Digital Transformation in Scrap Metal Trading
Interview with Jakub Bruch, Management of Bruch & Söhne GmbH & Co. KG
Jakub Bruch somewhat unexpectedly joined his family business, Bruch & Söhne, in the 4th generation, primarily positioned by his father as a manufacturing scrap and metal wholesaler with its own port handling facility. In the interview, he shared which comprehensive projects he plans to use to transform the company into a digital showcase, why the steps taken so far were not overly complicated, and how his vision for the future differs from his father’s.
Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Bruch, for many years now Bruch & Sons has been serving its customers as a scrap and metal wholesaler, as well as with a container service and its export services - how comprehensively do you support in this value chain exactly?
Jakub Bruch: In addition to our headquarters in Walldürn, we operate several other container bases and a port transshipment site in Würzburg, where finished materials arrive, which are then loaded onto ships and subsequently exported. In addition to operating our large iron and precious metal storage sites, we also take care of disposing of construction waste, old wood, commercial mixed waste, and similar materials. Here, we provide our customers and partner scrap yards with a total of seven trucks equipped with roll-off and skip loaders for loading and container swapping.
Wirtschaftsforum: You have gone through training to become a motor vehicle mechatronics technician before joining the family business three and a half years ago. How did that come about?
Jakub Bruch: My father had built up this company from almost nothing over the years. I myself had never paid much attention to the company. I was an independent motor vehicle mechatronics technician, I was attending master school and had the goal to become self-employed in this profession one day – since vehicles are also my private passion. When I once visited our company, I noticed that some processes were not optimally designed from my point of view. I told my father to call me if he ever needed my help. Two weeks later, the phone rang. I handed in my resignation to my employer that same day and dropped out of master school.
Wirtschaftsforum: Since then, you have implemented extensive digitalization projects at Bruch & Sons.
Jakub Bruch: Primarily, I'm responsible for everything. I couldn't stand the paperwork pileup we had. Looking forward, I want to transform us into a completely paperless company, even though this goal is not the top priority at the moment. However, many effective steps have already been implemented: Dispatching is now done entirely electronically, so that each driver's routes are displayed on his smartphone. The individual orders are automatically filled in the system and then printed out finished on a DIN-A5 sheet – this way our customers can clearly see that every step is neatly logged. A large information display showing the tour orders also ensures maximum clarity within the company. The weighing process now takes only ten seconds instead of three minutes and is carried out practically on-the-fly thanks to structured procedures. And a mesh network with ten outdoor access points lays a strong foundation for even more extensive steps.
Wirtschaftsforum: How significant were the hurdles in your previous digitalization measures?
Jakub Bruch: Fundamentally, they were not particularly high – because digitalizing processes to eliminate paper is actually not very difficult. Essentially, it involves designing a system that covers all the essential elements, and then establishing baselines that must be adhered to later. The term electronic scheduling might sound complicated at first, but fundamentally it's just a large table sorted by data that can be viewed and edited by multiple employees simultaneously – including by myself, when customers call me outside of any business hours to quickly book a tour. The next major project – a new enterprise resource planning program – will, however, intervene much more deeply into the existing processes and therefore be much more complex to implement.
Wirtschaftsforum: Frankly asked: How digital does a recycling operation actually need to become?
Jakub Bruch: The benefits are clear for us: For instance, when contaminants, deviations, proofs need to be recorded, this process can be simply documented with supporting visual material in the digital file and sent to the customer at the end of the month on a regular basis. Instead of drivers from external suppliers navigating our site with physical running sheets through the individual steps, in the future, they can rely on a much more seamless experience. Not every feature we provide needs to be used: For instance, our job sheets are now equipped with QR codes – if our drivers scan these in their navigation devices, they are immediately automatically shown the route they need to take. This function has so far been scarcely used, and that's okay. But in several years, we're going to have to employ new drivers from a different generation who would be surprised if this feature weren't available. That's why I want to lay a modern foundation as soon as possible, upon which later modular additions can be built.
Wirtschaftsforum: What is your vision for the coming years?
Jakub Bruch: My ideas actually differ from those of my father. Looking ahead, I hope that our machines will never stand still outside of the statutory rest times. Along with this, a fully utilized production, ideally in an efficient multi-shift system. A strict adherence to structural procedures and their planning and tracking on that digital foundation will enable that, I am absolutely certain.