Reliance Forest Fibre (RFF), a key forestry operator in Tasmania, manages more than 65,000 hectares of plantation and natural forest across the state. With its vertically integrated operations, including ownership of the Bell Bay Chip Terminal, RFF handles everything from long-term harvest planning to export logistics. In such a complex landscape, operational efficiency and foresight are critical.
For years, scheduling was managed through spreadsheets – one for each region, each planner, and often with multiple versions. While it worked, it demanded significant time, manual effort, and workaround coordination between teams.
In 2025, with Technical Manager Darryn Crook leading the integration as project lead, RFF completed the implementation of Remsoft Operations to bring all its operational planning into one centralized system. As the custodian of RFF’s inventory, GIS, and modeling systems, Darryn recognized the need for a platform that could seamlessly interface with data from Trimble LRM and Remsoft Woodstock. The result is a unified approach to scheduling, enhanced planner engagement, improved alignment between teams, and new capabilities for forecasting, cost tracking, and stakeholder transparency.
From Siloed Spreadsheets to One Source of Truth
Before Remsoft Operations, RFF’s north and south planners each maintained their own Excel-based planning systems, working with different formats and methodologies.
“From the planners’ side, life was simpler because they worked independently,” says Crook, “but that simplicity made life extremely complex for everyone downstream.”
The fragmented approach made it difficult to trace forecasts to inventory data, and it posed challenges for downstream reporting, coordinating site preparation, mill supply, and customer communication.
To address these issues and unify planning efforts, RFF adopted Remsoft Operations as a centralized system that could connect inventory, GIS, and scheduling data in one place. The goal was to reduce manual effort and increase visibility – but the benefits went even further.
An unexpected return was the efficiency with which the team was able to produce Tasmania’s legally required Three-Year Wood Production Plan, which details the coupes to be harvested over the next three years.
It used to take us five to six days to manually pull the plan together,” says Crook. “I’d consolidate both planners’ spreadsheets, sort through naming inconsistencies, and then GIS would still come back with questions like ‘Which unit is this?’ or ‘Why don’t the volumes match?’”
With Remsoft Operations, those days are over. The planning team now generates the required report directly from the Remsoft platform, selecting harvest windows and producing an export that links seamlessly with GIS. “This year it took me 10 minutes to produce the report, and maybe two hours to complete it in GIS,” Crook notes. “That’s a dramatic improvement.”
Laying a Foundation for Forecasting and Efficiency
Implementing Remsoft Operations wasn’t just about compliance. It was a strategic step toward smarter decision-making and improving operational visibility.
“Planners now understand the downstream impact of their decisions. It’s no longer just ‘where do I send a crew,’ it’s ‘what does that mean for customers and operations weeks down the line,’” says Crook. “That visibility just wasn’t there before.”
The new system also supports more strategic planning around environmental restrictions. Approximately one-third of RFF’s harvest areas are affected by wedge-tailed eagle nesting periods, which limit access during key months. “Now the system flags those windows for us. Planners can adapt well in advance.”
Coordinating Across Teams and the Supply Chain
RFF’s scheduling data doesn’t stop at the planning team. The same Remsoft reports used for harvest planning are also shared with the silviculture team to support site preparation and planting forecasts. “We just adjust the timeframe and hand it over,” explains Crook. “Because it all matches back to the inventory and GIS, it saves everyone time.”
Downstream, RFF is working to fully integrate its production and export operations with the platform. While stockpile tracking is still being refined, the ability to trace where volume is coming from and how it aligns with customer needs is already delivering benefits.
The company’s current focus is on strengthening the implementation, improving cost visibility, and unlocking insights that support end-to-end alignment across planning and performance tracking. Plans are also underway to integrate cost data and embed Power BI dashboards that will deliver actionable insights to foresters and contractors in the field.
A Platform for the Long Run
Today, Remsoft Operations is a core part of how RFF plans and coordinates activity across its forestry supply chain. From compliance planning to customer communication and internal coordination, the platform has become a trusted tool across the business.
Planners are more engaged. Foresters have greater visibility into performance. And operational teams, from GIS to silviculture, are aligned through shared, up-to-date data.
“It’s definitely had a positive impact,” says Crook. “Remsoft Operations has changed how we understand and schedule coupes, and more importantly, what those decisions mean for our customers, our planners, and our foresters.”
