Many forest owners are already members of cooperative organizations that provide services (forest management, harvesting and logistics) and access to market chan­nels. Also, some bioenergy conversion plants create specialized cooperative units which manage the longer term procurement of biomass on their behalf (or a group of forest owners invest in a bioenergy plant). Irrespective of the structure or origin, this business process model is characterized by the undertaking to maximize the interests of their members.

In this case, the forest owner can either supply directly (as in case above) or can choose to leave the procurement process to the cooperative. In the latter case, the cooperative carries the costs to the contractors in the supply chain. Advantages of cooperative supply are: (1) that the interests of the forest owner are seen to; (2) that the cooperative can incubate good contractors and streamline business processes; (3) economies of scale and benefits (e. g., speed of payment) of being a large and consistent supplier to an energy plant; and (4) that dividends, bonuses, or revenue adjustments can be made retrospectively.