Public Joint Stock Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works : MMK once again among the leaders in procurement

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works became the winner of the tenth anniversary award "Leader in Competitive Procurement", winning in the category "Best Support for Small and Medium Business".

Projects were evaluated and winners were selected by the Public Council of 140 independent experts - procurement directors of Russian companies, procurement and logistics professionals. This year, 270 of the country's largest companies, 40% of which are included in the Expert 400 rating, competed for the victory. MMK won in the category 'Best SME Support', which recognises companies that have built exemplary partnerships with suppliers from small and medium-sized businesses (SME).

This is not the first time that MMK has been ranked among the companies demonstrating the country's best procurement practices. In particular, MMK won this award in the category 'Economic Efficiency of Procurement Operations', and was also repeatedly commended by the National Procurement Transparency Rating.

MMK Group strives to improve procurement efficiency through steadily developing reliable partnerships with all suppliers - this is one of the key aspects of the Company's successful development. MMK is improving the openness and transparency of its procurement activities in line with domestic and international best practices. As part of the improvement of its procurement system, MMK uses state-of-the-art digital solutions in its work with contractors. Every year, the Company holds its 'Best Supplier' competition. This MMK initiative is aimed at recognising and rewarding the efforts and achievements of suppliers and encouraging them to implement programmes aimed at continuous improvement.

MMK pays special attention to interaction with suppliers from small and medium-sized businesses as part of its regional development: assistance to SMEs is an important component of sustainable development. The Industrial Park created with the Company's support plays a key role in this area. MMK Industrial Park residents are based on a territory with developed production infrastructure and enjoy the maximum support possible under federal and regional legislation: property, land and transport tax rates are nullified for them, while the profit tax rate has been reduced by 3.5%. A loyal rental rate is also in effect. MMK, in turn, co-finances residents' projects to create new, or expand existing, production facilities on a competitive basis. Many of the park's residents are included in MMK Group's production chain and supply their products to the Company.

The Competitive Procurement Leader Award is the first professional competition in the field of trade and procurement, uniting procurers, representatives of authorities, media and public organisations. The Award was established by the electronic trading platform B2B-Center in 2012 to draw attention to the most significant projects in the field of procurement, which increase the efficiency of companies and contribute significantly to the development of the entire market. In 10 years, 1,385 projects have participated in the award.