How Bytes Meet Coils: ICT and E-business in the Steel Industry

This paper presents findings about the use of ICT and e-business in the steel industry as well as related impacts and policy implications. The study was carried out in the framework of the Sectoral e-Business Watch, a service to the European Commission’s DG Enterprise and Industry. In the framework of the study, managers from 449 steel firms in the EU and the US were interviewed and ten case studies were conducted. A core finding was that ICT are important along the industry’s whole value chain. ICT are used to increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve customer relationships. Almost two thirds of the large steel companies reported that ICT has increased competition. ICT use in steel firms is similar to other manufacturing industries, which may contradict the industry’s public image of being old-fashioned. However, current policy activities in the steel industry do not adequately reflect the importance of ICT.