Steel Sales and Order Management Software: Manage Quotations, Customer Orders, Pricing, Stock Availability and Dispatch

Steel Sales Is More Than Creating a Sales Order

Selling steel looks straightforward from the outside.

A customer sends an enquiry.

Sales prepares a quotation.

The customer confirms the order.

Material is dispatched.

An invoice is raised.

But anyone working in a steel company knows that the actual process has many more checks in between.

Does the required grade exist in stock?

Is the required size available?

Does the customer need a particular heat?

Is the available material already reserved against another order?

Will the material be sold as it is, or does it require cutting, slitting, grinding or another process?

Is the quoted price still valid?

Does the order meet the required margin?

Can production complete the material before the customer's delivery date?

Has the customer's credit limit been exceeded?

Can the warehouse dispatch the required weight?

These questions make steel sales different from a simple trading transaction.

Steel Sales and Order Management Software connects customer enquiries and sales orders with pricing, inventory, production, processing, quality, dispatch and finance.

The objective is to give the sales team reliable information before making a commitment to the customer.

Why Steel Order Management Becomes Difficult as the Business Grows

Many steel companies initially manage sales using Excel, email, phone calls and ERP invoices.

Salespeople may maintain their own quotation sheets.

Inventory availability may come from a daily stock report.

Production status may be checked over a phone call.

Dispatch may maintain another Excel file.

Finance may separately track customer credit and outstanding payments.

This can work when transaction volumes are low.

As the business grows, the gaps become more visible.

A salesperson may quote material that is no longer available.

Two salespeople may commit the same stock to different customers.

A customer may receive an old price.

An urgent order may not reach production on time.

Dispatch may receive incomplete information.

Management may know total sales but not the actual margin of each order.

A connected steel sales management system reduces these gaps by keeping the commercial and operational process together.

Customer Enquiry Should Be the Starting Point

Steel sales often begin with a detailed customer enquiry.

The customer may specify:

The enquiry should be recorded properly so that the same information can continue through quotation, order, production and dispatch.

Repeatedly entering the same specifications increases the chance of mistakes.

• Product
• Grade
• Size
• Thickness
• Width
• Length
• Diameter
• Quantity
• Weight
• Required delivery date
• Delivery location
• Quality requirement
• Testing requirement
• Certificate requirement
• Processing requirement
• Packaging requirement
• Commercial terms

Enquiry Management Helps Sales Teams Track Opportunities

Not every enquiry becomes an order.

The business should still know what is happening with its sales pipeline.

Management may want to see:

This helps management understand future business opportunities instead of looking only at confirmed sales.

• Open enquiries
• Customer
• Product
• Expected quantity
• Expected value
• Quotation status
• Expected closing date
• Salesperson
• Lost enquiry
• Reason for loss

Steel Quotations Need More Detail Than Price and Quantity

A steel quotation may include much more than an item and a price.

Depending on the business, the quotation can include:

A Steel Quotation Management Software should maintain these details in a structured way.

• Customer
• Product
• Grade
• Size
• Quantity
• Unit of measure
• Price per MT
• Price per KG
• Processing charge
• Alloy surcharge
• Freight
• Discount
• Taxes
• Payment terms
• Delivery terms
• Quotation validity
• Expected delivery date
• Quality requirement
• Certificate requirement

Quotation Pricing Should Use Approved Commercial Rules

Pricing should not be recalculated manually every time a salesperson receives an enquiry.

The quotation process can use approved pricing information based on:

The salesperson can then review the proposed price and make authorised adjustments where required.

This creates a much more controlled process than copying a previous quotation and changing a few values.

• Customer
• Product
• Grade
• Size
• Quantity
• Contract
• Effective date
• Processing requirement
• Freight
• Applicable surcharge

Customer Specific Pricing Should Flow into the Quotation

Steel companies often have negotiated prices for important customers.

A customer may have:

When a quotation is prepared, the relevant customer conditions should become available automatically.

