Genesis of a Wood Harvesting B2B Software Platform

Digital platform research has focused mostly on global platforms, where the users of the platform are consumers. Business-to-business (B2B) digital platforms have received less attention. This study observes and provides an early report on a digital platform for forestry, bringing together forest companies, contractors, and forest machine manufacturers. The platform started in Finland, but it has begun to extent its scope to international markets as well. We present some early insights about the birth of the platform and the factors that have contributed to its success in the beginning. We also describe some aspects present in B2B platform governance and related forces. Finally, we provide a preliminary outlook of possible future directions of the platform and its ecosystem.