What does a buyer check before placing a steel order with a new supplier?
Answer
They check the grade against a named standard, whether you can issue a mill test certificate traceable to a heat number, and whether you are the mill or a stockist. Those three facts decide whether your quote can be compared with the others on the buyer's desk.
A project buyer is comparing three quotes and needs to know which of them can actually supply against the specified standard.
Information to make clear
Use the fields that affect this buying decision. Leave unsupported claims out.
- Grade and standard
- IS 2062 E250, IS 1786 Fe 500D, ASTM A36: the grade only means something beside its standard.
- Section, size and thickness range
- Tells the buyer immediately whether their bill of materials is inside your range.
- Dimensional tolerance standard
- Fabricators plan around the tolerance, not the nominal size.
- Heat or cast number traceability
- The link between the physical steel and its certificate.
- Coating or finish
- Galvanised, painted and bare change both price and application.
- Length, packing and loading unit
- Determines transport cost and site handling.
- Mill or stockist
- Changes what the buyer can expect on lead time, certification and minimum quantity.
Documents to prepare
State what can be published, shared on request or issued with an order.
| Document | What it supports | Suggested handling |
|---|---|---|
| Mill Test Certificate to EN 10204 3.1 or 3.2May be requested at: with every consignment; often a purchase order condition | Chemical composition and mechanical properties, tied to a heat number | Issue per shipment |
| BIS licence and IS grade markingMay be requested at: indian projects and government tenders | Licensed conformity to the Indian standard for the product | Publish |
| Third-party inspection acceptanceMay be requested at: export and large project orders | Willingness to be inspected by SGS, Bureau Veritas, TÜV or the buyer's nominee | Publish |
| ISO 9001 certificateMay be requested at: vendor registration | Quality system with number and certification body | Publish |
| Factory production control certificate (EN 1090)May be requested at: by eu buyers of structural product | Structural steel conformity for the European market | Publish |
| Embedded emissions dataMay be requested at: increasingly, by european buyers | Carbon accounting per tonne, which EU importers now need from their supply chain | Share on request |
| Sample mill certificateMay be requested at: before a first order from a new supplier | What your paperwork actually looks like | Publish |
Details to ask in an enquiry
Collect only the information needed to assess the request and respond.
- Grade and standard
- No quote is possible without it.
- Section, size and quantity in tonnes
- Drives price, rolling schedule and freight.
- Certificate type required
- 3.1 and 3.2 are different costs.
- Third-party inspection requirement
- Affects lead time and needs planning.
- Destination port or site
- Freight is a material part of the landed price.
- Delivery schedule
- One shipment or a call-off over a quarter changes the whole quote.
Related questions
Should a stockist say so on the homepage?
Yes, and it is an advantage rather than an admission. Buyers with urgent or mixed-grade requirements are specifically looking for stock, and they cannot find you when your site is written to imitate a mill. State the role and let each buyer self-select.
Is publishing a redacted mill certificate risky?
Not if you remove the customer, the price and the order reference. What remains: the format, the standard, the heat number field, the signatures: is exactly what a new buyer is trying to establish, and no paragraph of prose substitutes for it.
How much should we say about capacity?
State the rolled sections and sizes you actually produce, and the practical monthly tonnage in each. Buyers use capacity to judge whether their order will be prioritised or squeezed, so a specific figure is more reassuring than a large vague one.
This is an editorial checklist, not a compliance standard. Requirements vary by market, customer and contract. Confirm current requirements with the responsible technical and commercial teams.
Plact Research. Plact's editorial desk for buyer-evidence guides. The guides organize common buyer questions, documents and enquiry fields. Requirements should be checked against current standards, regulations and contracts.