How Metalshub Helps Companies Find New Suppliers

Supplier discovery plays a crucial role in the metals, mining and recycling industry. Continuously searching for, finding and onboarding new suppliers directly affects a company’s supply chain resilience, operational flexibility, and overall cost base.

For many raw material buyers supplier discovery often relies on offline methods, including conferences and personal networks. While these approaches will continue to have their merit, they are often time consuming and limit the scope of the supplier search.

Therefore, more and more companies are using Metalshub to enhance their supplier discovery efforts and connect with more than 2,000 companies already using Metalshub to buy and sell raw materials.

With Metalshub’s Procurement Solution steel mills, foundries and other raw material buyers have, on average, been able to onboard nine new suppliers and save 2.3% annually on direct raw material costs.

This blog outlines how supplier discovery via Metalshub works.

When publishing an enquiry or request for offers (RfO) on Metalshub, buyers have two options. They may either choose to keep the enquiry private and only invite a few selected suppliers or they may choose to publish the enquiry in public mode and invite all relevant suppliers on Metalshub to quote.

The latter method will enable users of the Procurement Solution to open up their enquiry to up to 2,000 active suppliers for various products on Metalshub – something virtually impossible without a digital software platform.  

Throughout the public enquiry process, Metalshub’s AI based supplier recommendation feature and its Customer Success team further enhances the chances for supplier discovery by consulting on interesting supplier profiles as well as on ideal enquiry specifications, which ensure equivalent production outcome while maximising the applicable supplier base.

“Metalshub offers us the opportunity to expand our supplier base globally with sustainable suppliers, so we get the world vendor base and also better contract options to buy”, Narender Kumar, Senior Manager Procurement Metso India“

Once the public enquiry is live and suppliers start quoting, procurement managers benefit from Metalshub’s rating system and don’t start off at zero when evaluating new suppliers.

After each transaction on Metalshub, both buyer and seller have the option to leave a rating on how the counterparty performed. Ratings are even broken down to better understand if the feedback relates to the counterparty’s product quality, communication, delivery, or payment.

Consequently, a track record of past performance is built up and buyers can better understand the nuances of doing business with new suppliers. Likewise, suppliers have the chance to market themselves better and discover new customers.

“Metalshub has enabled our business to win new customers in both steel and battery raw materials. Its intuitive interface and exceptional support have helped immensely. Highly recommended!” Ziyang Zheng (郑子扬), Business Manager Xiangyu (象屿股份)”

Once a new supplier was selected for the transaction, Metalshub also helps in the onboarding process.

First, Metalshub ensures a robust Know-Your-Customer (KYC) process for companies joining the platform. Every company undergoes a thorough due diligence review, where factors such as business credentials, ownership structure, and more are thoroughly evaluated to ensure that only relevant, legal, and non-sanctioned entities are accepted into the network.

Additionally, Metalshub’s Procurement Solution allows users to conduct supplier questionnaires directly on the platform. This streamlines the onboarding process and ensures all necessary information is documented and incorporated into the transaction audit trail.

Supplier discovery should, ideally, not be a one-off effort. The dynamic nature of the metals, mining and recycling industry requires to always have an eye on the supplier base.

A diverse and dynamic supplier base enables companies to reduce risk and build up redundancies in case of supply chain disruptions. With Metalshub, companies can rapidly source alternative suppliers when faced with price fluctuations, operational difficulties, shortages, or any other disruption.

“In these times of unprecedented disruptions in the raw material industry, it is important to broaden our supplier base apart from having an efficient tool to manage our procurement, we could find new suppliers on Metalshub, which drives our supply chain resilience.” Zoe Williams, Senior Buyer William Cook

Continuous supplier discovery also fosters healthy competition, not just among new suppliers but also among existing ones. When suppliers know that businesses are constantly looking for alternatives, they are incentivised to offer better pricing, improved quality, and more flexible terms to retain their position. This competition is one of the reasons why Metalshub users see an average saving of 2.3% on annual direct raw material costs.

By regularly publishing public enquiries on Metalshub, businesses can attract a larger pool of suppliers and create a competitive process. Suppliers will need to offer their best prices and terms to stay competitive, giving buyers a stronger negotiating position. The knowledge for existing suppliers that new competitors are constantly emerging helps maintain a competitive edge in procurement.

“Along with operational efficiency, we found new suppliers on the network of Metalshub, which contributed to our competitiveness in the global steel market.” Julian Strüve, Strategic Buyer Raw Materials BENTELER Steel/Tube

While discovering new suppliers is crucial, continuous supplier discovery doesn’t mean replacing trusted suppliers. Instead, it enhances long-term relationships by ensuring that existing suppliers remain competitive. Metalshub’s platform allows businesses to monitor market trends and pricing, ensuring that current suppliers are offering fair and competitive terms. This transparency strengthens partnerships by making sure both sides are aligned in terms of pricing, quality, and delivery expectations.

The platform’s review and rating system also helps businesses make data-driven decisions. It ensures that they work with reliable suppliers while maintaining healthy competition. This transparency benefits both sides, as suppliers are motivated to maintain high standards, while buyers have a clear view of supplier performance.

Metalshub simplifies the entire supplier discovery process, eliminating much of the manual effort traditionally involved in finding new suppliers. Consequently, users often find that Metalshub helps them stay ahead of the curve, adjusting to shifts in the market and discovering new opportunities for cost reduction.

In an industry as dynamic as metals and mining, where raw materials form the backbone of operations, continuous supplier discovery is not just a strategic advantage – it’s essential for staying competitive.