Question 1

How is the Procurement Solution different to other sourcing software like SAP Ariba, Coupa and others?

Accepted Answer

Metalshub’s Procurement Solution has been purpose-built for the metals, mining and recycling industries. This means that compared to industry agnostic tools like SAP Ariba, Coupa and others, our software offers a wide variety of features tailored to the industry. This includes among other things the consideration of specific pricing conventions (index, telquel, pro-rata, etc.) and product specifications (core content, chemical composition, shapes, etc.). Given our ready-to-use system, we have also proven to have a significantly faster implementation time, which on average takes a mere four weeks. Additionally, what Metalshub offers compared to others is a vibrant network of existing sellers and buyers. This allows participants to discover new counterparties and create a significantly higher business value with Metalshub compared to non-industry specific providers. On top, customers from our software also benefit from continuous innovation and customisation opportunities based on industry requirements and thus join an always improving software ecosystem. Learn more in our guide on the topic of industry agnostic vs. industry tailored tools, which can be accessed here.

Question 2

Why should I switch from my current procurement suite to Metalshub?

Accepted Answer

Metalshub’s Procurement Solution has repeatedly shown to provide sustainable business value for buyers of raw materials. Joining >2,000 active companies in an industry-tailored software ecosystem will provide you with ample opportunities to save cost, increase process efficiency, embed compliance and take more data-driven decisions. On average our customers achieve a return on investment of > 3x even when considering the switching cost from existing procurement systems.

Question 3

We already have inhouse procurement software, what value does your software create for us?

Accepted Answer

Building and maintaining an inhouse procurement system comes with significant fixed, variable and opportunity costs. Oftentimes companies lack the expertise and resources to build an easy to use software tailored to the industry and its complexities. Since 2016, we have built up the relevant experience and track record to prove that Metalshub’s solutions offer more value than inhouse solutions. Thus, in our experience, these costs outweigh the perceived benefits of having something built explicitly for your business. With Metalshub’s Procurement Solution you will join a network of >2,000 companies and benefit from continuously improving software features.

Question 4

Why should I choose to have a software dedicated to “only” direct raw materials and not a one-size-fits-all solution for direct & indirect sourcing?

Accepted Answer

In our experience, the “one-size-fits-all” approach typically fails given the unique requirements of raw material procurement including unique product shapes, strategic supplier collaboration, and pricing conventions. As raw materials often contribute 50-70% of the total cost base, it is vital to choose the best possible software to optimise the majority of your spend rather than compromising for the smallest common denominator and choosing a solution that neither works well for indirect nor for direct procurement. Learn more in our white paper on this topic, which can be accessed here.

Question 5

How will the Procurement Solution help me generate cost savings?

Accepted Answer

Metalshub’s Procurement Solution will help you generate cost savings by (a) giving you access to new suppliers, which may offer more competitive prices, by (b) increasing the competition across your existing suppliers via structured enquiry & negotiation or auction processes, by (c) reducing the administrative burden and thus freeing up time and resources by making your processes more efficient and by (d) potentially centralising and pooling volume across your buying entities. Based on these four levers we have seen customers save an average of 2.3% in annual direct raw material cost.

Question 6

How will the Procurement Solution help me save time?

Accepted Answer

When managing your sourcing operations with Metalshub, you’ll save time via the following levers: Reduced supplier onboarding time, reduced supplier discovery time, reduced time to enquire material, reduced time to collect, compare and normalise offers, reduced administrative work (e.g., automate purchase order generation in ERP, approval workflows, etc.), facilitated data analysis and more.

Question 7

What other benefits do I have from using the Procurement Solution?

Accepted Answer

Next to the cost and time savings, customers of the Procurement Solution also benefit from higher levels of compliance and the use of structured data to improve decision making.

Question 8

Will my suppliers have to pay when I invite them to the software?

Accepted Answer

No. Invited suppliers are not charged when customers of the Procurement Solution opt for any of the plans outlined on our pricing page.

Question 9

Who can see the enquiries which I publish?

Accepted Answer

You can choose to make your enquiry public and visible to all approved Metalshub suppliers or private and only visible to suppliers which you select. It is up to you.

Question 10

Can I only manage spot or also long-term contracts with the Procurement Solution?

Accepted Answer

Both spot and long-term purchases can be managed via the software. For long-term contracts, we even have an industry tailored feature focused around contract management, amendment, optionalities and call-off scheduling.

Question 11

How long does implementing Metalshub take?

Accepted Answer

On average customers have implemented Metalshub in 20 working days or less. Our industry trained Customer Success team will guide you throughout the onboarding process and ensure all users and counterparties are properly trained before the official launch.

Question 12

Is it possible to cancel a transaction concluded on Metalshub?

Accepted Answer

The transaction confirmation agreed between the buyer and the seller on Metalshub constitutes a legally binding contract. The contract can only be cancelled if both parties agree to do so.

Question 13

How does the normalisation feature work?

Accepted Answer

Customers of the Procurement Solution can easily compare and normalise offers to ensure like-for-like comparisons. To normalise offers, customers can upload their company’s unique foreign exchange rates, incoterm price differentials and other factors to ensure a normalisation tailored to the company’s internal guidelines.

Question 14

What raw materials can I buy with the Procurement Solution?

Accepted Answer

As of late 2024, Metalshub offers customers to source more than 300 raw materials. This number is continuously growing and we are adding new categories on a weekly basis. Should you have an enquiry regarding any particular raw material, please contact our sales team.

Question 15

Can Metalshub be integrated with other software of my technology stack (e.g. ERP)?

Accepted Answer

Yes, our software solutions can easily be connected to all systems in your IT landscape via an API (Application Programming Interface). Numerous customers have securely connected Metalshub with their ERP push and/or pull relevant data. You can also connect Metalshub’s Procurement Solution with your software for indirect sourcing.

Question 16

Where is the data stored and handled that I input into Metalshub?

Accepted Answer

Security of our services and your data is our highest priority. Our servers are hosted on dedicated hardware – the hardware is not shared with other parties and only we can access our systems. We use separate hardware for our production platform, our website, and our internal services. The servers are located in Germany and are physically and logically protected against access while being constantly monitored. The data centre is regularly audited and has an ISO 27001 certification. All our servers are protected by multiple firewalls and have an automated DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) protection. In addition, our intrusion detection system automatically blocks IP-addresses which show suspicious behaviour (e.g. unsuccessful login attempts). Security-related log files are constantly automatically scanned and manually reviewed on a weekly basis. Security-related operating-system updates are applied immediately and automatically. We encrypt your data every time it is sent to us. We use industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol which provides data encryption, message integrity, and server authentication. We enable HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) for all our domains and subdomains. Our SSL configuration received an A+ rating in the well-known Qualys SSL Labs audit. We use state-of-the-art mechanism for storing passwords: They are stored using the “Password-based Key Derivation Function 2” (PBKDF2) algorithm, a password stretching mechanism recommended by the American National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the German Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI). Each password has a unique random salt and is hashed more than a hundred thousand times using the SHA256 algorithm.

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Contract Management

Supplier Management

Multi-product Enquiry

Data Analysis

ERP Integration

Source-to-Contract

Compare & Normalisation Screen

Approval Management

Products

Scope 3 Emission

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