A digital screen inside an office building in Nanxiang Town, which houses the Shanghai Zall Steel Electronic Commerce Business Co, updates figures relating to the China steel industry every six seconds. The numbers range from real-time transaction volume to data analysis graphs.

About six years ago, the traditional steel industry reached its development ceiling while technologies in the Internet sector started to grow rapidly. In 2018, Zall Steel came into being, and now the company has become a well-known high-tech enterprise in China.

“What can we change?” was the question raised by Pan Fujie, CEO of Zall Steel.

In 2019, the company introduced its first generation of products, which played a pivotal role in breaking down information silos within the steel industry. Increasingly, its businesses are embracing the Internet as a key component.

In the past six years, the company has obtained about 10 patents and more than 40 software copyrights.

“We provide both normal trading and bespoke services. And we compete in the digital economy,” Pan added.

“We rely on smart trading and have strengths in supply chain and technology services. We have six service platforms: smart trade, supply chain service, Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud services, warehouse Internet of Things (IoT), smart logistics, and data management.

“Traditional industries combined with the Internet will definitely unleash new vitality,” Pan said.

By the end of 2023, Zall Steel had established 50 service centers around the country, covering over 310 cities in 32 provinces. It has more than 70,000 clients and trade volume in total has exceeded 130 billion yuan (US$17.9 billion).

“And we would like to expand overseas,” Pan said.

Recently, Zall Steel received approval for its first cross-border export business order. The company, which specializes in exporting domestic hot-rolled high-strength steel, plans to ship the goods to Saudi Arabia for the construction of terminal photovoltaic projects.

“We expect that within five years, our international trade volume will account for 30 percent. That will be 10 billion yuan,” Pan said.