March 30, 2023
Metal One Corporation
IBM Japan, Ltd.
Metal One and IBM Japan build Metal X® digital platform for automotive steel distribution
Services to launch at Metal One in April 2023

Metal One Corporation (Metal One) and IBM Japan, Ltd. (IBM Japan) are collaborating tobuild Metal X®, a digital platform that will drive digital transformation in automotive steel
distribution and foster more sustainable supply chains. Metal One will begin offering theservice to customers in April 2023.
As the automotive industry transitions from mass production to mass customization, newmaterials, new technologies and new procurement methods must be adopted, and automotive
steel distribution must also become more agile. In addition, there is a need to ensure theresilience required to handle production fluctuations caused by pandemics andsemiconductor shortages, as well as sustainable supply chains that contribute to carbon
neutrality. Considering such changes in the business environment, Metal One has decided todevelop new capabilities as a trading company that supports distribution cross-functionally.
Metal One and IBM Japan’s Metal X® digital platform envisions companies involved insupply chains related to automotive steel distribution as a single corporate entity or “virtualenterprise.” This will streamline and boost the efficiency of communications among thesecompanies and operations by using the same system to share data.
Metal X® stores bill of materials (BOM) data for everything from car parts to steel materials,
and automatically calculates the amounts of steel needed from steel manufacturers, basedon carmakers’ production plans. There are also plans to provide shared delivery deadline
management tools that will enable car and parts makers, steel service centers and trading
companies to simultaneously manage daily deliveries. Other plans include offering services
to manage greenhouse gas emissions throughout entire supply chains by visualizing
greenhouse gas emissions generated during the processes from producing steel materials
until the vehicle parts are made.
The initial service—providing automatic calculation of required amounts of steel materials,
using unit input-output tables to manage cross-corporate BOM data—will kick off in April
2023.

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The Virtual Enterprise

Parts makers

Carmakers

Trading companies

Steel service centers

Procurement Production
management management

Metal X ®
Application services*
Unit input-outputtables(BOM)

Monthly DX
Calculation of required
amounts of steel
materials

Daily DX
Ordermanagement

Environmentalmanagement
CO2 visualization

Communication

Data management
Bill ofmaterials

Unofficial
notification

Requiredamounts

Ordersreceived
and placed

Deliveries

Mill sheets

Inventory

Acceptanceinspection
andinvoicing

Secure cloud environment* Services are scheduled to be rolled out in stages. Services are also scheduled to be expanded.

Using Metal X® will enable customers to respond rapidly and flexibly to market fluctuations
while achieving stable and optimal flow of steel supplies. Leveraging AI and othertechnologies, Metal X® will also contribute to carbon neutrality by identifying methods of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions—not by company but throughout entire supply chains—
and offering recommendations on what actions to incorporate improvements, such as
adapting more eco-friendly steel products and energy sources and restructuring logistics
through delivery deadline coordination and joint deliveries.
Moreover, encouraging the widespread use of Metal X® by trading companies other than
Metal One and advancing joint open development of the platform will help transform theindustry by promoting digital transformation (DX) in overall automotive steel distribution.
This will also help resolve social issues, such as Japan’s talent shortage—the so-called “2025problem.”
Metal One
Metal One is an integrated steel trading company that operates worldwide, with 108 offices
and affiliates in Japan and elsewhere, and handles a wide variety of steel products that
include steel sheet for the automotive and appliance industries, construction materials,
containers and steel furniture.
Leveraging these domestic and overseas networks, Metal One provides a singular range ofcapabilities and services that include financing and IT solutions, along with the Metal One
Group’s operational capabilities such as logistics, warehousing and processing. In particular,Metal One’s automotive steel sheet business has helped construct strong supply chains in theautomotive industry by ensuring a stable supply of high-quality products and providing wideranging processing capabilities and just-in-time delivery.

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By utilizing its expertise cultivated through long, wide-ranging involvement within thesupply chain, Metal One is promoting the Metal X project as a way to partner with companies
involved in automotive steel sheet distribution, promote DX, and contribute to the industry’s
overall transformation and growth. The company is determined to build a platform thatserves as a foundation for undertaking sustainable corporate activities that areenvironmentally friendly, and to generate new value as ways of fulfilling its social
responsibilities as an integrated steel trading company.
IBM Japan
IBM Japan is the Japanese entity of IBM Corporation, which is operating in more than 175
countries around the world. It supports clients’ business transformation and digitaltransformation through a full range of services, from basic research and businessconsulting to IT system development and maintenance. For more information, visit
https://www.ibm.com/jp-ja/.
IBM Japan has supported this project in various ways, ranging from the conceptualization of
the Metal X® digital platform, strategy planning, consulting service for PoC verification andevaluation, as well as development, operation, and maintenance of the production system byleveraging its expertise and skills in consulting services for strategy planning ofsustainability, implementation of platforms, and cross-industry ecosystems building.
Based on its own expertise and pioneering case studies from Japan and globally, IBM Japan
will continue to work with clients to drive transformation toward sustainable management
and build cross-industry or cross-country platforms that enable the realization of asustainable society.

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Inquiries regarding this press release:
Hajime Kimura or Toshiyuki Higuchi
Corporate Communications & CSR Unit, Corporate Administration Department
Metal One Corporation
Phone: 03-6777-2816 / email: mo.pr@mtlo.co.jp
Chikako Ueji
External Relations
IBM Japan, Ltd.
Phone: 03-3808-5120 / email: PRESSREL@jp.ibm.com-3-

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