Finnish technology company Tieto (formerly Tietoevry) has announced the results of its Global Tissue Market Study 2025, revealing a fundamental shift in how tissue producers are redefining their strategic priorities.
The study – Where is the tissue industry heading? – interviewed 82 tissue-producing companies across 24 countries on five continents between June and October 2025, and the results involved insights from how over 100 global producer executives are preparing to meet the challenges of the years ahead.
It was structured around four key themes – market trends, digitalisation and AI, efficiency, and sustainability, and also included a comparative analysis against 2022’s study.
Jarmo Ropponen, Head of APAC and Head of Tissue, Pulp, Paper & Fibre, Tieto, said: “The results highlight an industry navigating inflationary cost pressures, tightening sustainability requirements, growing operational complexity, and accelerating digital demands.
“One of the most significant findings is a realignment of strategic priorities. Customer satisfaction now shows the strongest consensus as a strategic focus, surpassing both sustainability and profitability.
“While profitability remains essential, it is increasingly pursued through customer-centricity and operational efficiency rather than as a stand-alone objective.”
Key findings include:
- The study revealed a fundamental realignment of strategic priorities.
- Customer satisfaction has now surpassed sustainability and profitability as the leading business focus.
- While profitability remains vital, it is increasingly viewed because of customer-centricity and operational efficiency, rather than an isolated objective.
- In Asia, the dominant focus is on growth and market expansion, with digitalisation and automation viewed as critical enablers.
- Europe emphasises strategic planning, company agility, and process optimisation, driven by mature regulatory expectations and energy market changes.
- North American companies are prioritising profitability, customer experience and company agility, resulting in targeted investments in operational efficiency and energy use.
- In South America, the spotlight is on sustainability and organisational agility to address environmental and market volatility.
- The most alarming observation was the poor performance and urgency scoring on AI strategy.
- In artificial intelligence adoption, daily use is most common in production-related decision-making, particularly among operations teams. Chief Executives, on the other hand, report more frequent use in sales and marketing functions.
- Compared to the 2022 study, the shift in priorities is striking. Customer satisfaction has surged to become the top strategic focus, rising by 40%.
- The industry is embracing digital-first operations, using automation, advanced analytics, and real-time process visibility as levers for performance and agility.
- Customer-centricity has become the new competitive baseline, with B2B expectations pushing producers to improve competitiveness, efficiency, speed, service consistency and value‑added offerings as well as ensuring high‑quality product deliveries.
- Artificial intelligence is accelerating. While machine learning remains foundational, the emergence of generative AI, co-pilots and intelligent agents are starting to expand the digital footprint.
- People and skills remain the critical enabler. Technology will only take companies so far without the right talent. Leading players are investing in upskilling across digital, operational and industry-specific domains to build resilient, future-ready teams.
To read the full report go to: www.tietoevry.com/tissuestudy
