As in many industries today, metal fabricators and steel service centers are facing disruption and marketplace pressures. In response, savvy businesses are taking a hard look at business management systems and software and making changes. But, before making any major changes, it’s best for steel service centers and metal fabricators to ask the major questions.

First, Why it is Important to Ask the Major Questions

Replacing outdated, legacy software is a significant decision, yet necessary for optimizing business operations in order to remain competitive and profitable in today’s marketplace. However, you don’t want to jump from one inefficient solution into another. It’s best to ask the tough questions and get definitive answers from an experienced software provider to find the business solution for your unique operational needs.

Download this eBook, “Top 12 Questions Steel Service Centers and Metal Fabricators Must Ask Before Buying Business Software,” for guidance when creating a list of questions to narrow down your search, a few of which are highlighted below.

Be Sure to Always Ask These Three Major Questions:

1. Inventory management: Can inventory be managed using a variety of material attributes, such as grade,width and length, and other variables?

Customers have unique specifications, timing and price expectations, and often need quick quotes and speedy delivery. Reliable inventory data is necessary for procurement to make strategic purchasing decisions, accurate quotes, scheduling production, and satisfying customer demands.

2. Seamless quote to order process: Can we expedite the quote to order process?

The faster you can turn a quote into an order, the faster you can respond to customer needs. Automate the quote to order process with an integrated business management solution. Customer specifications, auto nest, cost, and price order lines created during the quote can be seamlessly shared for the order, saving valuable time and protecting data integrity.

3. Improve profit margins and customer service: Can we boost profits?

Disparate steel fabrication software or steel service center software makes it difficult to determine productivity or profitability for each job. An integrated solution can highlight job costs from quote to production to delivery, so you can identify new ways to boost profits and customer service at each step in the process.

Steel service centers and metal fabricators have complicated business operations and require strong business management solutions, such as RealSTEEL™. Download the eBook and contact The Wolcott Group to get the answers to tough questions when upgrading your business technology.

By The Wolcott Group, providers of RealSTEEL, a real-world solution for the steel and metals industry