In the steel business, value-added processing—like slitting, cutting-to-length, coating, and just-in-time packaging—isn’t just an upsell. It’s a margin lifeline. But if your quoting process doesn’t accurately reflect the real cost and value of those services, you could be winning jobs while losing money.

Underquoting processing doesn’t just eat into profits—it skews customer expectations, undercuts your differentiation, and locks your sales team into a race to the bottom. If you’re not watching closely, you may be giving away more than you think.

Here are five signs your quotes aren’t doing your value-added work justice—and what to do about it.

1. Your Processing Margins Are Consistently Below Raw Material Margins

If the value-added portion of your quote earns less per ton than the raw steel, something’s off. Processing should be a premium service, not a cost center.

Underpricing often happens when quote templates or ERP systems lump everything together or apply standard markups across the board. But processing is about time, equipment, labor, and logistics—all variables that deserve specific pricing attention.

Fix It: Break out processing costs in your quoting tools. Price based on machine time, setup complexity, and required packaging—not just volume.

2. You’re Absorbing Last-Minute Change Requests

Rush jobs, size changes, packaging tweaks—if your team is making these adjustments without quoting (and charging) for them, you’re training your customers to expect customization for free.

It might feel like good service in the moment, but over time it turns into an unspoken discount—and customers start asking for more because they know you’ll bend.

Fix It: Standardize a fee structure for changes. Communicate clearly when updates will impact price. Better yet, give your sales team tools to flag and price adjustments before the quote goes out.

3. Your Throughput Is Up, But Profits Aren’t

If you’re processing more steel than ever but your gross margin hasn’t moved—or has dropped—it’s likely that your value-added services aren’t being priced in line with the market.

Sometimes it’s because legacy customers were never updated. Other times it’s because quoting hasn’t kept up with machine costs, labor rates, or demand spikes.

Fix It: Run a margin audit on your top 10 processed SKUs. Compare machine time, maintenance needs, and labor costs to what you’re charging. If they’re not aligned, adjust.

4. Your Competitors Are Charging for Things You’re Giving Away

If you’ve ever heard a customer say, “You’re the only one who doesn’t charge for that,” take it as a red flag, not a compliment. You may be leaving money on the table—and training your market to expect more for less.

Remember, value-added services only count as value if the customer sees them and pays for them.

Fix It: Benchmark competitors’ pricing on slitting, custom packaging, logistics handling, and scrap disposal. Use that data to reset your positioning and your quote structure.

5. Your Sales Team Doesn’t Understand Processing Complexity

It’s tough to quote what you don’t understand. If reps see value-added as a checkbox or line item, they’ll quote it too generically—or skip it altogether. That leads to underpricing and overpromising.

Fix It: Train your sales team on the full scope of your processing capabilities. Walk them through what each service entails, where delays happen, and how much time it takes. Give them access to accurate pricing tools that reflect real-time capacity and costs.

Elevate the Role of Value-Add in the Sales Process

Value-added processing should be a highlight, not an afterthought. When you quote it correctly, you:

Protect your margins

Position your company as more than just a steel distributor

Signal to customers that your capabilities are worth paying for

But quoting it poorly? That sets off a chain reaction of misaligned expectations, shrinking profits, and overworked operations teams.

Final Thought: Don’t Let Your Value-Add Undervalue You

Steel is competitive. Every inch of margin counts. If you’re offering services that make life easier for your customers—fewer touches, less waste, better delivery windows—they should show up in your pricing.

Because value-add should add value for everyone. Especially you.