Inventory system improves NLMK La Louvière stock turnover

NLMK La Louvière has introduced a digital inventory management solution enabling it to minimise warehouse stock levels and ensure uninterrupted order fulfilment, Russian parent NLMK tells Kallanish. Since the start of system testing in April, stock turnover for the most in-demand feedstock product, slab, improved by 30%.

“As production becomes increasingly local, smart stock planning emerges as a key success factor,” says NLMK vice president for sales Ilya Guschin. “Our new digital solution enables us to ensure timely delivery to our customers while minimising our stock levels.”

Belgium-based La Louvière produces coil from slab supplied by NLMK’s principal Russian Lipetsk site. The supply volume is approximately 1.6 million tonnes/year.

NLMK’s consolidated steel output and sales were impacted in the second quarter by declining demand in its traditional sales markets due to the Covid-19 pandemic (see Kallanish passim). It expects lower on-year steel output at Lipetsk in Q3 because of major overhauls.

Consolidated output of crude steel decreased to 3.9mt in Q2, down by -8% on-quarter and -3% on-year due to lower capacity utilisation rates at NLMK Russia Long Products and NLMK USA.