Case Study - Steel & Metals
Steel Plant Material Traceability: 720,000 Material Movements Tracked Per Day
A large integrated steel producer needed end-to-end traceability and dispatch accuracy across a sprawling, high-volume operation - and the manual, paper-based methods in place could not keep up. Ajinkya Technologies delivered an RFID and barcode material-movement and traceability system that now tracks 720,000 material movements per day and virtually eliminated manual dispatch errors.
This is one of our flagship deployments and a clear demonstration of what industrial-grade traceability looks like when it is engineered for the realities of a steel plant rather than retrofitted from generic software.
Free scoping call. We start with one line, never change your machine logic, and you own the code and the data.
The challenge
In an integrated steel plant, material moves continuously across blast furnaces, coke ovens and rolling mills, and every movement matters for quality, costing and dispatch. The plant relied on manual logging and disconnected records, which made real-time visibility impossible and introduced frequent dispatch and reconciliation errors.
At this scale - hundreds of thousands of movements every single day - manual processes were not just slow; they were a structural risk to quality investigations, customer commitments and inventory accuracy. The plant needed automated capture and full genealogy without disrupting round-the-clock production.
The solution Ajinkya Technologies built
We engineered an RFID and barcode-based material-movement and traceability platform covering gate-in, internal movement, consumption and dispatch. QR-based traceability was extended across blast furnaces, coke ovens and rolling mills so every heat, coil and batch could be traced forward and backward in seconds.
The system captures movements automatically at scale and integrates with the plant’s back-office systems so physical material flow becomes trusted, costed data. It was deployed to run continuously alongside production, with edge capture that keeps working even during connectivity interruptions.
- RFID + barcode capture across gate-in, movement, consumption and dispatch
- QR traceability across blast furnaces, coke ovens and rolling mills
- Automatic genealogy and chain-of-custody for every heat, coil and batch
- Integration with back-office systems for costed, trusted records
The measurable result
The platform now tracks 720,000 material movements per day and virtually eliminated the manual dispatch and reconciliation errors that previously plagued the operation. Traceability questions that once took days to reconstruct from paper are now answered in seconds, and dispatch runs fast and clean at full production volume.
The outcome is a steel plant operating with real-time material visibility, audit-ready traceability and dispatch accuracy at a scale that manual processes could never sustain.
Why this matters for steel and metals producers
In steel and metals, traceability is not paperwork - it is the difference between containing a quality issue to a single heat and recalling weeks of production. By capturing every movement automatically and building genealogy across blast furnaces, coke ovens and rolling mills, the plant can isolate root cause fast and answer customer and auditor questions with confidence.
Just as importantly, automating capture at this scale removes the hidden cost of manual reconciliation - the hours spent every shift cross-checking logs - and redirects that effort to running the plant. It is a template we now apply across heavy, high-volume process manufacturing.
Explore related solutions
Common concerns, answered
Will this disrupt production?
No. We connect read only first, install during planned stops, and edge devices buffer data so a network problem never stops a machine. Nothing writes to a PLC without your controls team and a test.
Our machines are old. Do we need to replace them?
No. Old machines are the usual case. A running signal, a cycle signal or a current sensor on the motor is enough to start, without touching the machine program.
We tried a system before and nobody used it.
That is the most common failure, so we design with the operators and supervisors who will use it, start with one report they already fill in by hand, and only extend once they rely on it.
What about IT security?
Read only by default, a segmented OT network, and a review with your IT team before anything connects, following the ISA/IEC 62443 zone approach.
We will not replace SAP or Oracle. Do we have to?
No. We connect to the ERP you already run through its standard interfaces and add what the shop floor is missing. Your ERP stays the system of record.
Do your engineers understand a heavy industrial floor?
Our systems run in steel plants, warehouses and process lines. We start every project by walking the line with your operators and supervisors, and the first release is tested by them, not only by IT.
Are we locked in?
No. You own the source code and the data, documented, in your own repository. Another team can maintain it.
Want results like these in your plant?
Tell us about your material movement and traceability challenges and we will scope a pragmatic, measurable solution.
Step 1
An engineer reads it
Not a sales bot. Our team replies within 24 hours with questions or times for a call.
Step 2
30 minute call
Your process, machines, systems and the number you want to move. We tell you honestly if we are a fit.
Step 3
A written scope for one line
What we would connect, what you would see, how long it takes. You decide; nothing starts without your approval.