Inbound Raw Material Tracking for Steel Plants — Iron Ore, Coal & Limestone

An integrated steel plant's raw material inbound logistics is a three-stream problem. Iron ore, coking coal, and limestone each arrive from different sources, on different corridors, via different transporter networks. Each has a different pilferage risk and a different impact on plant operations when supply is disrupted or compromised.

Managing three streams in three different tracking systems — or worse, no system at all — is how losses accumulate unseen.

The Three Streams and Their Risk Profiles

Iron Ore (₹3,000–12,000/MT)

Sources: Domestic mines (Odisha, Jharkhand, Karnataka), imports via east/west coast ports. Volume: 1.5–2 tonnes of iron ore per tonne of crude steel. Primary risk: Mid-route unloading on mine-to-plant corridors. Activity sensing using sensors is the only reliable detection method. Secondary risk: Grade substitution — Fe% variance between dispatch and delivery impacting blast furnace performance.

Coking Coal (₹15,000–25,000/MT for imported)

Sources: Imports via Paradip, Vizag, Mundra ports; domestic from Jharia coalfields. Volume: 0.6–0.8 tonnes of coking coal per tonne of crude steel. Primary risk: Highest per-tonne value among the three streams — making it the most attractive pilferage target. Even 2% loss per trip represents ₹3,000–5,000 per truck. Secondary risk: Coking quality (VM%, ash%) sensitive to moisture and contamination during transit.

Limestone (₹400–800/MT)

Sources: Regional quarries — Rajasthan, MP, AP, Karnataka. Volume: 200–400 kg per tonne of crude steel. Primary risk: Lower per-tonne value, but massive volumes mean even small percentage losses add up. A plant consuming 1 million tonnes of limestone annually at 3% loss = 30,000 MT = ₹1.2–2.4 crore/year. Secondary risk: Lime quality (CaO%) impacts blast furnace slag chemistry.

Unified Platform Architecture

All three streams on one platform means:

Single dashboard for all inbound materials

Per-commodity risk zone configuration (different hotspots for each corridor)

Unified transporter scorecard across all materials

Single SAP/ERP integration — one GR posting workflow for all commodities

Cross-commodity analytics: identify transporters that show risk patterns across multiple material types

Gate Management

A large steel plant receives 500–1,500 trucks per day across all three streams. Physical checking of every truck is impossible — it would gridlock the gate.

With risk scoring: only the 10–15% of trucks flagged HIGH are directed to special sampling. The remaining 85–90% clear the standard gate queue. Gate TAT improves while actual risk coverage increases.

SAP Integration Points

Purchase order matching at dispatch

In-transit event log accessible from SAP

GR posting triggered on confirmed delivery

LIMS quality flag integrated with quantity risk score

Transporter performance data fed to vendor management module