The salesperson should not have to search old emails to confirm what was agreed.

• Contract price
• Product specific price
• Volume based price
• Special discount
• Agreed freight terms
• Defined payment terms

Price Validity Is Important

Steel prices can move quickly.

A quotation prepared two weeks ago may no longer be commercially suitable.

The quotation should therefore maintain a validity period.

When a customer accepts an expired quotation, the sales team can review the commercial conditions before converting it into an order.

This protects the company from accepting an outdated price without review.

Quotation Revision Should Be Traceable

Steel negotiations often go through several rounds.

The customer may ask for:

Instead of overwriting the original quotation, the system should maintain the relevant revision history.

Management can then see how the final commercial offer developed.

• Lower price
• Different quantity
• Different grade
• Different dimensions
• Additional processing
• Different delivery schedule
• Freight inclusion
• Longer payment terms

Stock Availability Should Be Checked Before Confirming an Order

One of the most important parts of steel order management is inventory availability.

A salesperson should not have to depend on yesterday's stock report.

The system should provide relevant stock information such as:

The sales team can then understand whether the required material is available.

• Product
• Grade
• Size
• Heat
• Location
• Actual weight
• Theoretical weight
• Number of pieces
• Available quantity
• Reserved quantity
• Quality status

Physical Stock and Available Stock Are Not the Same

Suppose the warehouse physically has 100 MT of a particular grade.

That does not necessarily mean the sales team can sell all 100 MT.

Part of the material may already be reserved for another customer.

Some may be under quality inspection.

Some may be blocked.

Some may be allocated to production.

Some may be committed for job work.

The sales team therefore needs to see available stock rather than only physical stock.

Stock Reservation Can Prevent Double Commitment

Once an important customer order is confirmed, the required material may need to be reserved.

This prevents the same stock from being committed to another customer.

Reservation becomes particularly important when the order requires a specific:

The system should maintain a clear link between reserved inventory and the customer order.

• Heat
• Grade
• Size
• Coil
• Plate
• Bar
• Batch
• Location

Heat Wise Stock Availability

For many steel businesses, heat information is important during sales.

A customer may require material from a specific heat or may require traceability through the heat number.

Sales should therefore be able to review relevant inventory by heat.

This can include:

Heat No.

Grade

Product

Available weight

Location

Quality status

Certificate status

This helps the salesperson identify material that meets the customer's requirement before confirming the order.

Grade and Size Availability

A customer does not simply ask for steel.

The customer normally asks for a particular specification.

Availability should therefore be searchable by the product characteristics relevant to the business.

For example:

This makes it easier to identify whether exact material is available or whether production or processing is required.

• Grade
• Thickness
• Width
• Length
• Diameter
• Section
• Finish

Multiple Units of Measure Need to Work Through the Sales Process

Steel businesses commonly work with:

A customer may place an order in pieces while pricing is maintained per MT.

Another customer may order by length while inventory is controlled by weight.

The sales system should support the required conversion rules without forcing users to perform repeated manual calculations.

• MT
• KG
• NOS
• MTR

Theoretical Weight and Actual Weight Can Affect the Order

Theoretical and actual weight are both important in steel transactions.

An order may be placed using theoretical weight, while the final dispatch and invoice may use actual weight.

The exact commercial process depends on the product and customer agreement.

The system should therefore support the required basis and maintain a clear record of the final dispatched quantity.

Parent Coil and Child Coil Availability

Coil processors have an additional challenge.

A customer may request a width that is not available as a finished coil.

However, a suitable parent coil may be available and can be slit into the required child coils.

The sales team should be able to understand whether the requirement can be fulfilled through processing rather than simply treating it as unavailable stock.

Sales Orders Can Create Processing Requirements

A customer order may require:

The sales order should clearly capture these requirements.

Operations can then understand what needs to happen before the material is ready for dispatch.

