Abstract. Considering that plywood is a layered cross-ply unidirectional fiber reinforced composite the development of innovative structural solutions require complex experimental and numerical investigation. Currently numerical simulations based on finite element method (FEM) are set as industry standard for composite industry like aerospace. Meanwhile the wood structures traditionally has been analyzed with simple analytical assumptions and approved with extensive experimental testing. Such an assumption restricts the variety of structural applications and imposes restrains on structural weight savings. On contrary comprehensive analysis by FEM can deliver tailored plywood structural solutions non dependant on neither geometrical nor loading configuration. To elaborate reliable FEM analyses, precise determining of mechanical properties of separate veneer ply is required both in longitudinal and circumferential directions. A significant scatter of wood mechanical properties obtained from cross ply specimen tests has been reported in the literature. Evidently for a single layer mechanical properties are more affected by micro cracks appearing after peeling process thus testing assessment is crucial. Roughly three hundred unidirectional specimens have been tested in longitudinal and transverse directions to elaborate the confidence bounds of mechanical properties. These properties served as input variables for simulation of corrugate core sandwich panel by FEM commercial code ANSYS. Bending test configuration according to EN789 has been elaborated for plywood sandwich panel with corrugate core and manufactured by AS “Latvijas Finieris”. Robustness verification of numerical results versus bending tests according to EN789 for plywood panels confirmed numerical sensitivity towards introduced mechanical properties. The conclusion has been drawn to narrow down the confidence bounds for mechanical properties to be used to design plywood sandwich panels.