OCTOBER 2020 STEEL
Steel Scout
benefi ts
the steel
procurement
industry, says
MD, Matt Yeates
riachsion / stock.adobe.com
less reliant on technology. “You
could draw a comparison with
Autotrader, which brought a
digital approach to the secondhand
car market – instead of
looking for a second-hand car
in the classifi ed ads in a local
newspaper, you can search online
across the whole of the UK. If
people say, ‘I’m not sure we need
this in the steel industry’, we
point to the fact that they’ll go
home and shop online, or use
Amazon, because it’s convenient
and reliable.”
Industry appreciation
Another positive to emerge from
the otherwise bleak times of the
pandemic has been a new-found
respect for manufacturing.
The role the sector has played
in producing vital PPE and
medical equipment has seen
a resurgence in the profi le of
the industry. As a core part of
the sector, steel should be in
a position to ride this wave of
positivity and begin to grow in
the UK again, says Yeates.
“For the past decade, steel has
struggled to fi nd a sustainable
way of doing business – you hear
a lot about unlevel playing fi elds
and unfair energy markets,”
he says. “It requires a major
re-think to make it work for
steel producers in the UK.
Manufacturing over the past
few months has become
more visible in people’s
everyday lives. There’s a level of respect that the
industry has earned and should capitalise on. Steel,
as part of that, is a vital part of our lives. Fixing
that into people’s minds is vital. While there are
undoubtedly challenges ahead, manufacturing –
and a strong steel sector – have an important role
in the future of the UK economy and must be seen
as a positive thing to have in the UK.”
There has been a lot of talk about using this
goodwill, and the looming spectre of Brexit, to
‘reshore’ manufacturing supply chains to the UK
(see last month’s cover story for a prime example
of a manufacturer doing just that – https://bit.
ly/32OteJU). The UK's steel industry, logically,
would benefi t from this. Currently, China produces
around half of the steel made globally, which, in
Yeates’ words, has created “some really challenging
conditions for European players.”
However, the success of any reshoring
incentives must be looked at with a clear head, he
warns. ““There are Government infrastructure
projects in play to try and create local demand
to steer national economies on the road to
recovery. This will fl ow through to steel making
in the UK, but product technical requirements
will mean some materials will need to be sourced
internationally. If I’m buying from a stockholder in
a town ten miles away, it feels local to me, but that
steel may have come from a UK mill, or a German
one or a Chinese one. Companies will look at the
risk they have in their supply chains post-COVID
and calculate the risks and rewards. Reshoring isn’t
some silver bullet that will save the steel industry
and allow us to be self-suffi cient.”
don’t see the point – they’ve
built personal relationships
with customers and it all runs
perfectly. Once people use the
system, though, they begin to
understand the benefi ts.”
A focus on technology
The events of the past few
months have caused many
companies to re-think the role
technology can play in their dayto
day operations, with remote
working now the norm for many.
Indeed, Steel Scout has come
into its own during lockdown,
with companies able to remotely
source the best deals on steel
at the click of a button. The
challenge, says Yeates, is making
this stick in what is often seen as
a tech-averse sector.
“If you walk into a steel plant
it’s a very high-tech process, with
a lot of automation. It’s moved
with the times and in many cases
is as advanced as you’d see in any
automotive plant. That’s only at
the top end, though, and as you
move down the chain things get
less and less sophisticated.”
He compares it to the stateof
the-art world of automotive
factories, with high-end cars
rolling off the production line
and into dealerships, which
are equally equipped with
technology to enhance the
buying experience. However,
as you move into the world of
second-hand cars, it becomes
Steel Scout report highlights industry resilience
During lockdown, Steel Scout researched the market to discover
manufacturing’s attitudes to new ways of working. It discovered an
industry that is fl exible and adaptable to change, with 79% having adjusted
their working practices in response to the pandemic, with remote working
options leading the way and being used by 49% of respondents.
More than 33% added that they have been using video conferencing,
and around the same number (34%) have embraced fl exible hours.
Almost two-thirds (62%) see a return to ‘business-as-usual’ by
July of next year, with about half this number (35%) predicted a return
to normality by the end of this year.
“We’re really pleased to see the resilience expressed by the
respondents,” says Yeates. “It’s a challenging time for many sectors,
but this survey is about confi dence – confi dence in manufacturing will
knock on to other sectors as well.”
However, the survey also found that a signifi cant majority (65%) of
respondents have found it harder to secure the materials they need
during lockdown, while close
to 40% said it is taking them longer just to obtain a ‘winning
quote’ from suppliers. This is where a service like Steel Scout comes
into its own, making the procurement process simpler and more
robust. Yeates is adamant that services like Steel Scout should be
front and centre of manufacturers’ rebuilding plans: “There’s no doubt
that digital services helped manufacturers during lockdown, but the
future is still uncertain. In the event of a second lockdown, our services
can help keep manufacturers connected, productive and e cient.”
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