In steel purchasing, a missing or mismatched Material Test Report (MTR) can derail an entire job. You may have the right coil, at the right spec, in the right quantity—but without a compliant MTR, your receiving team hits pause, your customer questions your credibility, and your schedule takes a hit.
For purchasing managers at steel service centers, managing MTR compliance isn’t just about paperwork—it’s about preventing quality rejections, customer claims, and line stoppages.
Here’s how to reduce those risks without turning your desk into a documentation nightmare.
Understand the True Role of an MTR
An MTR is more than a delivery form. It’s the official document that certifies the steel’s chemical and mechanical properties meet the required standards—ASTM A1011, A36, A572, or whatever your customer or end-use calls for.
In an increasingly traceability-conscious market, especially in sectors like construction, automotive, and energy, your customers expect steel with a matching MTR as a condition of acceptance. That means one slip-up—wrong coil tagged to the wrong MTR—and the entire load can be rejected.
Why MTR Issues Are a Recurring Pain Point
MTR problems fall into a few common categories:
Mismatched Heat Numbers: The coil’s heat number doesn’t match the MTR provided.
Missing Properties: The MTR lacks data for key elements—yield, elongation, tensile strength.
Spec Confusion: The steel was ordered to A1018 but delivered to A1008, and no substitution was cleared.
Wrong Format: The MTR is scanned, blurry, or doesn’t meet customer format requirements.
No MTR at All: Coil arrives with no documentation or is held at receiving until it’s emailed later.
Each of these issues costs time, triggers rework, and opens the door to customer claims—especially if the coil is processed before the error is caught.
Step One: Set MTR Standards with Your Suppliers
Don’t assume your vendors know what your service center—or your customer—requires. You must spell it out clearly on your POs and in your vendor documentation.
At a minimum, include:
Required specification (ASTM or equivalent)
Expected mechanical and chemical properties
Format preference (PDF, hard copy, electronic upload)
Delivery method (sent with shipment, emailed, or uploaded to a portal)
Responsibility to resolve errors within a defined timeframe
Suppliers that consistently miss MTR accuracy targets should be placed on a quality watch list—or face volume reductions.
Step Two: Validate MTRs Before Receiving
This step is often skipped in busy operations—but it’s the best place to catch problems before they go downstream.
Set up a standard MTR review process. When coil arrives:
Verify heat number against the shipping label and the MTR.
Check the key property values against ordered spec tolerances.
Flag inconsistencies immediately—don’t let the coil hit a line until confirmed.
Ideally, use a barcode or QR system that links MTRs to inventory records. If your ERP can manage document attachments, link the MTR to the coil’s internal ID for fast lookup.
Step Three: Educate Receiving and Warehouse Staff
Purchasing may own the MTR spec, but your receiving team is the front line. Train them on:
What to look for on an MTR
How to match heat numbers quickly
What to do if an MTR is missing or incorrect
Who to contact at your supplier for resolution
A well-trained receiving crew can stop bad steel from entering the system and keep your team focused on buying—not firefighting.
Step Four: Create a Centralized MTR Repository
Too often, MTRs are scattered across inboxes, paper folders, or random desktop files. That’s a compliance risk and a traceability nightmare.
Whether it’s a shared drive, ERP document module, or third-party platform, build a central location where MTRs are stored, searchable, and auditable. Tag MTRs by:
Supplier
Heat number
PO number
Specification
Date received
That makes audits faster, customer document requests easier, and internal reviews more manageable.
Step Five: Include MTR Quality in Supplier Scorecards
Don’t just track tonnage and on-time performance—include MTR accuracy and delivery as a key metric.
Measure:
% of shipments with MTR issues
Average resolution time for MTR corrections
% of MTRs delivered on time and in full
Then use that data in quarterly supplier reviews. Vendors that see MTR issues reflected in their scorecard will respond faster—or risk losing volume.
Step Six: Automate Where Possible
If your ERP or procurement platform supports it, require digital MTR uploads with every ASN (Advanced Shipping Notice). Use logic to reject ASNs with missing documents or mismatched heat numbers before the load is scheduled to arrive.
Some platforms can even parse MTR PDFs to validate chemical and mechanical properties automatically. If you’re processing hundreds of coils per month, this investment can reduce errors and labor.
Step Seven: Prepare for Customer Audits
Customers in the construction, aerospace, or energy sectors often audit material traceability. Be ready to retrieve MTRs quickly, link them to lot numbers, and prove your receiving and quality process.
If a customer asks, “Where’s the MTR for this slit coil delivered on May 12?”—you should be able to respond in minutes, not hours.
Final Word
Steel doesn’t move without paperwork. As purchasing manager, you can’t stop every MTR issue—but you can make sure they don’t disrupt your operation.
By setting expectations, inspecting documentation early, training your teams, and holding suppliers accountable, you reduce risk and keep jobs moving. Because in steel, quality doesn’t just arrive on a truck—it arrives with the right test report.
