills and brokers. He explained the user interface allows for both sides of the transaction to offer, receive and negotiate pricing all on one screen, with the buyer seeing the actual cost from the mill or seller plus a flat fee based on the per 1000 board foot cost of the lumber.

The platform also provides such feedback as current market data, the rank of the offer and average offer price, which he said is information that has never been offered to either party in the current marketplace. Purchasers and sellers can also find all of their purchase orders and past quotes all in the same place.