Saarstahl has selected Vanilla Steel as the digital steel trading platform on which to sell its excess material, Kallanish learns from the Berlin-based e-commerce company.
According to Vanilla Steel, Saarstahl wants to further digitise its internal processes and gain first-hand experiences with open B2B-marketplace platforms. “In international markets and spot steel trading, a high customer reach across language barriers is critical in order to find the right buyer,” says Saarstahl sales director Jean Paul Timmerman.
In order to minimise time to market and achieve fair market prices in an efficient manner, “neither offline processes nor standalone online shops can compete with open platforms that are able to grow through network effects”, he adds.
With more than 1,300 registered buyers and 160 suppliers, Vanilla Steel claims to be Europe’s largest independent steel marketplace. Each week, it lists more than 10,000 tonnes of material, the majority being prime quality steel.
Christian Koehl Germany
