In the modern market place everything starts with the customer. Tata Steel’s Scunthorpe Rod Mill (SRM)has adopted this philosophy. Listening to feedback from its customer base it is making a step change in the service offered to the German market with the opening of a new warehouse facility.
Tata Steel supplies products into many leading wire drawers and converters in mainland Europe and in recent years, Germany has become an increasingly important European market for sales of wire rod – especially cold heading quality wire rod. For Tata Steel, in today’s demanding market place, differentiation from its competitors through service excellence is the key to success. The new German warehouse facility will provide a step change in the way that Tata Steel will be able to provide flexible supply to its customers. “We listened to feedback from our German customer base,” explains Clare Hanna, business development manager – wire rod. “Whilst they were happy with the level of service provided by Scunthorpe Rod Mill, they felt that improvements could be made to enable them to better serve their increasingly demanding supply chains.”
The German warehouse facility will help address two issues that Tata Steel’s customers in Germany face – the first being lack of storage space at their own factories and the second, the responsive lead times they require to be able to supply into service critical sectors such as the automotive sector.
The Altena region of Germany, approximately 100km east of Duisburg, is at the heart of the country’s wire drawing industry and home to many of Tata Steel’s German customers. The terrain of the region is made up of steep-sided valleys with very little flat open space meaning many of the wire drawers and converters in the region have limited stocking space. The new warehouse facility is located in Duisburg, close to customers’ factories, to allow them to have stock close by that they can call off at their convenience.
In the wire rod supply chain, there are no independent stockholders to buffer service critical supply chains such as the automotive supply chain, hence Tata Steel’s decision to provide a warehousing solution in the German market. Historically, Tata Steel has built up successes in Germany through its flexible rolling programme, which allowed it to respond quickly to its customer’s demand fluctuations. This, in turn, supported it in securing business with its customers through its ability to offer shorter lead times.
The Rod Mill in Scunthorpe rolls most common rod sizes every two weeks and a couple of sizes every week. However, the demands on suppliers in the higher value added sectors are becoming ever greater and Tata Steel is committed to ensuring the supply chain is strong and sustainable. By giving its customers not only a flexible rolling programme but also the opportunity to call off material from the warehouse facility in Germany, Tata Steel can now offer customers even greater responsiveness than before, through a next day delivery service rather than the three days it takes material to reach Germany from the UK. “The new warehouse facility will enable us to offer greater service flexibility and delivery continuity to our customers. This development has been well received in the market place and our customer base are eager for the facility to be up and running,” say Christoph Bross, sales manager – Germany.
The warehousing and distribution service will be provided by a third party experienced in handling wire rod. The order dispatch flow is currently in the testing phase to ensure that once the warehouse is fully operational, Tata Steel’s customers will receive the same high standards of service they have come to expect from the team at Scunthorpe Rod Mill. From a customer point of view, the only difference they will see in the service they receive will be the speed at which their material arrives.
In the run up to wire® 2016, teams from the Scunthorpe Rod Mill will visit the warehouse to train warehouse operatives – covering a range of topics from safety awareness to coil handling standards and expectations, through to the detailed service requirements of individual customers. Working safely is the first priority at Tata Steel and it is vitally important for the SRM team to extend that principle to the warehouse. Training for the operatives will include a detailed course covering load safe principles to ensure the safe loading, storage, transport and unloading of material.
“The SRM team has many years of experience in handling and storing wire rod,” explains Alan Pashley, operations manager, SRM. “During our visits to the warehouse we will help to put in place processes and practices to ensure that not only is the storage of coils carried out in accordance with the relevant safety standards, but that the coil stocks are configured correctly to minimise the risk of any damage occurring whilst in the warehouse.” The use of appropriate handling equipment for unloading and loading will also ensure the coil is protected from damage.
The Scunthorpe Rod Mill team pays very close attention to the specific requirements of individual customers and every effort is made to make sure that these requirements are met. In order to help the warehouse team to understand these requirements and apply them to the relevant customers, the account teams and their colleagues based in Germany have produced individual customer requirement handbooks. The team believe that having information on specific customer needs at the fingertips of the operatives will help to ensure that the customer receives the same level of service as they would were the material to come directly from the UK.
The opening of the warehouse is an exciting development for the team at SRM, standing alongside some of the product and process improvements that have been delivered in recent years. The Rod Mill’s business is committed to working in partnership with both new and long-standing customers to implement service solutions that allow customers to combat some of the pressures they face in the more demanding, value-added supply chains.
The opening of the new warehouse facility in the German market is just one example of the emphasis Tata Steel puts on working collectively with customers; listening to their needs and responding by taking appropriate actions. “Our customers play a vital role in our business and we will continue to listen to their requirements and strive to continuously improve,” explains Campbell McGibbon, sales director wire rod and semi finished products.
The Scunthorpe Rod Mill team will be attending wire 2016 and look forward to meeting visitors and answering any questions they may have on the roll out of the German warehouse facility.
Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007 and over the last 15 years has experienced every facet of the fastener sector - interviewing key figures within the industry and visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the globe.
Will manages the content strategy across all platforms and is the guardian for the high editorial standards that the Magazine is renowned.
Don't have an account? Sign Up
Signing up to Fastener + Fixing Magazine enables you to manage your account details.
