How to increase margins to strengthen the competitive edge for metal recyclers

Nowadays, more than ever, metal recyclers are faced with a series of challenges. The complex logistic recycling process, rapidly changing prices, and fluctuations in the global steel market require companies to respond quickly and flexibly to new circumstances. Additionally, metal recyclers are also facing the current headwinds of the global economy.

The front runners in the metal recycling industry are more resistant to these unpredictable circumstances. Innovative technologies support their agility and enable them to proactively respond to developments in the global metal recycling market. Since this increases both efficiency and margins, they can strengthen their competitive edge.

Being agile demands organization-wide automation. Replacing the error-prone, time-consuming manual tasks with one integrated IT system streamlines all operational processes. Due to the real-time data exchange, all information is continuously up-to-date. Because of this, companies have a clear overview at any time of all operations; from contracts, work in progress, daily prices for commodities and materials, on-yard weighing, grading materials, and the actual inventory through to accounting.

The IT system providing all of this is the AMCS Recycling Software - enabling metal recyclers to rapidly transform their businesses and to anticipate market developments. As of today, the solution helps more than 600 recyclers to adapt to new market conditions. The solution is designed to protect margins, including changing prices, complex pricing structures, material quality and contamination, downtime of facilities, inventory management, supplier communication, and safety and crime prevention.  

Karle Recycling: mapping all three subsidiaries in one IT system

The AMCS Recycling Software enables Karle Recycling to monitor all operational processes in one central system. With this, the end-to-end solution provides the possibility to capture all phases of a transaction, from weighing, mobile grading in the yard, right through to accounting. "That means all company and process specifics are in one system, meeting our particular needs", Bastian Lauer, Head of Customer Services, explains in an AMCS video.

Having an overview of all operations is vital for the Karle Recycling Group. It gives insights into, for instance, the business cycle and how customers react to price changes. According to Lauer, there are two critical key performance indicators for Karle: "The weekly collected tonnages of incoming materials, and the captured weights of all material types as leading indicators, this information is very important for us."

Kaatsch Recycling: optimizing processes to provide customers added value

Kaatsch Recycling has also automated all business processes with the AMCS Recycling Software. Continuously optimizing processes to provide customers the best possible added value is one of the key drivers behind the metal company’s growth. “Although recycling in itself is not a complicated process, it does involve synchronizing several complex processes”, says CEO Ralph Wager. “For instance, we have to deal with buying fractions, separating the different types of metal arriving at the site, and the sale of raw materials.”

Wager believes that to minimize risks, metal recyclers need a total system 'for complete contract management, transaction administration, and daily price adjustments. "We use the AMCS Recycling Software in the office for the complete administration, as well as on-site for assessing and accepting the incoming fractions, to weigh material and to grade whether it is of the right quality. With this, the system gives us a 360-degree view of the entire organization and lets us make constant adjustments.”

Informative Webinars

Two informative videos show the profound effect on the business success of metal recycling companies: material grading and pricing and contract management.

Mobile grading app: gain efficiencies, reduce costs

The AMCS Mobile Grading app is in use on over 800 mobile devices in yards around the world. One reason for its popularity is that it takes photos of the material that arrives in the yard. The images are automatically linked to the material and archived, providing proof of the material's quality.

Pricing & contract management: reducing costs with more flexible solutions

The video demonstrates all the ins and outs of flexible pricing, for instance; how to set up individual prices by customer, location, commodities, dates, quantities, price codes based on base price lists and linked or unlinked to markets. Contracts can be updated in real-time and signed electronically. This way of working is faster, while at the same time eliminating the possibility of errors. In the end, automated invoices make your job so much easier. The efficiencies gained reduce your operating costs.