Dongkuk Steel, 1st Anniversary of Steel Shop Opening... "Aiming to Establish an Annual Sales System of 250,000 Tons"

Over 1,000 Member Companies, Cumulative Sales Surpass 15,000 Tons
New Membership Accounts for 68%, Repurchase Rate Exceeds 70%
Differentiation through Ultra-Short Delivery of Heavy Plates and Steel Section Inventory Sharing Platform
Patent Applications and Grants Completed
SteelShop Mobile App Launch Within the Year and Expansion of Product Line Including H-Beams Planned

Photo by Dongkuk Steel Mill

[Asia Economy Reporter Dong Donghoon] Dongkuk Steel's steel e-commerce platform, 'Steel Shop,' has secured over 1,000 member companies and surpassed 15,000 tons in sales within one year of its launch.

Steel Shop is a 'customer-tailored steel e-commerce platform' launched by Dongkuk Steel in May last year to transform steel sales methods. By applying MES (Manufacturing Execution System), it is the industry's first platform that allows customers to check real-time production availability and make purchases.

Dongkuk Steel judged that user satisfaction is the foundation of the platform's success and focused on service differentiation and improving user convenience over the past year. It built services to address shortcomings that could occur in offline steel transactions, such as 'ultra-short delivery of thick plates,' 'small quantity transport of rebar,' and 'structural steel inventory sharing platform.' The thick plate and structural steel sectors have completed patent applications and registrations, recognizing their market competitiveness and technological capabilities in sales services.

Improvement in user satisfaction translated into performance. The number of new sign-ups increased, and customers returned to Steel Shop. Among the 1,000 member companies within Dongkuk Steel Steel Shop, 68% are new companies with no prior transaction history. More than half of the members who made actual purchases decided to repurchase through Steel Shop.

Dongkuk Steel plans to actively reflect customer feedback from the Steel Shop 1st anniversary satisfaction survey, focusing on 'expansion of sales items' (30%) and 'improvement of user convenience' (10%), which had high request response rates for improvement.

First, by releasing the Steel Shop mobile app within the year, user convenience will be enhanced, and to expand product lines, rebar sales specifications will be diversified. For structural steel, the number of participating companies in the inventory sharing platform will be continuously increased, and sales of 'H-shaped steel' will also begin, developing it into an integrated platform.

Dongkuk Steel has established a mid-to-long-term goal to build an annual sales system of 130,000 tons for Steel Shop in 2024 and achieve an annual sales volume of 250,000 tons by 2026 based on accumulated transaction data analysis and advancement.

Lee Dongcheol, General Manager of Dongkuk Steel Marketing Office, who led the opening of Steel Shop, said, "As the demand side's expectations continue to rise and market conditions change in real time, online steel transactions are no longer optional but essential. Customized services that actively reflect customer demands are the secret and vision of Steel Shop's success, and we will continue to develop systems and differentiated services relentlessly."

To celebrate the first anniversary of Steel Shop's opening, Dongkuk Steel will hold an event for new sign-up customers and purchasing customers until the 3rd of next month.