RS 100 CRORE e-BUSINESS BY SAIL
The Steel Authority
of India Limited (SAIL), a public sector undertaking of the Steel
Ministry has made business of more than Rs. 100 crore over the
internet during the year 2002-03. This is the maiden entry by
the company in the realm of e-commerce and an attempt to put SAIL
par with future technology.
The forward auction
of prime products was for over Rs. 50 crore. Among the major items
sold were HR coils and plates, IU (industrial use) rails, structurals,
MS plates, SAILMA plates and TMT. Simultaneously, the plants sold
secondary steel worth around Rs. 8 crore through e-commerce route,
generating additional revenue over 5 per cent for the different
items. The entire process of forward auction that was taken up
on a trial basis, met with a fair amount of success as the company
conducted several transactions over a period of two months towards
the end of the last fiscal.
SAIL also consolidated
its gains in reverse auctions on the internet. Through online
bidding, known as an 'invisible process', the company procured
caustic soda, welding electrodes, transformer coils, lamps and
fittings, pipes and stone bricks worth around Rs. 52 crore. On
an experimental basis, SAIL also sold some idle assets during
the year.
The service provider
for all these online trading activities has been Metaljunction
Pvt. Limited the joint venture between SAIL and Tata Steel.
