AI with purpose and precision: how UPM Pulp puts it into practice

Artificial intelligence is already part of how UPM Pulp works, from forest and mill operations to customer service. We use it to make better decisions, improve safety, and deliver more value to our customers. Here is a look at what we are doing today and where we are headed.

AI-based tools are enabling better customer experiences and smarter workflows, and this is only the beginning. "Beyond increasing efficiency and safety, AI can be a game-changer for the entire pulp industry," says Anssi Käki, Director of Digital Platforms, Data and AI at UPM Fibres.

"After running multiple early pilots across our operations, we have already seen AI deliver clear value, from streamlining processes to elevating the customer experience. These results give us the confidence to move into the next phase, where we are expanding our use of AI to drive smarter production and bring breakthrough innovations to our customers."

AI enhancing operational efficiency and safety

Several AI-driven machine vision systems offer practical support in pulp operations by evaluating pulp chip flows and bale quality, overseeing batch printing and wrapping, and monitoring unit dimensions.

AI can also guide in sustainability. As an example, Käki mentions Aarnibot, a generative AI companion developed by UPM.

“Aarnibot provides easy access to a wide body of relevant information based on regulations and FSC™ certification needed in discussions with stakeholders and to support active, sustainable forest management.”

AI enhances safety across operations. Machine vision assists in accurately positioning lifting wires and identifying potential issues in knots, improving the secure handling of heavy pulp units. AI-powered video monitoring is being piloted for wood truck drivers to help prevent mishaps caused by fatigue and distractions, reducing potential safety risks in log transportation.

These safe and efficient measures help us to deliver high-quality pulp for optimized fibre furnish on time. Secure supply enables our customers to run competitive and seamless operations.

AI handles the routine, so people can focus on the relationship

AI is also changing how we build customer relationships day to day, and our recent work points to a significant shift in what is possible.

In tests now underway, we are building customer-specific AI models that consolidate all transactional data into a single, governed interface. We will soon be able to provide customers with instant, round-the-clock answers to questions including orders, deliveries, invoicing and sustainability.

This strengthens service in two directions. For our internal teams, AI retrieves information from backend systems instantly and helps resolve cases faster, giving people more room to improve underlying processes and deepen customer relationships. For our customers, it opens new ways to work with their own data, making it easy to analyze past, current, and expected trends and metrics.

"Our people hold deep knowledge of our customers and their business. The most important change is not that answers come faster. It is that this expertise is no longer spent gathering information from different systems and teams. Instead, it goes where it creates real value: building deeper, more meaningful customer relationships. That shift is already underway," says Veikko Paloheimo, Digital Customer Experience Manager at UPM Fibres.

And the potential goes further. The next generation of AI assistants will not just find information; they will act on it, resolving invoicing issues, rescheduling deliveries, and preparing compliance reports automatically. As routine tasks become effortless, our teams can focus on what matters most. AI handles the routine, so people can focus on the relationship.

In addition to improved customer service, Anssi Käki sees that AI has the potential to more than double the speed of innovation in the pulp industry.

”The potential of AI is transformative, and possibilities are endless: from forest science to analyzing fibre performance and running advanced simulations to exploring new product innovations. By working together with our customers and AI, we’ll unlock smarter, more sustainable solutions that we haven’t even yet imagined. We look forward to turning these possibilities into reality,” says Käki.

UPM’s AI Program

UPM has a company-wide AI Program, sponsored by CEO Massimo Reynaudo, which brings together a portfolio of transformative projects driving growth, experience, data quality and efficiency.

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AI with purpose and precision: how UPM Pulp puts it into practice

AI enhancing operational efficiency and safety

AI handles the routine, so people can focus on the relationship

UPM’s AI Program

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