• Slitting
• Cut to length
• Grinding
• Polishing
• Drawing
• Straightening
• Heat treatment
• Fabrication
• Other processing

Cut to Length Orders Need Proper Planning

Suppose a customer requires plates or bars at specific lengths.

The business may have suitable parent material but not the exact finished dimensions.

The order can create a cut to length requirement.

The process should consider:

This helps connect the customer's requirement with actual material processing.

• Parent material
• Required length
• Required quantity
• Expected yield
• Cutting loss
• Scrap
• Processing time
• Final output

Coil Slitting Orders Need Width Planning

A customer may order several coil widths from a larger parent coil.

The sales and processing teams need to understand:

The sales order can become the source of the slitting requirement rather than relying on separate instructions outside the ERP.

• Parent coil width
• Required child widths
• Required quantity
• Expected output
• Edge scrap
• Available parent coil
• Processing schedule

Material Not Available Should Create a Clear Requirement

If suitable material is not available, the sales team needs to know what happens next.

The requirement may need:

The order management system should make the shortage visible to the relevant team.

This is better than confirming the order and discovering the shortage only when dispatch is due.

• New production
• Purchase
• Stock transfer
• Job work
• Conversion of existing material

Sales Orders Should Connect with Production Planning

For a steel manufacturer, confirmed sales demand can become an input for production planning.

Production can review:

This helps production plan around actual customer demand.

• Customer
• Product
• Grade
• Size
• Quantity
• Required delivery date
• Priority
• Available stock
• Remaining production requirement

Delivery Date Should Be Based on Realistic Availability

A salesperson may want to promise the earliest possible delivery date.

But the commitment should consider:

The sales team needs realistic availability information before confirming the date to the customer.

• Current inventory
• Production lead time
• Processing time
• Quality inspection
• Job work
• Packaging
• Transport

Customer Priority Can Be Used During Production Planning

Some orders may have greater priority because of:

The sales order can carry the required priority so that production and dispatch teams understand which commitments need attention.

• Contract commitments
• Delivery deadlines
• Strategic customers
• Export schedules
• Project requirements
• Management decisions

Sales Order Changes Need Control

Customers sometimes change an order after confirmation.

They may change:

A change may affect inventory reservation, production planning, purchasing or pricing.

The system should therefore maintain control over significant order changes rather than allowing important information to be modified without visibility.

• Quantity
• Size
• Grade
• Delivery date
• Processing requirement
• Delivery location
• Commercial terms

Sales Pricing Should Remain Connected with the Order

The approved quotation price should normally flow into the sales order.

This may include:

The sales team should not have to rebuild the pricing calculation after the customer confirms the quotation.

• Base price
• Customer price
• Alloy surcharge
• Processing charge
• Freight
• Discount
• Other commercial conditions

Margin Should Be Checked Before Final Order Approval

Sales value alone does not tell management whether an order is attractive.

A large order can still have a weak margin.

Before final approval, management may want visibility into:

This is particularly useful when the salesperson requests a special price.

• Selling price
• Expected material cost
• Processing cost
• Job work cost
• Freight
• Expected margin
• Margin percentage

Low Margin Orders Can Follow an Approval Process

Not every sales order need management approval.

The company can define commercial thresholds.

For example, an order within the normal margin can proceed.

A lower margin may require sales manager approval.

A further reduction may require senior management approval.

This keeps normal sales activity moving while giving management control over exceptions.

Customer Credit Should Be Checked Before Confirming More Sales

A customer may place a commercially attractive order but already have a large overdue balance.

The order process should therefore consider financial information.

Sales may need visibility into:

The company can define whether the system should warn, block or route the order for approval.

• Credit limit
• Outstanding amount
• Overdue invoices
• Payment terms
• Available credit

Payment Terms Should Be Part of the Sales Order

Commercial value is affected by payment terms.

The system should maintain the agreed terms for the customer and order.

This helps ensure that the invoice uses the correct payment conditions and gives finance better visibility into expected receivables.

