Metal Distribution Case Studies Examples

Metal Distribution The use of information technology has increased tremendously over the years. Today, we use technology in all areas of our lives both personal and business wise. In the distribution of metal, the use of service metal centers has become the norm in the industry. Manufacturers of metal together with the end users have chosen to focus on specific areas (Forging, n.d). The manufacturers specialize in producing metal and steel while the end users focus on designing their products leaving the rest of the work to be done at the call centers. The work done at the service center entails stamping and change metal coils and other non-finished products into shapes requested by companies that use metals. All these processes done at the service centers required specialized technology (Forging, n.d).
Therefore, the metal service centers are the key avenues for technological advancement in the metal industry for the future. Metal manufacturers have to make the latest designs and quality metals, which are cost effective if they want to remain relevant to the global stage (International Council on mining and metals, 2012). There is a need for an electronic communication system that will link the manufacturers, distributors and the customers which is more like a virtue enterprise. This will help those working in the call centers to know what their customers’ preferences are because it keeps evolving. Metal distributors will need to use advanced technology to produce lighter, stronger and durable metal that meets the specification of the future global trends. Additionally, the metal industry is shifting towards the use of die material interface hence the need to develop software that will be used to design the die materials (Forging, n.d). Similarly, for the metal to get to the customer in a short time there is need to have an advanced rapid prototyping that will transform a sample to the finished product quickly. Advanced computer systems should be developed to reduce the time it takes for the metal to reach the customer also to improve the quality that matches with the changing global trend. Computer codes should be made to be more powerful so that they can monitor the distribution of metal, this will help to know where sales are low and what needs to be done to increase the sales (Forging, n.d). Today, many countries are going through different degrees of recession. The developed countries are experiencing a decline in their growth rate, and this forces them to make economic policies that will favor their economic situation. Therefore, there will be cases where one country has high tax rates while another has lower tax rates and tariffs (Forging, n.d). This then means that metal distributors will have to relocate their call centers to those countries so as to reduce the cost. When the cost of operation is low, then the cost of the metal will be low as well, meaning that the metal distributor will be able to have a competitive edge (International Council on mining and metals, 2012). Even though the economic growth is weak in many countries, metal distributors must encourage and motivate their employees to work hard. They should adapt to the latest technology trends that will lower their costs even as the economic growth is weak. The population of the world is on an upward scale, and this means that the demand for the metal will also go up. Although many people are recycling, there is also a high demand for new metal (International Council on mining and metals, 2012). Metal distributors should take up measures that will help them cater for the high demand. They should ensure they have enough human resource that is well conversant with the latest technology. Another way would be to familiarize themselves with the changing needs of the market and make sure they supply as per the customers’ preference (Forging, n.d). A change in the market of metal from a local market to global means that competition will increase which will then reduce business opportunities. Therefore, metal distributors must try to remain relevant by meeting the different needs of both its local and international customers. They must continually innovate ways to satisfy and add value to their customers (Forging, n.d).

References

Forging, (n.d). Vision of the future. Retrieved 2 April 2015, from https://www.forging.org/vision-future
International Council on mining and metals, (2012). Trends in the mining and metal industry. Retrieved 2 April 2015, from https://www.icmm.com/document/4441