Internet of Things Helps Iron and Steel Enterprise Information Management Track Material Flow

If the informatization work of the upstream and downstream companies is done well in their respective enterprises, and then the connections between the enterprises are opened, then a large supply chain for upstream and downstream companies in the steel industry will be formed.

Under the concept of “energy saving and emission reduction” and “low-carbon economy,” higher requirements have been put forward for the management and circulation of steel companies both within and between enterprises. Therefore, the Internet of Things will continue to promote the information and automation process of the steel industry, expand the company's development space, and continue to improve and develop in the application, continue to promote the optimization of the industry, and gradually infiltrate the information into all aspects of the industry process.

Through the Internet of Things, the management of material flow of goods as an emerging strategic industry of the country is actually a technology that makes use of information technology and communication technology to make social and economic activities more effective after social and economic activities have developed to a certain extent.

The foundation of the Internet of Things is technology, such as sensing technology, network technology, and analysis technology, and the core driving force for its development is application.

The iron and steel industry belongs to the raw material industry. It is a typical intermediate enterprise among the upstream and downstream enterprises. Except for railroad tracks and a few metal grids and other final products, the products of the iron and steel industry are basically intermediate products, which provide raw materials for the downstream manufacturing and processing industries. Such as automobiles, home appliances, ships, container boards, and buildings (such as bridges, railways, highways, dams, factories, and civil buildings).

In the final analysis, informatization is the management of material flow in the production process. In fact, it is the tracking of material flows.

From the perspective of the Internet of Things, the production process of iron and steel enterprises is an internal logistics process within the industry, which also has the issue of the Internet of Things. The tracking and optimization of all aspects of the production process can make the production and sales convergence more accurate, and have a great impact on the energy, raw material consumption and the improvement of efficiency.

For example, Shagang adopts a “one pack after all” technology from ironmaking to steelmaking, making the electricity consumption per metric ton of steel for electric furnace steel from the 221 degree before the transformation to 167.7 degrees, a reduction of 24.12%, which reduces the calorie consumption of hot metal. It also increases efficiency. Among them, the "one package in the end" process eliminates the tundish and the mixed iron furnace in the process of ladle transfer, but it also requires tracking and scheduling of the entire transportation process, which needs to be solved with the Internet of Things information system.

The development of a large iron and steel supply chain by enterprises to promote the production of steel products that meet the needs of the automobile and other industries is the goal to be achieved by the informatization of iron and steel enterprises. Try to improve the accuracy of delivery to shorten the delivery time, so that you can reduce the inventory and raw material inventory, reduce the capital occupation.

Downstream companies in the steel industry, such as automotive manufacturing industries, which have a high degree of informatization, have extremely stringent product requirements. The requirements for each part model, size, etc. are extremely accurate. Once they do not meet the standards, they become waste products.

For automakers, how to reduce raw material inventory is a matter that cannot be completely controlled, because raw material stocks are directly related to the upstream links between upstream companies (such as procurement and transportation). Once these intermediate links have an impact on the business, they may have a greater impact on the delivery date and part lot than the manufacturing process.

The manufacturing process is calculated in minutes, seconds, or even more accurate data. If problems such as raw materials do not exist due to logistics, then the increased efficiency in the manufacturing process will be completely obscured. The most direct way to solve these problems is to increase the inventory, and the most direct consequence of this is a large amount of funds.

Many steel companies are struggling to find solutions to the problems that may arise with these uncontrollable factors among enterprises. For example, Baosteel has established a distribution shearing center and cuts the required parts directly to the customers according to the customer's size requirements. The intermediate transportation process is responsible for the company itself, that is, Baosteel will lead the enterprises, so Baosteel The supply of downstream companies is guaranteed, and the closeness and accuracy of the connection between production and sales have been successfully ensured. However, there are not many steel companies that can do this. It can be seen that there is still a lot of work to be done between companies.

In addition to the upstream-oriented companies, the upstream and downstream enterprises can also be led by downstream companies, such as Xiangtan Steel (whose upstream companies are iron ore, transportation, and terminals).

Although the downstream companies may not be active in this regard due to the current stagnant steel and sheet market, the inter-enterprise relationship has become a major trend for future development. Upstream and downstream companies are either dominant or jointly dominated by each other, even in the middle. The inter-enterprise associations dominated by transport companies are likely to emerge and develop in the future. The path between enterprises can be optimized, which not only guarantees supply, but also guarantees production, and finally forms a win-win situation.

For domestic enterprises, there is still a long way to go to realize business. We must constantly explore the applications and learn from countries that have developed faster in this area. If the informatization work of the upstream and downstream companies is done well in their respective enterprises, and then the connections between the enterprises are opened, then the large supply chain for the upstream and downstream companies in the steel industry will be formed.

This applies not only to the steel industry, but other industries can also use the characteristics of their respective industries to carry out business-to-business joint ventures, even across industry.

In this regard, companies must have autonomy, and the government must also provide support and encouragement to ensure interaction between industries.