Quality Requirements Should Be Captured at Order Stage

Quality requirements should not be discovered when material reaches dispatch.

The sales order should capture customer requirements such as:

This information can then become visible to production and quality teams.

• Chemical specification
• Mechanical properties
• Testing
• Surface requirement
• Dimension tolerance
• Inspection requirement
• Certification
• Special customer standards

Material Test Certificate Requirements

Many steel customers require a Material Test Certificate.

The order should identify when an MTC is required.

The certificate can then remain linked with the relevant:

This improves traceability and reduces the chance of dispatching material without the required documentation.

• Heat
• Product
• Batch
• Dispatch
• Customer order

Sales Order and Heat Traceability

Heat traceability should continue through the commercial process.

The business should be able to identify:

This becomes particularly important when a customer raises a quality query later.

• Which heat was supplied
• Which customer received it
• When it was dispatched
• What quantity was supplied
• Which certificate was issued

Dispatch Planning Should Start from Confirmed Orders

Dispatch should not be managed only from calls or handwritten instructions.

The dispatch team needs a clear list of confirmed orders due for delivery.

A dispatch plan can include:

This gives warehouse and logistics teams a structured workload.

• Customer
• Sales order
• Product
• Grade
• Size
• Heat
• Required quantity
• Source location
• Delivery date
• Vehicle
• Destination
• Special instructions

Picking the Correct Steel Material

Picking errors can be expensive in steel.

The warehouse needs to select material matching the customer requirement.

Depending on the product, this may require matching:

The dispatch process should maintain a link between the material selected and the customer order.

• Product
• Grade
• Size
• Heat
• Coil
• Plate
• Bar
• Length
• Weight
• Quality status

Actual Dispatch Weight Should Be Captured

The quantity originally ordered may not exactly match the final dispatch weight.

For weight-based steel transactions, the business should capture the actual quantity dispatched.

This can then be used according to the company's commercial process for:

This avoids differences between warehouse and sales records.

• Inventory reduction
• Delivery documentation
• Customer invoicing
• Order balance

Partial Dispatch Should Be Properly Managed

A customer may order 100 MT but only 60 MT may be ready for immediate dispatch.

The system should support partial fulfilment.

Management should be able to see:

This prevents the remaining requirement from being forgotten.

• Ordered quantity
• Dispatched quantity
• Remaining quantity
• Next expected dispatch

Multiple Dispatches Against One Order

Large steel orders are often delivered in several shipments.

Each dispatch should remain connected with the same customer order.

The business can then see:

This provides a clear view of order fulfilment.

• Total order quantity
• Shipment history
• Quantity delivered
• Quantity pending
• Invoice status

Weighbridge Can Be Connected with Sales Dispatch

For businesses using a weighbridge, the dispatch process can use actual vehicle weights.

The process may capture:

This reduces manual re-entry of weight information and improves reconciliation between dispatch and inventory.

• Vehicle
• Gross weight
• Tare weight
• Net weight
• Material weight
• Sales order
• Dispatch

Gate Outward Should Be Connected with the Dispatch

The security or gate team should know which vehicle and material have been authorised to leave the plant.

Gate outward information may include:

This creates a stronger control over material movement.

• Vehicle number
• Customer
• Dispatch document
• Material
• Quantity
• Weight
• Exit time

Vehicle and Transporter Information

The dispatch process can also maintain:

This provides a better record of the movement from plant or warehouse to customer.

• Vehicle number
• Driver
• Transporter
• Destination
• Freight terms
• Dispatch date
• Expected delivery

Freight Should Match the Commercial Agreement

If freight is included in the customer price, the business needs visibility into the transport cost.

If freight is payable separately by the customer, that should also be clear.

Connecting freight conditions from quotation through dispatch helps avoid commercial disputes.

Delivery Documentation Should Be Generated from the Transaction

The system can prepare the relevant documents based on the sales and dispatch transaction.

