Steel and metal trading company EHG expands our stock portfolio

“The steel market is currently undergoing noticeable changes,” says Martin Krug, Managing Director of EHG Stahl.Metall Aichach GmbH, which is part of the EHG Group. “Prices are fluctuating, tariffs and import restrictions are changing what’s available, and delivery times are shifting for certain material grades and dimensions. With large order values, even small deviations from price lists that are no longer up-to-date can make a big difference.” Founded in 1963, the EHG Group is headquartered in Dornbirn, Austria. With approximately 450 employees across eleven locations, the group operates one of Central Europe’s best-stocked steel warehouses, complete with its own transportation logistics.

This broad range benefits Spanflug’s solutions and their users: The more alloys and dimensions the algorithm has access to, the more options it has for calculating the most economical manufacturing strategy. “Material is a key cost factor in machining. The more stock prices and supply chains fluctuate, the greater the risk that outdated data will jeopardize our customers’ margins and project plans,” says Lucas Giering, Chief Product Officer at Spanflug. “That’s why we’re continuing to expand the number of connected material suppliers as part of our product strategy.”

Machine shops and contract manufacturers use Spanflug MAKE to calculate manufacturing times and costs and generate ready-to-send quotes with just a few clicks. The software suggests the appropriate stock, uses its up-to-date costs in the calculation, and takes availability into account for the proposed delivery date in the quote. Thanks to the integration with EHG, there are now significantly more steel alloys, non-ferrous metals, bars, and tubes to choose from. These are taken into account when the software proposes the most economical machining strategy. If needed, manufacturers can then order stocks or suitable cut-to-size blanks directly from within the software. This speeds up process planning and work preparation as well as the start of manufacturing once the order is won.

“Because CNC machine shops can order our stocks directly through Spanflug MAKE, we, as a metal supplier, are involved in their process planning at a very early stage,” explains Martin Krug, describing what this integration means for both sides in day-to-day operations. “Already at the point of quoting, machine shops can see how much the required bars or blanks will cost and whether they’ll be available on time. This brings speed and certainty to their quoting phase and later to work preparation. If the company then procures the material directly through Spanflug MAKE, the order is transmitted to us digitally, and we can begin processing it immediately. With around five million cuts per year, digital end-to-end integration is a high priority for us.”

Machine shops can order EHG stocks instantly from within the Spanflug MAKE quoting software.

Buyers who source manufactured parts through Spanflug BUY do not see the new material data directly, but they benefit behind the scenes: With the additional alloys, stock conditions, and dimensions, they receive an instant quote for more parts, and the delivery date also takes actual inventory levels into account for the new materials. For a number of parts, a lower price can be achieved, as the new options from the integration with EHG also enable more cost-effective manufacturing solutions.

With EHG, Spanflug is expanding the availability of real-time material data in its solutions so that as many manufactured parts as possible can be quoted directly with reliable prices and delivery dates. “A platform with instant prices is only as reliable as the supply chain it reflects,” adds Lucas Giering. “With EHG, we’ve gained a partner that combines material expertise, a wide range of stocks and cut-to-size services across many locations in Europe. Our teams worked together to get the integration live in a short time.”

Where software meets steel warehousing: The Spanflug and EHG teams at the EHG location in Aichach (from left to right: Lucas Giering, Chief Product Officer; Anita Böhm, Product Manager; and Pascal Schönfeld, Product Owner, all from Spanflug; Martin Krug, Managing Director, and Manuel Wendl, Sales Representative, of EHG Stahl.Metall Aichach GmbH)