Metalshub wins SHS-Group as a customer

SHS recognized years ago how essential and effective digitization is also in the steel industry. For example, digital purchasing processes are of increasing importance to SHS in order to ensure that rising compliance requirements are met reliably and without additional expense. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic and its massive impact on international supply chains has significantly increased the need for digitalization. To further improve its supply chain flexibility and resilience the SHS-Group has recently decided to enter into a long-term cooperation with Metalshub.

Since January 1st 2021, the SHS Group, consisting of the steel companies Aktien-Gesellschaft der Dillinger Hüttenwerke and Saarstahl Aktiengesellschaft and its subsidiaries, has concluded a large number of contracts for its steel mill raw materials via the digital platform.

"Due to the pandemic, we worked increasingly from home in 2020. We also wanted to push forward our e-procurement strategy. With Metalshub we found the right partner to further digitalise our processes.", explains Manon Schmitt-Clanché, Head of Purchasing and Warehouse at SHS.

Already more than 1,000 companies have registered on Metalshub since the official launch of the platform in 2017. The digital online platform not only supports the negotiation process between raw material suppliers and buyers, but also the qualification, onboarding and management of new suppliers. Suppliers can upload REACH-registration documents, ISO certificates and sustainability reports via the platform.

It is beneficial for us to have an influence on the development process of this highly specialized software tool. We regularly discuss with the Metalshub team which aspects of the platform can be further improved", reports Thorsten Huber, team leader purchasing refractory and steel mill raw material at SHS.

With its digital platform for efficient procurement processes, Metalshub is an important part of the digital transformation in the steel and metals industry. By digitizing supply chains, existing resources are better utilized, processes are accelerated, and CO2 emissions are reduced. In addition, the startup succeeds in developing new offerings that bring further improvements to the metal and steel industry. For example, at the end of last year, the startup published the first fully transaction-based price indices for ferroalloys. These have the potential to change the market for good. Suppliers and buyers are for the first time able to use the transaction-based indices for their annual and quarterly contracts, while spot market participants can have access to reliable price information.

"It is not only since COVID-19 that more digitalisation has been called for in almost all industries and areas of public life. With our platform, we have implemented this general call very specifically for the steel and metal industry and have already been able to win a very large number of companies as customers. The decision of the SHS Group to use our offering on a broad front is a further sign of confidence from an established major company, which encourages us to stick to our course", reports Dr. Sebastian Kreft, co-founder and Managing Director at Metalshub.

"The fact that our platform has grown strongly even in the crisis year of 2020 shows the potential that lies dormant here. With the economy now picking up again, the demands on supply chains are now changing once again. A digital B2B platform like Metalshub offers suppliers and buyers the flexibility they need to adapt to the new situation."

For more information and graphics, please visit: https://www.metals-hub.com/de/press/

About SHS - Stahl-Holding-Saar:

SHS - Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co. KGaA (SHS), which was founded in 2001, is the management holding of the two large Saarland-based steel companies. Dillinger is worldwide leader in the production of heavy plates made of steel for steel construction, mechanical engineering, off-shore, offshore-windpower and the linepipe sector. Saarstahl is a globally leading manufacturer of rod and bar steel for the automotive industry, the construction industry and general machinery. Around 13,500 employees work within SHS and generate a turnover totalling around 4.5 billion euros.

About Metalshub

Metalshub is one of the pioneers of digital transformation in the metals industry. The software start-up was founded in 2016 in Düsseldorf by Dr. Sebastian Kreft and Dr. Frank Jackel with the vision of connecting companies in the industry with a digital platform. Digital supply chains can help reduce costs and CO2 emissions.More than 1,000 companies are already using Metalshub, including more than 200 foundries and steel mills that have digitized their purchasing processes with Metalshub. In 2020, more than $300 million in purchasing volume was concluded through Metalshub.

For more information, visit www.metals-hub.com.