Depending on the country and company process, these may include:

This reduces repeated data entry.

• Delivery note
• Packing list
• Invoice
• Transport document
• Material certificate reference
• Tax documentation

Customer Delivery Status Should Be Visible to Sales

Once the material leaves the plant, the salesperson should be able to check the order status without calling the warehouse every time.

Relevant statuses can include:

This improves customer communication.

• Order confirmed
• Material reserved
• Under production
• Under processing
• Ready for dispatch
• Partially dispatched
• Dispatched
• Delivered
• Invoiced

Order Fulfilment Should Be Measured

Receiving an order is not enough.

Management should know how effectively the business fulfils customer commitments.

Useful measures include:

This helps management identify recurring fulfilment problems.

• Ordered quantity
• Delivered quantity
• Pending quantity
• Required delivery date
• Actual dispatch date
• On time dispatch
• Partial deliveries
• Order cancellations

Sales Returns Need Proper Control

Customers may return material because of:

The return should remain linked with the original sales transaction.

This gives inventory, quality, sales and finance a common reference.

• Wrong grade
• Wrong size
• Quality issue
• Quantity difference
• Damage
• Commercial dispute
• Other reasons

Returned Material Needs Quality Review

Returned steel should not automatically become available inventory.

Depending on the reason for return, the material may need inspection.

The system can identify whether the returned material is:

This prevents questionable material from being sold again without review.

• Accepted
• Blocked
• Under inspection
• Suitable for resale
• Suitable for rework
• Rejected

Customer Complaints Should Be Linked with Order History

When a customer reports a quality problem, the business should be able to retrieve the original transaction quickly.

The team may need to identify:

This creates a direct link between sales and quality investigation.

• Customer
• Sales order
• Invoice
• Dispatch
• Heat
• Product
• Quantity
• MTC
• Production history

Sales and Inventory Need the Same Information

One of the biggest problems in steel businesses is the difference between what sales thinks is available and what the warehouse actually has.

A connected ERP provides both teams with the same inventory information.

This reduces manual reconciliation and makes customer commitments more reliable.

Sales and Production Need the Same Demand Information

Production should not depend on separate Excel files received from sales.

Confirmed customer requirements should be visible directly to production planning.

This helps the plant understand:

This creates a clearer link between market demand and production.

• What needs to be produced
• How much is required
• Which grade is required
• Which size is required
• When it is needed
• Which customer it supports

Sales and Procurement Can Work Together

Some customer requirements may need material to be purchased rather than manufactured.

If stock is unavailable, the requirement can become visible to procurement.

Procurement can then consider:

This reduces last minute purchasing.

• Required material
• Quantity
• Grade
• Size
• Required date
• Current stock
• Open purchase orders
• Supplier lead time

Sales and Job Work Need Coordination

If customer material requires external processing, the sales commitment depends on the job work schedule.

The order management process should therefore consider:

This helps sales provide a more realistic delivery date.

• Material availability
• Job work vendor
• Processing requirement
• Expected turnaround
• Material outward
• Material return
• Quality inspection
• Final dispatch

Sales and Finance Should Use the Same Customer Record

Sales and finance often look at the same customer differently.

Sales focuses on orders and revenue.

Finance focuses on outstanding payments, credit and profitability.

Both should work from the same customer information.

This reduces differences in:

• Payment terms
• Credit limit
• Outstanding balance
• Pricing
• Tax information
• Customer details

Sales Order to Invoice Should Be Connected

Once the material is dispatched, invoicing should use the same transaction information.

The process can connect:

This reduces manual invoice preparation and improves consistency.

• Customer
• Sales order
• Dispatch
• Actual quantity
• Actual weight
• Selling price
• Freight
• Discount
• Tax
• Invoice

Actual Weight Based Invoicing

Some steel orders are initially estimated using theoretical weight or planned quantity.

The final invoice may be based on actual dispatch weight.

