Why should Chinese steel embrace e-commerce?

  For the steel industry, which is currently in decline, "Industry 4.0" may still be in the conceptual stage, but the "Internet" has swept through the sky.

According to incomplete statistics, there are currently over 200 domestic steel e-commerce platforms, including platforms built by steel mills, traders, and logistics and warehousing enterprises. In addition, industry websites and German H-beam financial institutions are also unwilling to lag behind, stepping into this surging wave of people.

The "electric shock" in the steel industry is not only driven by national policy guidance, but also the trend of industry development. Some people may say that the rapid development of China's steel industry has only been in the past 15 years. Countries and regions with a long history of steel industry development, such as the United States and Europe, have not yet developed a complete industrial internet system. Isn't their steel industry still running better than China? Why does China's steel industry have to take a path that no one has walked before? The author believes that there are several reasons for this.

American standard H-shaped steel

When the steel industry in countries and regions such as the United States and Europe is developing rapidly, the global steel industry is still in a stage of oversupply. Even if domestic competition pressure increases, it can still pour pressure overseas. However, the current global steel overcapacity, especially in China, is particularly severe. Even if China's steel exports reached over 100 million tons in 2015, it is still difficult to solve the serious contradiction of oversupply in the domestic market.

More importantly, the current Chinese steel industry has coincided with the rapid development of advanced internet technology. Therefore, in a situation where traditional sales channels are no longer suitable for demand, e-commerce platforms seem to be a way to bring vitality to the steel industry.