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St. Louis Joins Growing List of Areas Being Served by StraightlineSteel Buyers Receive Instant Price Quotes, Competitive Pricing And On-Time Delivery With Technology-Driven Steel Distribution ServicePRNewswire Straightline Source, a division of United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X), America's largest integrated steelmaker, has expanded its online steel distribution service to customers in the greater St. Louis area, offering instant price quotations, highly competitive prices and on-time delivery for carbon flat-rolled steel products. "We're pleased to expand our business from northern Florida to greater St. Louis," said Bob Dryburgh, president of Straightline. "Our customers realize the value and like being in control of price and delivery. Their feedback has been critical to us -- and has helped us build a business that is changing the way companies buy steel." Rollouts are scheduled throughout the year to highly concentrated areas of steel customers across the United States. Straightline is growing rapidly with more than 1,350 unique companies registered today. From February to March, Straightline's StraightQuote™ service, which offers price quotations in seconds, increased its volume of price inquires by 75 percent. Additionally, more than 60 percent of all spot orders have been entered directly by customers through the company's Web site. The Straightline Approach Straightline offers direct access for planning and purchasing processed steel products to manufacturers of all sizes that typically do not buy directly from steel producers. Customers can receive instant price quotations and place orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week at http://www.straightline.com/ or by phone with the assistance of knowledgeable customer account managers. Metallurgists are also on staff to assist with design, selection and material application questions. Straightline manages the entire customer relationship and in doing so takes responsibility for all aspects of the transaction, including order acceptance, steel sourcing, inventory management, delivery, customer service and claims. Straightline currently specializes in the sale and distribution of carbon flat-rolled steel, including hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and strip mill plate products. Customers can order custom processed products or select from a catalog of finished goods, and purchases can be made on a spot or contract basis. Offering More For the Customer Straightline is able to reduce a customer's total cost of material acquisition by maximizing efficiencies associated with inventory management, material utilization, logistics, planning and order processing. This increased efficiency translates to consistently lower costs for customers. With Straightline, buyers are in control of all steel buying processes, from pricing through delivery. Buyers can choose from pricing options based on varying combinations of delivery dates and quantities. Straightline also offers just-in-time delivery, allowing customers to receive product when they need it according to their warehouse schedule. In addition, buyers can track purchases and easily check on the delivery status of orders anytime of the day or night by Internet or phone. Furthermore, contract customers benefit from Straightline's variety of proprietary supply chain management tools which enable improved inventory forecasting and planning, thereby improving inventory turns and reducing capital investment. Processor Network Straightline has assembled a network of processor partners to hold inventory, perform custom processing and deliver finished goods. Partners are selected based on rigorous criteria, including ISO certification, quality processing capabilities and responsiveness to customers. By partnering with Straightline, processors benefit by increasing utilization of their equipment and facilities without the added costs of sales, marketing or inventory, thus improving their overall profitability. Register Today Steel buyers who want to learn more, obtain free, no-obligation price quotes or place orders with Straightline can do so by registering quickly and conveniently at http://www.straightline.com/ or by calling Straightline Customer Care toll-free at 1-866-252-0488. Instant credit verification is completed online in seconds and buyers are able to make purchases pending credit approval. Straightline Source is a division of United States Steel Corporation and specializes in an online distribution business for carbon flat-roll steel to customers of all sizes that do not typically buy steel goods directly from steel producers. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Straightline has a growing staff of 120 employees. Visit Straightline at http://www.straightline.com/. SOURCE: Straightline Source Contact: Judy Sapos of Straightline Source, +1-412-433-7833, or Website: http://www.straightline.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/gh/cnoc/comp/929150.html |
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