The system should support the commercial process followed by the company so that the invoice reflects the correct final quantity.

Customer Outstanding Should Be Visible During Sales

A salesperson preparing a new order may need to know whether the customer has overdue invoices.

The system can provide authorised users with relevant credit information.

This helps sales and finance coordinate before additional exposure is created.

Sales Performance Should Be More Than Revenue

Revenue is important, but it is not the only measure of sales performance.

Management can also review:

This provides a better view of commercial performance.

• Sales quantity
• Sales value
• Average selling price
• Margin
• Margin percentage
• Customer growth
• Order fulfilment
• Returns
• Overdue customers
• Product mix

Customer Wise Sales Analysis

Management can review sales by customer to understand:

This helps identify important customers and changes in buying behaviour.

• Quantity purchased
• Sales value
• Average selling price
• Products purchased
• Margin
• Order frequency
• Outstanding amount

Product Wise Sales Analysis

Product wise reporting can show:

This helps management understand which products are driving the business.

• Quantity sold
• Revenue
• Average selling price
• Margin
• Customer demand
• Order trend

Grade Wise Sales Analysis

Steel companies dealing with many grades may also need grade wise reporting.

Management can compare:

This can support production and purchasing decisions.

• Sales quantity
• Sales value
• Average selling price
• Margin
• Demand trend

Sales by Size and Dimension

Demand can also be analysed by size.

This can be useful for planning:

If certain sizes sell regularly, the business can use this information during inventory and production planning.

• Production
• Stock
• Purchasing
• Parent material
• Processing

Salesperson Performance

Management may review salesperson performance using:

This provides a more balanced view than measuring only sales value.

• Sales value
• Quantity
• New customers
• Orders
• Average selling price
• Discount
• Gross margin
• Collection performance

Order Pipeline Gives Management a Forward View

Confirmed sales tell management what has already happened.

The quotation and order pipeline gives a view of what may happen next.

A management dashboard can show:

This helps management plan ahead.

• Open enquiries
• Open quotations
• Quotation value
• Expected orders
• Confirmed orders
• Orders pending production
• Orders ready for dispatch
• Pending deliveries

Open Order Report

An open order report is particularly important in steel businesses.

Management should be able to review:

This helps identify orders that need attention.

• Customer
• Order date
• Product
• Grade
• Size
• Ordered quantity
• Dispatched quantity
• Pending quantity
• Required delivery date
• Current status

Delayed Order Report

Orders that have passed their expected delivery date should be clearly visible.

The business can then investigate whether the delay is caused by:

This allows teams to act instead of discovering the delay when the customer follows up.

• Material shortage
• Production delay
• Quality issue
• Job work
• Customer hold
• Transport
• Commercial issue

Sales Forecast Can Support Production Planning

Historical sales, open quotations and customer discussions can provide input for future demand planning.

Production can use this information along with confirmed orders when preparing future manufacturing plans.

This is particularly useful for products with longer production lead times.

Multi Location Steel Sales

A steel company may operate multiple plants and warehouses.

An order may be fulfilled from more than one location.

Sales should have visibility into relevant stock across locations.

This allows the team to decide whether to:

The decision can consider availability, processing and delivery requirements.

• Supply from the nearest warehouse
• Transfer material
• Produce at another plant
• Split the order

Inter Location Stock Transfer

If one location has the required material and another location needs it for a customer order, a stock transfer may be required.

The transfer should remain connected with inventory planning so that both locations see the movement correctly.

Export Sales Need Additional Information

Export orders may require additional commercial and documentation details.

Depending on the transaction, the business may need to maintain:

The order management system should support the company's actual export process and local regulatory requirements.

• Currency
• Incoterms
• Port
• Shipping information
• Export documentation
• Packing requirements
• Customer specifications

Country Specific Taxation

Steel businesses operating in different countries need to apply the relevant local tax requirements.

Tax should be determined according to the legal entity, customer, product and transaction.

