Multi-Supplier Steel Inventory Overview

The Multi-Supplier Inventory is a searchable inventory of steel available for sale by multiple sellers. Buyers specify the attributes of the steel they need and Steel Spider produces a summary listing of steel that matches these attributes. By clicking on the company name for any item, the buyer can contact the seller directly. The inventory functions much like a search engine for steel. The inventory includes steel in bar, beam, channel, coil, irregular blanks, plate, rebar, sheet, slab rolling, pipe, tube, sheet piling, and wire rod form.

At the top of each page is a Quick Search for Steel. Select the steel type and form and provide the requested dimension for a quick search of the Inventory. For a more advanced search capability click on the Advanced Search link or go to Search the Multi-Supplier Inventory under Inventory. Select the type of steel you are interested in and fill out the form by describing what you are looking for. Pressing the "Find Steel" button will produce a listing of available steel that matches your requirements. Click on the company name for any item of interest and you will see any additional information about the item as well as the identity of the seller and his contact information.

Contact the seller directly for more information about an item or to place an order. If you have registered, Steel Spider can send a Spider Bite (message) to the supplier for you. The Spider Bite is sent by Steel Spider to the supplier by email or fax with a copy to the buyer. It will also contain the contact information of the supplier of the item and a detailed description of the item. Sellers who receive a Spider Bite can also view them on Steel Spider in Spider Bites You Received.

If you have registered, you can receive Inventory Change Alerts by email or fax advising you when steel is first added to the Multi-Supplier Inventory that matches your requirements. Go to Inventory Change Alert under Inventory to describe the steel you are interested in using a form similar to that used to search the Multi-Supplier Inventory. Each hour a software agent named Boris checks new postings to the inventory and notifies a buyer, by fax or email, if steel of the desired type and attributes was posted.

Sellers advertise the availability of steel by adding their steel to the searchable Multi-Supplier Inventory.

We require that a seller periodically confirm that their steel being advertised is still available. When steel is added it is marked for deletion in 30 days. By going to Manage Your Steel under Inventory a seller can push a single button and extend the deletion date to 30 days. We may send a reminder to a seller to confirm their steel's availability. If no confirmation is received, we will remove the seller's steel after the deletion date.

Manual Data Entry

Sellers can manually add steel to the Multi-Supplier Inventory by using the forms in Post Steel to Inventory under Inventory without charge. Items are added immediately. Once your steel is in the Inventory you can refresh, edit or delete it in Manage Your Steel under Inventory. Steel that has not been refreshed within 30 days to confirm that the steel is still available will be removed from the Inventory.

Automatic Data Entry

An easier method of adding steel to the Multi-Supplier Inventory is to use our Automatic Data Entry process. This is especially useful when a seller has a large quantity of steel to advertise. The seller provides us with a file containing descriptions of their steel. The seller uploads or attaches the file to an email. We process the file and add the steel to the Inventory. We can handle nearly all file formats including as text, Excel XML, and CSV files. Since every supplier handles their inventory data differently we do not specify a particular layout for the file. Instead we tailor the Automatic Data Entry process to the layout preferred by the seller. Normally our Automatic Data Entry process lets sellers provide their data without data format conversion. There is no limit to the number of steel items that can be added using the Automatic Data Entry process and, if helpful, we can handle the submittal of multiple files.

Sellers using the Automatic Data Entry process can manage their steel by providing an updated file. The steel from the previous file is deleted and the steel in the new file is added to the Multi-Supplier Inventory. Sellers can also use Manage Your Steel to edit and delete their steel in the Inventory. We charge $100 US per month to use the Automatic Data Entry process and this also includes the ability of the seller to display his company's logo randomly on each page.

It may be possible to download a file containing descriptions of your steel from your website or scrape the steel information from your website. If the seller has his available steel on a website, we can often capture the descriptions of the steel and add it to the Inventory automatically. We can set up a Web Service that a seller can use to add his steel to the Inventory. These are available for a slightly higher monthly charge.