Mickey Debuts Automated Lumber Marketplace

Mickey, a broker of logs, lumber, and plywood, announced its new online direct purchase hardwood lumber marketplace that is open to new buyers. “The Mickey Marketplace offers a variety of hardwood lumber sourced directly from NHLA-certified producers harvesting logs from, sustainable and renewable forest resources around the United States – giving more small and medium sized suppliers, as well as large forest product firms, access to sell their inventory directly online to purchasers,” the announcement said.

“Mickey’s core product, ‘Mickey OS,’ is [a platform] operating system that quickly automates and streamlines the most cumbersome elements of the business such as logistics, payment processing and real-time fulfillment. The new marketplace offering represents the first time that lumber buyers can partake in the platform and current Mickey suppliers can access new buyers along with their core customers.”

Producers can upload real-time inventories to the marketplace so that potential customers can see what is available. “So, a construction company could order truckloads of the lumber they need—and have it delivered directly to their site,” a company spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com. “Or a furniture or cabinet manufacturer looking to purchase lumber supplies can order the specific products they’re looking for. 

Mickey has partnered with several trucking/logistics companies—including Uber Freight, J.B. Hunt, and Coyote Logistics—to provide shipping services for our buyers.” Orders can be placed for delivery within 30 days, depending on buyer needs and availability. Expected delivery times are one to five days. Currently, the company arranges for shipments only within the continental US. 

According to the company, buyers can purchase full truckloads of product. That includes “kiln-dried hardwood, rough or S2S in Western Red Alder, White or Black Ash, Basswood, Beech, Yellow or White Birch, Cherry, Hard or Soft or Pacific Coast Maple, Red or White Oak, Walnut, Hickory, Sap Gum, Tupelo, Sycamore, Cottonwood. Inventory will include a variety of thicknesses from 3/4 to 16/4 and random widths and lengths.”

Buying online does have its limitations. A developer, contractor, or other user of wood can’t easily inspect the goods for moisture content, bends or warping, knots and imperfections, or color.

According to Mickey, there are no sales commissions, and the platform is free for suppliers and buyers to use. Because the company is venture-based, for now it’s focusing on building use of the platform and then, as happens with many primarily tech companies, it expects to find ways to monetize later on.

Mickey already has an energy trading group and expects to enter metals, agriculture, and chemicals at some point in 2022.