Keeping taxation within the ERP reduces the need to calculate it separately during invoicing.

Mobile Access for Sales Teams

Salespeople often work outside the office.

Mobile access can allow authorised users to review:

This can improve response time when dealing with customers.

• Customer
• Stock availability
• Price
• Quotation
• Order
• Approval
• Dispatch status
• Outstanding balance

Mobile Order Entry

Where required, salespeople can also capture customer requirements while visiting the customer.

The order or enquiry can then become available to the office team without waiting for the salesperson to return.

This reduces delays in quotation and order processing.

CRM and Steel Sales Management

Sales order management can also work with CRM activities.

The business may want to track:

This provides visibility from the first commercial discussion through the confirmed order.

• Lead
• Opportunity
• Customer enquiry
• Follow up
• Quotation
• Order
• Customer visit
• Sales pipeline

Why Separate CRM, Excel and ERP Records Create Gaps

If CRM contains the opportunity, Excel contains the quotation and ERP contains only the final sales order, management does not have one complete commercial view.

Information is repeatedly entered.

Quotation details may not match the order.

Sales pipeline and actual sales become difficult to compare.

Connecting these activities reduces duplication.

Management Dashboard for Steel Sales

A useful steel sales dashboard can show:

The dashboard should help management identify exceptions rather than simply display totals.

• Sales today
• Sales this month
• Open quotations
• Confirmed orders
• Open order value
• Pending quantity
• Orders due for dispatch
• Delayed orders
• Average selling price
• Gross margin
• Customer sales
• Product sales
• Salesperson performance
• Customer outstanding

Margin Dashboard

Management may also want to review:

This connects sales volume with profitability.

• Margin by customer
• Margin by product
• Margin by grade
• Margin by salesperson
• Low margin orders
• Discount trends
• Quoted margin versus actual margin

Inventory Availability Dashboard for Sales

Sales teams can benefit from a focused inventory view showing:

This helps them respond to customer enquiries without waiting for a separate stock report.

• Product
• Grade
• Size
• Heat
• Location
• Available weight
• Reserved weight
• Quality status
• Expected production

Order to Dispatch Traceability

A connected sales process creates a clear transaction chain.

Customer enquiry

Quotation

Sales order

Stock reservation

Production or processing if required

Quality approval

Dispatch

Invoice

Customer payment

If a problem occurs, the business can follow the transaction rather than searching across multiple files.

Heat to Customer Traceability

Steel traceability should also work in the opposite direction.

Starting from a heat number, the business should be able to identify where the material went.

This may include:

This is important for quality investigations and customer compliance.

• Finished product
• Stock location
• Customer order
• Dispatch
• Customer
• Invoice

How NAVSteel Supports Steel Sales and Order Management

NAVSteel is designed for steel manufacturers, processors and distributors and works with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

The sales process can be connected with steel specific operational information.

Depending on the business model, NAVSteel can support:

This allows sales, inventory, production, quality, dispatch and finance teams to work with connected information.

• Customer enquiries
• CRM
• Quotations
• Quotation revisions
• Customer specific pricing
• Price per MT
• Price per KG
• Multiple units of measure
• Grade and size information
• Heat wise inventory
• Actual and theoretical weight
• Stock availability
• Stock reservation
• Customer orders
• Production requirements
• Cut to length
• Coil slitting
• Job work
• Quality requirements
• MTC
• Customer credit
• Dispatch planning
• Weighbridge
• Gate outward
• Freight
• Sales invoicing
• Returns
• Customer outstanding
• Sales profitability
• Management reporting

A Practical Stock Sales Example

A customer requests 50 MT of a specific grade and size.

The salesperson records the enquiry.

The system shows that 70 MT is physically available.

However, 30 MT is already reserved for another customer.

Only 40 MT is currently available.

The salesperson now knows that the complete order cannot be fulfilled immediately from existing stock.

The remaining 10 MT can be reviewed for production, purchase or another source.

