The production of coke can be traced back in history as far back as the 4th century when the Chinese first used coke for heating and then cooking. Currently, coke is used as a fuel and reducing agent in smelting iron ore in a blast furnace and also in foundries, non-ferrous metal castings, lead and zinc smelters, recycled steel plants, soda ash and calcium carbide manufacturing, and production of pig iron. Various grades of coke such as blast furnace grade, foundry grade, and fuel grade coke have different constituent and varying application. The global coke market is growing at a steady rate of 2.5% (SpendEdge – Global Coke Market – Procurement Market Intelligence Report). Key suppliers within the coke fuel market are looking for supply chain optimization solutions to remain competitive in the market.
Supply Chain Optimization Solutions in the Global Coke Fuel Market
Stockpile Management Software
Coke fuel manufacturers require stockpile management software that provides a 3D view of detailed quality data of stockpiles to optimize stacking and reclaiming decisions. It tracks and visualizes stocks of outbound products of suppliers; thereby, helping them manage their loading and capacity utilization rates in the factory.
Bulk-Terminal Management Systems
Managing terminals is a challenging task as there are multiple last-minute order changes, uncertain arrival times, changes in ownership, and tight contractual deadlines. This ERP system helps coke suppliers manage their products at shipping terminals by ensuring that shipments are scheduled accurately, and shipment volumes are correct.
Advance Planning and Scheduling Systems
Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) help coke fuel suppliers track cost for each cost driver in the production process. This ERP tool assists the suppliers in planning their production volume on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis using complex statistics to forecast demand. Consequently, suppliers can adjust their production volumes depending on future prices of energy and raw materials.
China Shenhua Energy, Sinochem, BHP, SunCoke Energy, and Sinosteel Engineering & Technology are some of the key suppliers in the coke market making use of such ERP tools to optimize their supply chain. Additionally, they are also looking at immersive engineering to automate the manufacturing and other processes at coke oven.
Read more about the procurement and supply chain optimization techniques in coke market along with supplier benchmarking, pricing insights, metallurgical coke manufacturing, and sourcing strategy in SpendEdge’s upcoming report on the global coke market.
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