A model of supplying poplar wood for Iranian paper & wood factories

The objective of this research is to design a method for an appropriate alternative to supply poplar wood as raw material for wood and paper factories in Iran. Due to the destruction of the forests and lack of proper plantation, replacement of the forest wood by the fast growing wood is vital to satisfy all requirements of these factories. A hierarchy was used to prioritize benefits, opportunities, costs and risks (BOCR) using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) ratings approach. To evaluate the "control criteria" of the system, a control hierarchy was also created and prioritized by applying the Analytic Network Process (ANP). A total of four major control criteria in the system are prioritized where each one controls a network structure evaluated by using ANP. The final synthesis results of the system showed that internal poplar tree farming supplied by the forest product factories was the best choice among three potential alternatives (factory procurement, external procurement and mix procurement). © 2008 Northeast Forestry University and Springer-Verlag GmbH.