Steel Procurement in the 21st Century: Current Best Practices and Future Possibilities [T8]

In the past 30 years, the design and detailing of steel structures has moved from pencil and paper to highly sophisticated BIM models. Fabricators have invested in advanced CNC and even robotic machinery to improve fabrication efficiency. The internet and email have been introduced and evolved to levels we could have only imagined and the idea of a cloud has taken on a whole new meaning. And yet, within this brave new technological world paper, faxes and basic spreadsheets still dominate the world of steel procurement. / This session will discuss the most common ways that steel is procured by steel fabricators while offering practical ways to take advantage of technology you likely already own to improve those processes. The procurement process will be broken down and investigated in four primary areas: Inventory availability, RFQs, order placement, and order status/delivery. For each, the current best practices will be offered. / The final part of the session will take a look at promising initiatives and opportunities that are coming and will finally bring this process into the 21st century.

View content