March 2023- Digital platform helps metals buyers and sellers smooth the choppiness of the market while providing transparency.

When uncertainty reigns, folks that are moving lots of material and money around in the daily course of business are wary of making decisions that could negatively impact their bottom line.

Founded in 2018, Reibus International is an independent and anonymous, SaaS-enabled ecommerce marketplace that uses technology to solve ingrained supply chain problems in the industrial materials market. Based in Sandy Springs, Georgia, the company uses its proprietary technology and industry knowledge to facilitate supply chain efficiency by shortening lead times, reducing inventory, and streamlining finance and freight services.

Chris Shipp, Reibus International’s senior vice president for U.S. sales, acknowledges that market conditions six or 12 months forward are nearly impossible to predict but there are ways to reduce risks in the face of what-ifs.

Shipp, a 22-year U.S. Navy veteran who subsequently worked for 12 years building up a service center operation in the South for a large manufacturer, joined Reibus in 2022. At his previous job, Shipp used the Reibus platform and was eager to join the organization to help others learn how to streamline their transactions and produce more revenue.

SUPPLY CHAIN CONSTRAINTS

“The onset of COVID challenged the supply chain, and we continue to see some of those disruptions. Additional events like the war in Ukraine extend the volatility,” Shipp says. The challenge for buyers “is not knowing when mills will produce material, plus pricing can play havoc.” There is no sign of that volatility waning, which presents difficulty for purchasing departments. Construction, oil and gas, and automotive have all been strong markets for service centers, “but the industry didn’t do well with the price swings,” he notes.

Most service centers buy on the spot market. As volatility persists, Reibus can provide opportunities “to leverage other people’s inventories and supplies. Reibus is an anonymous on whether they are buying material from competitors.

“We provide solutions to control inventory, to move it out or buy, and we help with securing both domestic and foreign supply. We help users navigate the market. Sitting on inventory that is not moving can burden cash flow. We will help them free up cash and get rid of that inventory.”

If a service center experiences reduced order rates from one of its customers, it might be stuck with excess stock. “We are putting buyers and sellers together. In the past, it was more difficult to do that near real time.” As a result, that unwanted material can be cleared out quickly.

AUTOMATED PROCESS

“A lot of service centers use archaic systems,” Shipp says. “The old way is when you need material, you send out an email to 100 people, 50 respond and you get offers for product you don’t want. We automated that process. We have people that list material and others looking at the offers, and click ‘buy.’ It saves time and money and helps everyone become more efficient. We have thousands of users that say, ‘I always carry this material,’ so they will automatically receive a message from anyone who wants the material you say you always stock,” says Shipp.

Traffic on the platform continues to grow, he says. “We have users across North America, and we are building a base of business in Europe. If someone worries that they will shut down a line if they don’t get the material, they may pay more in freight to get that, because it’s far cheaper than shutting the line down—which might lose thousands of dollars per hour.”

At the same time, he says, service centers using the platform can run leaner, while experiencing better lead times and lower operating costs.

Shipp says other benefits become more obvious over time. For example, service centers can reevaluate existing supply contracts “and pivot in the middle of a cycle. Maybe a service center doesn’t carry aluminum but can get that for a customer now.”

Shipp’s previous employer specialized in carbon steel but “we had a customer that loved working with us and wanted aluminum. I had never touched aluminum, so I used Reibus to ship it to the customer. That opened up doors for us. I think service centers can find new business opportunities.”

      Traffic on the platform continues to grow with users in North America and Europe.

SHIPPING OPTIONS

Reibus International has 48 people on the commercial team in the U.S., helping users, while 75 software programmers and engineers continue to develop the platform’s technology.

“Transportation has also been a big struggle” for the industry as part of the broader supply chain crunch, according to Shipp. Service centers typically ship multiple loads a day and may have several stops with one truck. “That’s almost impossible to do alone,” he notes.

“We live track all of our loads, so there is no guesswork about when the load is coming to your facility. You can avoid making a series of calls about ‘where is the truck?’ It’s a game changer. We are growing our third-party logistics company in the U.S. and globally.

“Because we are doing transactions with touch points all over North America, we can see trends in different local marketplaces, and bigger movements nationally with pricing and other factors,” Shipp says. Reibus now publishes news and pricing trends for the metals industry on its online platform.

“We gather and collect data and provide analysis. We help users understand what we are seeing. It affects decision- making among our buyers and sellers.”

FINANCE OPTIONS

Reibus was founded by a buyer in the metals industry ( John Armstrong), who wanted to solve three challenges: Finding what you can’t find or selling what you can’t sell, logistics, and financing.

“Every company is different and needs different lines of credit,” Shipp says. “We are backed by a large investment firm, so we can free up cash for users.” For example, one financing option unlocks the value of inventory, and cash secured can be paid back over time. There is also a product called DealMaker: “We step in the middle of the transaction,” by financing both sides of the trade.

A third offering is called TradeFlex, which is extended terms on a Reibus platform transaction. For example, someone can buy materials on the platform and apply for 60- or 90-day terms. “We can use the days in between to bridge the gap for both sides, buyer and seller,” Shipp explains. “Users don’t have to request credit line increases from their bank,” which would take much longer than using Reibus.

Many of the ideas that the company explores have come directly from customers. For example, one customer has suggested pursuing trade in carbon credits, which could help offset the metal industry’s environmental footprint. “We own the entire process,” Shipp says, “so we can pivot quickly to respond and release new solutions continuously. We can update and modernize rapidly. It’s exciting to be part of this evolution.” MM

Reibus International, 470/482-1820, http://reibus.com/