The customer receives a delivery commitment based on actual availability rather than an outdated stock report.

A Practical Manufacturing Order Example

A customer places an order for 300 MT of a particular grade and size.

Finished stock is not available.

The order creates a production requirement.

Production planning reviews raw material and machine capacity.

The material is scheduled.

A heat is produced.

Production continues through the required manufacturing stages.

Quality testing is completed.

The material becomes available for dispatch.

The sales team can follow the order status without maintaining a separate production follow up sheet.

Once dispatched, the actual quantity flows into invoicing.

A Practical Coil Processing Example

A customer requires several slit coil sizes.

The exact child coils are not available in inventory.

A suitable parent coil is available.

The order identifies the required widths and quantities.

The parent coil is allocated for processing.

Slitting is planned.

Child coils are created with their relevant weight and traceability.

The required coils are allocated to the customer.

Remaining child coils and scrap are recorded.

The customer material is then dispatched.

The sales requirement remains connected with inventory and processing throughout the transaction.

A Practical Heat Specific Customer Order

A customer requires material with full heat traceability and an MTC.

Sales identifies stock matching the required grade and size.

The appropriate heat is reserved.

Quality confirms the required test information.

The MTC remains associated with the material.

At dispatch, the selected heat is recorded against the customer delivery.

If the customer raises a question later, the business can trace the supplied material back to its heat and quality information.

A Practical Partial Dispatch Example

A customer orders 200 MT.

Only 120 MT is ready for dispatch.

The first shipment is created for 120 MT.

The order remains open for the remaining 80 MT.

Sales can see the outstanding quantity.

Production can see what still needs to be completed.

The second shipment is created when the remaining material is ready.

Management can review the complete fulfilment history against one customer order.

What to Look for in Steel Sales and Order Management Software

Before selecting Steel Sales and Order Management Software, a steel company should check whether the system can support the way it actually sells and fulfils material.

Important capabilities may include:

The right system should connect the commercial promise made to the customer with the operational work required to fulfil that promise.

• Customer enquiry management
• CRM
• Quotation management
• Quotation revision
• Customer specific pricing
• Price validity
• Price per MT and KG
• Multiple units of measure
• Grade and size management
• Heat wise inventory
• Actual and theoretical weight
• Available stock
• Stock reservation
• Sales orders
• Customer credit control
• Margin approval
• Production integration
• Processing requirements
• Job work integration
• Quality requirements
• MTC
• Dispatch planning
• Partial dispatch
• Multiple shipments
• Weighbridge integration
• Gate outward
• Freight
• Sales invoicing
• Returns
• Heat traceability
• Customer profitability
• Sales dashboards
• Mobile access
• Finance integration

From Customer Enquiry to Final Dispatch

A steel company does not lose control of an order because it cannot create a sales invoice.

The problems usually happen much earlier.

A quotation is prepared using an old price.

Material shown in the stock report has already been committed.

The required grade is available, but not in the correct size.

A customer needs processing, but production receives the information late.

The order requires an MTC, but quality finds out only at dispatch.

The customer has overdue invoices, but another order has already been accepted.

The warehouse dispatches a different weight from the quantity expected by sales.

These are not isolated sales problems.

They happen because sales, inventory, production, quality, dispatch and finance are working with separate information.

A connected Steel Sales and Order Management Software gives the business one commercial process from customer enquiry through quotation, order, material allocation, production or processing, quality, dispatch and invoicing.

NAVSteel connects steel specific sales requirements with inventory, heat and weight tracking, pricing, production, job work, quality, dispatch and finance through Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

For steel manufacturers, processors and distributors still managing quotations, stock confirmations, order follow ups and dispatch planning through separate Excel sheets, emails and calls, NAVSteel can provide a more controlled way to manage the complete customer order cycle.

To understand how NAVSteel can support your sales process, request a NAVSteel demonstration using your actual products, grades, customer pricing rules, stock structure, production process and dispatch requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

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