Alcoa Promoting Internet-Based System

Alcoa Materials Management, the scrap metal purchasing arm for Alcoa, is promoting a new system based on Internet access. Called Alcoa Direct, the program has been designed as a web-based service for scheduling deliveries of scrap aluminum, as well as viewing payments and invoices. Ultimately it is hoped that all the scrap aluminum, minus UBCs, will be handled through the web site.

Bob McHale, vice president of Alcoa Direct, says that the service, which has been in operation for about three months, has been gaining adherents due to the ease of use. With this system, “people can just click, click, click and they are there,” McHale notes.

This system also eliminates much of the “phone tag” that buyers and sellers go through to set up an appointment.

To become a part of the Alcoa Direct program a supplier needs a purchase order to register. Once they are on, they can set up appointments with Alcoa, track when their payments are set to be made, and the tonnage amounts or type of scrap needed.

At the present time about 80 scrap processors are using the system, less than half of the Alcoa suppliers. However, the company expects to make a big push to promote the service, and expects the number to continue to increase.