"Who is managing the last mile?"

In production, you frequently find yourself thinking in terms of tonnage, capacity utilization and quality – and you optimize the plant. In trading, you put yourself all the more in the customers' shoes. And you quickly realize that most purchasing companies do not think in terms of individual products at all. A medium-sized metalworking company, for example, needs beams, sheet metal, pipes and steel bars - all from a single source, in the right quantity and at the right time. No single plant can achieve this. But steel trading can.

First of all, the bandwidth. We are able to offer a range from within the Group that most independent retailers cannot assemble: Flat products, profiles, tubes, heavy plate. And we know the products down to the last detail because we are so close to production. In the stockholding business, there is also the processing. In international business, it is our processing expertise from logistics all the way through to risk hedging. If you are moving steel from Asia to South America, you need someone who is able to master the entire chain – and we can do just that.

Because in a contracting market, it is crucial who handles the last mile to the customer. As long as the market is growing, each plant can sell its own steel - that's where the product view works. But when the economic situation shifts, it is customer proximity that counts. Our plants have a handful of employees in sales. Here in trading, we have hundreds of staff and support thousands of companies that a single plant would never be able to reach directly. In a phase of declining demand, this is a genuine asset.

Our goals were to achieve faster decisions, fewer interfaces and greater transparency. Among other things, we have separated sales from processing and reduced management levels. Where many decisions used to be based on gut instinct, we now work in a data-driven way - for example, in customer care or pricing.  As a result, we are more effective today, have shorter channels and are able to act faster.

More than you might think. While green steel is the future, that much is certain the framework conditions are complex. Many companies are currently asking themselves very specific questions in this environment. For example: What does the carbon footprint of my material look like? What does the CO₂ border adjustment mechanism CBAM mean for my supply chain? How can I use green steel cost efficiently and meaningfully? Thanks to our Public and Regulatory Affairs department and our close links with the plants, we have built up a major knowledge advantage. A group-owned trading organization can answer these questions first-hand with maximum authenticity – and this is an added value for customers that an independent retailer cannot provide in this depth.

We need to see the entire chain even more as a unit - from the blast furnace and electric arc furnace all the way through to the purchasing company. In a contracting market, we have to constantly analyze how we can best serve market demands and requirements: Where do we use our material most profitably? Which channel is best for reaching customers? Which business models, processes and structures do we need to adapt for this? We have the cards in our hands: a strong production network, our efficient trading unit and proximity to our customers. Now we just have to play out our hand of cards. 

Thank you for speaking to us.