The hot rolling mill Precision Steel in Hohenlimburg is an example of the additional advantages of a connected supply chain. Here, the individual production processes are already harmonized in such a way that the mill can offer its customers an unprecedented range of products: “Rolling as a service“. To this end, the customers of steel products input their short-term requirements directly into the system thus triggering the production process. “High supply flexibility, even when small batch sizes are concerned, are of major importance to our customers. We are able to provide this added value through our fully digitized ordering and manufacturing processes“, says Ulrich Schneppe, Head of IT at Precision Steel. On the other side of the supply chain, the employees in the hot rolling mill check the capacity utilization of the continuous casting line in the steel mill of their upstream supplier, in order to ensure that the materials are provided on time. Another advantage is that on both sides, the highly flexible production process allows to reduce inventories and thus the amount of tied-up capital.