Markets served by Suzano

Suzano holds a prominent position as a global leader in the hardwood pulp market, with a significant presence in all of its operating markets. Recently, our pulp underwent a rebranding initiative and is now known as Suzano Biopulp. This change aims to reinforce its origin as a natural and renewable raw material, produced from eucalyptus. Suzano Biopulp is constantly evolving to meet global challenges sustainably and innovatively.

In 2023, Suzano's pulp sales totaled 10.2 million tons, serving 210 customers around the world. Most of this volume went to producers of sanitary paper (accounting for 64% of sales), followed by producers of printing and writing papers (12%), specialty papers (15%) and packaging (6%). As for the regional distribution of sales, 47% went to Asia, 28% to Europe, 17% to North America and 8% to Latin America.

In the fluff pulp segment, we serve the markets for incontinence products, children's diapers, feminine pads, air laid and pet mats. There are other possible applications, such as construction and the food sector, but our focus is on the disposable sanitary napkin sector. Our customers are mainly located in Brazil, Mexico, China, Japan, Europe and the Middle East. We currently serve both local/regional and global companies, all in the disposable sanitary napkin sector.

In the marketing of our paper products, we have a very diverse customer base: from producers of notebooks and promotional material to producers of high-quality packaging and art books. As such, through these products, we serve markets in Brazil, South, Central and North America and other regions on a smaller scale.

For paperboard, we continue to operate in the main segments of the paper chain (editorial, promotional, distribution, converting) with an emphasis on the packaging market (cartridges, strapping, delivery, envelopes, etc.), and in recent years we have also entered the disposable cups market with the Bluecup family of products. Suzano's sales are made to printers, converters and distributors, but our relationship with brand owners is also strengthened through jointly designed actions and projects.

For the uncoated paper market, the company operates in the main segments of the paper chain, including the publishing market - which includes both the educational sector, in teaching systems and school books, and the non-educational sector, in the sale of books in the main marketplaces (physical and online) - notebooks, promotional material and packaging. Moreover, Suzano acts as a paper distributor for customers with smaller purchase volumes, directly serving the pulverized and micro-pulverized channels.

Uncoated products are also sold to the single-use and packaging segments in specific products for retail bags, straws and cardboard. Another strong market for Suzano is cutsize paper, which makes up the printing and writing paper portfolio. With an extensive portfolio of brands and different formats and weights, we offer a strong and resistant paper that is a leader in performance and contributes to the business of our customers inside and outside Brazil, mainly through the premium Report brand. Our client portfolio includes corporate markets, stationery stores, self-service stores, copy shops, distributors, tenders and the end consumer, who can count on the Report premium paper line as well as the Senninha children's line, ideal for coloring and cutting out.

In the coated paper market, we offer premium paper solutions tailored for various applications, including magazines, catalogs, promotional materials, editorials, inserts, art books and photography. Our papers are meticulously crafted with an optimal blend of fiber and coating to ensure superior printability and body. This meticulous approach allows us to deliver printed materials characterized by enhanced robustness, superior appearance and quality, and vibrant colors. Suzano is the only coated paper manufacturer in the country and operates in key segments of the paper industry, including promotional, distribution, conversion, packaging and pulverization. Our primary focus is to serve the domestic and Latin American markets.

The company operates in the consumer goods market focused on the tissue segment, which consists mainly of products such as paper towels, napkins and sanitary papers, especially toilet paper. The North and Northeast are the most commercially representative regions for this business unit. These regions are home to four industrial units - Belém (PA), Imperatriz (MA), Maracanaú (CE) and Mucuri (BA) - where Suzano has a consolidated market presence. In 2021, the Cachoeiro de Itapemirim (ES) plant was inaugurated, mainly to meet demand from markets in the Southeast - continuing the unit's expansion beyond the North and Northeast regions.

Customer satisfaction

1. Pulp

In 2023, Suzano implemented the Pulp CX Journey (Pulp Customer Experience Journey) program, aimed at strengthening the relationship with the Pulp Business Unit's customers. As part of this program, the customer satisfaction assessment process was revised and a new methodology was applied. In partnership with a specialist consultancy, qualitative interviews were conducted with a broad cross-section of the global customer base, seeking to gain an in-depth understanding of their values and the difficulties they face at each stage of the purchasing journey.

The result was a comprehensive mapping of positive points and areas for improvement in the customer experience and value generation. The average score obtained was 8.3/10, with the company's reputation, reliability and sustainability standing out as the main positive attributes. The points of concern were mainly related to communication, processes and products.  

To address these issues, working groups were set up with the active participation of leaders from the Pulp Business Unit and related areas, focusing on prioritizing action plans and improvement projects over the next few cycles. To monitor the evolution of customer relations, it has been planned to carry out biannual NPS surveys from 2024 onwards. These initiatives demonstrate Suzano's ongoing commitment to improving the customer experience, and constantly strengthening solid and lasting partnerships.

2. Fluff

Eucafluff is increasingly gaining ground in the fluff market worldwide. That's why it's crucial to monitor our customers' level of satisfaction with both the service involved in supplying fluff and the quality of our product. This understanding will be fundamental so that we can identify points for improvement and opportunities in our future operations.

Since 2020, we have carried out an Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey worldwide, measuring the Net Promoter Score (NPS), as well as evaluating Suzano's relationship points with Eucafluff's customers regarding commercial relations, logistics, back-office services, technical assistance and the performance of product features. One of the main indicators to be monitored is general satisfaction with the service/product offered by the company, which gives us a snapshot of how Suzano is doing vis-à-vis its current customers. In 2023, we interviewed 34 customers and obtained an average score of 8.6, keeping the company among the top 3 most highly rated fluff producers out of 11 players. We also saw progress in the percentage of satisfied customers - who gave the company scores of 9 and 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 - gaining 8 percentage points compared to 2022.

3. Paper

The Paper and Packaging Business Unit's (PPBU) satisfaction surveys were carried out in 2023 by a market company, based on contact with customers via e-mail, using internally validated questionnaires.

The questionnaires aim to understand customers' opinions on all areas and the unit's main processes. The results are evaluated using the Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT ) and Customer Effort Score (CES) metrics - with the main result being Suzano's classification to the pre-established NPS scales, a methodology that aims to measure customer recommendation using a scale from -100 to +100, with the final score being classified into one of the following zones: Critical Zone (between -100 and -1), Improvement Zone (between 0 and 49), Quality Zone (between 50 and 74) and Excellence Zone (between 75 and 100).

In 2023, the surveys were carried out monthly with active customers, i.e. those who had made purchases in the month before the survey was sent out. The results reflected increases in the NPS indicators for both the domestic and foreign markets. The detailed results are not disclosed because they are linked to the area's strategic goals.

Based on the analysis of these results, it was possible to develop internal improvement projects to improve the customer experience with PPBU, with these improvements cutting across all stages of the purchasing process: from contact with the sales team and browsing our e-commerce to logistics and order delivery, payment methods, customer support and others.

In this way, we can see that the actions resulting from the year's working groups have been positive, increasing the feedback received and the voice of the customer in the company. Likewise, we will continue to closely monitor the indicators throughout 2024, paying special attention to the projects defined at the end of the year, to improve the level of service and care in our product lines and the most diverse customer segments.

4. Consumer Goods

There are consumer surveys for the development of new brands and products. The results of both surveys are confidential.