As a result, U.S. Steel decided to change things on its end. With the help of UEC, it’s designing a common inventory database, from which U.S. Steel can apply business rules and let the webMethods software automatically handle the data collection and transfer to e-Steel. "You have to understand how you do business and take your understanding of that and objectively decide whether it’s the right way or if you need to change," McClintock says. Some of the integration pieces were put in place last summer to do volume transactions on nonprime sheet materials, and he expects to have pilot projects underway with select prime-sheet customers by the end of 2000.

At the $3 billion National Steel Corp., another early e-Steel customer, full-scale integration is going to take the better part of a year. The team there is working with e-Steel and integration partner UEC on determining how to adapt its supply chain processes to make the most efficient use of the exchange, according to John Davis, National’s general manager for information services and engineering in Mishawaka, Ind. "We’re truly reformatting our business model to take advantage of this new model, and no one can do that in two or three months," he says. "There is too much cultural change—all the things no one likes to talk about." (See "Culture Club," above.)

As of August, National had conducted numerous pilot transactions with customers over e-Steel. As pilots with additional customers come online over the next few months, it will continue to refine its integration needs. "We’re trying to figure out the touch points, where to hand off transactions and where it makes sense to integrate," adds Chuck Erickson, a systems engineer. Erickson says National has started to experiment with DataJet, but like U.S. Steel, he believes the real value of integration will come with the webMethods software. At this point, National is working with UEC to create new business processes to best leverage that software.

It was e-Steel’s ability to take the lead on development, including integration, via its ValueTrack program that convinced Ford Motor Co. to strike a partnership with the exchange to Web-enable its steel supply program. The alliance, which covers the auto giant’s global Tier 1 suppliers, including stampers and steel sources, is aimed at eliminating manual processes and giving the complete supply chain access to the same database of inventory, order and pricing information. "This will allow us full integration," notes Karen Kish, purchasing specialist in Ford’s raw material supply program in Dearborn, Mich. Ford and e-Steel are in the prototype phase.