Due to the constant growth of demand in the European market, two large suppliers of steel products to Europe are relying on online shopping to attract new customers.
This may not be the most innovative plan - anything from a prefab house to a human skull can be ordered online today anywhere in the world - but European shoppers continue to shop most of their purchases in the traditional way, like decades ago. This is in stark contrast to the steel industry in Russia and China, where e-commerce is growing rapidly.
However, now Russian manufacturers Severstal and Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant (NMK) are going to change the current order of things and, starting next year, will begin to offer online sales of products and services to customers from the European Union, representatives of both companies said.
“Europe is conservative and has lagged far behind in the development of the e-commerce market between enterprises,” said Victor Romanovsky, head of e-commerce at Severstal, in a Moscow interview. Online shopping offers more opportunities to attract new customers and improve sales efficiency for small and medium-sized customers, he said.
German company Kloeckner & Co. has already launched the XOM Materials online platform for the sale of steel and related products. According to Romanovsky, Severstal has connected to XOM to test the market, but next year it will open its own online store for European customers.
Both Russian companies already have online stores in Russia. NMC plans to open the platform for European and American clients in 2020, according to its spokesman.
Severstal launched its online store in 2017 and plans to sell 3 million tonnes this year, or about a third of total production, via e-commerce, Romanovsky said. According to him, buyers can buy steel from warehouses with delivery within two to three days, order products directly from the factory, or buy material from online auctions.
