Major mistakes in industrial metal procurement

The biggest problems in industrial metal procurement do not come from the product. Many times the problems appear before the goods are ordered from the manufacturer. Problems can also appear before the goods leave for the client.
Mistakes are frequent especially in repetitive work and happen both in large companies and small companies. In general, they happen because of haste or lack of experience, not bad intentions.
We came across some statistics since we started our activity in 2009 and we have around 20,000 deliveries completed. Inevitably, sometimes there are oversights that generate problems.
For example, the low price is not always the best criterion. If a responsible person discusses with a supplier and both have average experience, errors may occur. Then something very important could be missed because of speed or inattention.
When we focus only on price and do not look at the application of the product, problems appear. The requested steel quality or a small detail in the project can turn everything upside down. Re-supplying the correct product can lead to very high costs.
From the experience of the 20,000 deliveries we also had oversights that generated problems. We ordered the wrong product from manufacturers because we did not have the time, patience and skill needed to correctly understand the final client’s requirements.

Why price is not the only important criterion in industrial metal procurement

There were situations in which we paid for and delivered the wrong product. We took responsibility for delivering an unsuitable product, we understood that the product was not usable, we withdrew it and supplied the correct version. These oversights create problems and delay the client’s activity.
We are a small wheel in a system that must turn very well. We must generate the turning of other wheels, not block them.
Most mistakes come from haste, so statistically speaking, in our experience we record about one or two such errors per year.
That is why a low price is not always an important selection criterion in industrial metal procurement. Details might be missed when focusing only on obtaining a good price. I speak from the position of a purchaser in a company. He must also purchase metallurgical products, besides gloves, electrodes, welding gas, protective helmets, glasses or paint.
He tends to request metallurgical products in different places, looks at the total cost and places the order. Hopes that the one to whom he sent the request understood what he needs. But there are also cases in which the order is taken over by a junior. He does not have the necessary experience and cannot professionally go through the request for quotation.
In the desire to get an order, he offers the lowest price, but the rest of the details do not seem important to him. In the field of metallurgical products those details matter, and a steel quality can completely change the dynamics of supply and the value of the project.

How technical details affect the project

If the detail is specified by a structural engineer, it must be used, no one else can decide that “it works like this”.
When we deliver metallurgical products for resistance structures, if they are made improperly they can harm health and integrity, and nobody wants that.
Ideally we should do things properly and as requested in the project. If inconsistencies appear we ask for clarifications, approvals or the use of a similar quality, we do not decide instead of the designer.
We do not decide because we are not authorized to change the steel in a structure. If we miss a digit from the material requirement, problems appear, and that generates chain delays on the construction site.

Risks when we are in a hurry on site

The material must be returned and the project is delayed, people stay on site, if they started working everything must be redone. There are major losses of all kinds that nobody wants.
It is important to treat the delivery of metallurgical products with maximum seriousness. Another common mistake is underestimating the delivery time. In the desire to get an order we start ignoring red flags. You clearly know that the product exists at plant “x”. From experience you know it takes 15 or 20 days to supply. I refer here to products that are not in stock, we are talking about atypical projects.

The importance of a safety margin in delivery

The client on site wants a product that must be ordered or is in stock at the factory. From experience, you know it takes 15 days. At the same time, the person responsible for industrial metal procurement is pressured from the site and may have forgotten to place the order. Decisions can be delayed a lot on site. After decisions are made, the pressure comes on supply. The supplier’s representative ignores red flags. He promises 7 days when he knows he cannot deliver. For the sake of getting the order he accepts terms he cannot support.
On the seventh day the truck is not even loaded, and the product might not even be manufactured. Here is where the problems begin, the people on site depend on this delivery, they are delayed and time is pressing. They wait for the products because they cannot move to the next step.
Taking on unrealistic deadlines creates major problems. We take the order knowing we cannot deliver on time. We accept just for the sake of making sales.
Another mistake would be the lack of a safety margin in supply. We have a project and the material list is clear, the order is placed at the limit. But in real life, just like reality beats the movie, the construction site also does. The products ordered at the limit do not arrive for various reasons. Some had to be made longer on site.

About choosing the supplier and correct offers

On site there are many teams and many heavy machines.
Something got bent, hit or cut wrong, something was welded and then it was discovered it was not correct. Especially in the case of custom-made products. The last problem you want is to be told that you must deliver the project in 5 days. Everything is ok, but one bar is missing.
A collaborator damaged an atypical bar, and it is not found in internal stocks, only external ones. The supply cost is very high. The lack of a safety margin can generate very big problems. You cannot close a project because of one bar, so you cannot move to the next phase.
Others are waiting for you to install the sandwich panels. Things are connected in a logical chain on a construction site. The metal structure is among the first stages, followed by panel closing and installations.
Much more complicated situations appear when building metal frames. They must leave by ship and have deadlines. One piece of steel is missing to close a huge technological container. No safety margin was taken, although it arrived according to the order, the product was later bent.
Now depending on the price of the project everyone must calculate their risks.
Another mistake in industrial metal procurement is choosing the wrong supplier. This is connected to all the situations described so far. A supplier must communicate very well, assuming to say even the things that are not pleasant.
I say: “these are our possibilities, this is what we guarantee we will do”. I cannot assume things I cannot support. Promises just to take the order, only for the sake of taking the order, no.

How to avoid losses and receive what you need in industrial metal procurement

Some people like to live more for entertainment, while others like to sleep peacefully on their pillow. We are talking about structural metallurgical products, where delays or inconsistencies generate considerable losses.
Delivering unsuitable steel qualities can create major damage, because we are not talking about matchsticks. Still, not all suppliers are partners, but we are in the process of educating each other. Many unpleasant situations from the past have disappeared, when people promised everything and then stopped answering. A market maturity can be seen.
We must always think about how we could avoid possible problems. We have encountered many problems in 20,000 deliveries. A pattern is created in which inattention to the request for quotation and the haste of sending the order create problems.
First of all, we must do everything possible to avoid these problems, because nobody wants them.

Information needed to prepare a correct offer

If you need an offer, the simplest way is to write to us at office@h-metal.ro.
You can also send us a quick message anytime on WhatsApp at 0749249007.
For a correct quotation it is necessary to know the type of products, the requested quantities and the exact delivery location.