Iron and steel Dealers "two-faced": VC competition to find steel net fictitious trade and other chaos like clusters

Two years ago, when Wang Dong, 36, was founded to find a steel net, the iron and steel dealers were nothing new.

Compared with the steel industry, iron and steel manufacturers like the industry in winter, a fire, the development of ferocious. According to incomplete statistics, the country has more than 170 new E-commerce trading platform for Iron and Steel, Shanghai Iron and Steel Trading Center, Hebei Iron and Steel Trading Center, Still, Oriental Steel online, steel and so on, as if springing up everywhere.

"The annual steel circulation scale of 12 trillion yuan, at least 5 trillion or 6 trillion yuan in the circulation link, we expect this year to find steel net turnover of 50 billion, has been very large, but compared with the whole plate, the tip of the iceberg is not." "Yesterday, a steel net, a senior executive who declined to be named, said in an interview with the first financial daily.

However, it is a mess to count the current iron and steel dealers.

To be the "Jing Dong" in the Iron and steel electric business

July 3, iron and steel industry chain electric platform to find steel net trading volume broken 100,000 tons, of which the number of self-made tons of 13588.084 tons, creating a record high. "Last year's revenue was 2 billion, revenue is expected to be 10 billion this year and turnover will reach 50 billion." "Gang Ying said.

At this point, the distance between the home appliance business platform was only over two years.

May 2012, looking for a steel net official online, at first do things very simple, is to do a website, so that agents will sell the steel information hanging on top, service providers can search the above information, see the right two sides can contact and reach a deal. After that, find the steel network gradually explore a set of business model-"Matchmaking + Self": "matchmaking" refers to the role of Steel network as a middleman, for steel mills and secondary terminals, end customers matchmaking, facilitating transactions, the essence of the electricity business platform to become a large steel plant agents;

Data show that last December, the net of the matchmaking performance of 860,000 tons, the number of self-employed business volume of 103,000 tons, to April this year, the number of matchmaking business has reached 1.3 million tons, the amount of proprietary business to maintain at 160,000 tons.

Gang Ying said that in the future with the Electronic business virtual market more and more active, the artificial part will gradually reduce, even the direct trading volume will exceed the matching transaction volume.

Matchmaking is an important means to achieve the development strategy of steel network, to find steel network to monopolize the small micro-service provider purchase order entrance, free matchmaking is the best means of service, but also can play a good word-of-mouth transmission effect. "Through the free matchmaking transaction, the trading habits of the buyers and sellers have been cultivated, the traders will begin to undertake a lot of work, after more than two years of information carding, set up a complete database." "Gang Ying, these data are all transaction data information, including the buyer's trading time, trading frequency, trading success rate, buying habits and so on."

Along with the generation of "big Data", in matchmaking business brought about by the platform influence gradually increased and the premise of expanding the scale of the transaction, looking for steel net finally by virtue of the strong downstream sales ability and its own E-commerce information advantages, in 2013 launched the direct business-find steel Mall, with innovative "insured consignment" mode, Directly through the industrial chain of steel mills to service providers, optimize the overall industrial chain. At present, to find steel net has been with the domestic 42 steel mills have begun cooperation, in addition, with many large state-owned steel mills cooperation is also in negotiations.

And when the pattern is clear, the team is stable to find steel net to finance, also become no longer difficult. January 2012, looking for Steel Net founder and CEO Wang Dong to get the perilous peak huaxing and the investment of the angel invested by the fund, from his see the founder of the Xiaoping and Perilous peak huaxing, to the end two each 5 million yuan and to account, less than one months. January 2013, the Search for steel network has been the latitude and longitude of China's 5 million dollar investment. And in the C round of financing, there have been a lot of VC initiative to contact, eventually, to find a steel network to choose the bull capital and Sequoia Capital. "The bull capital occupies the BoE board seat, but also enters our board of directors, we in the business model with Jingdong very similar, introduces the male ox and the Sequoia, Jing Dong before passes the detour, we do not have to go again, simultaneously also will learn many successful experiences." "Look for steel net above senior executives said.

Electrical quotient of iron and steel

However, the rapid search for steel net, and can not conceal the steel electricity business in this area of many chaos.

This reporter comb found that the current iron and steel industry in the field of roughly three categories: the first category is the third party platform based on information; the second type is based on large steel enterprises, after the maturity of the platform to background; The third category is the original steel trade, itself with a relatively complete line processing and distribution system, and then derivative on the trading system platform. These three types of electric dealers are currently committed to the full flow of the electric business platform to promote.

Let the outside criticism is, how to obtain trading volume, has become the iron and steel electric Business competition of important standards, and salesman to promote their own platform, do not rule out the use of fictitious transactions to achieve the goal may.

According to the Shanghai Steel Joint Disclosure, the first half of the company to achieve operating income of 917 million yuan, of which, steel trading services to achieve income of 824 million yuan, up 51.59% from a year earlier, the platform of its electric business platforms steel silver platform to contribute to the performance.

But according to Hu Xiaochun, Shanghai Steel, the company started the matchmaking business at the end of last year, "because the incentive system exists, the salesman may be motivated to do such a thing (fictitious transaction)." Under such guidance, I dare not say that our team does not have these heretical things.

"Chaos in a variety of people are doing, chaos in no one to find the right mode of profit." "An industry veteran who has been involved in iron and steel electricity has said to this reporter.

At present, Baosteel Group, SHA Steel Group, Hebei Iron and steel group and other large steel companies have built their own platform for the electric business. In addition, Tianjin Property Group, Minmetals group and other powerful traders are also involved in this area, and more small and medium-sized steel companies choose to cooperate with other platforms.

Wang Dong's view, the current real iron and steel barriers have been very high, "there are no more than 5 real, there is no so-called more than 200." For example, the steel mill self-built platform, "steel mills since the establishment of E-commerce trading platform is understandable, but and the capital market on the ' electric quotient ' concept is not the same, this is a huge difference." "Wang Dong believes that the construction of the information management tool is difficult to introduce more peer into the future, not to the scale of the advantages, and can not meet a large number of buyers of different steel mills of the procurement needs."

In addition, the current profitability of the iron and steel dealers mainly rely on "information fees" or "membership fee" two types of models, and these two types of profit models are still relying on the traditional steel business model, does not really realize the way e-commerce channels. "A large number of ' loss to make a yell ' of the burning money of iron and steel manufacturers continue to produce, but still failed to find a suitable and stable profit model." Chu Yue, a senior researcher at the new West route, said that the overall view of the iron and steel e-commerce is still in the groping stage.

Wuhu Port has been disclosed, Xilin Steel because of the Huai Mine Modern Logistics Limited liability company (hereinafter referred to as "Huai Ore Logistics") to provide agent procurement business and Occupy Huai Ore logistics 210 million yuan, the risk of bad debts.

Huai Ore Logistics for the Wuhu Port wholly-owned subsidiary, is currently Still electronic trading platform (hereinafter referred to as "Still") of the controlling shareholder. Since 2013, Huai Ore logistics with Still and Xilin steel cooperation, and will gradually extend cooperation to the Agency procurement business. However, from the end of June, Still electronic commerce platform has temporarily closed the Xilin steel trading port, for its production, sales resumed when the opening.