marketplace for MMK Group organisations. At the beginning of 2021, MMK customers will be able to use a new, modern and convenient service to purchase and arrange delivery of MMK products online.

MMK’s project to create its own marketplace, an e-Commerce platform where MMK Group customers can order rolled metal and hardware products directly online, was initiated by the Company in early 2020, after evaluating new market trends and changing customer needs. The share of online sales is growing both globally and in the Russian market, due to the convenience, speed and security of online sales, with the latter factor becoming particularly relevant. The experience of other companies shows that in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, online sales in all areas are growing rapidly, significantly outpacing the usual sales methods. With extensive sales knowledge and expertise, MMK intends to be among the first Russian steel producers to significantly increase its share of online sales in the total volume of product shipments.

Leading specialists, including online platform developers, were engaged to implement the project, whose knowledge, combined with MMK specialists' experience, will allow for the launch of the platform in the shortest possible time. At the moment, work on the project is being carried out according to the approved schedule: a system design concept has been prepared, an interactive marketplace prototype has been developed, software is being implemented, auctions have been held and a contract for the supply of server equipment has been signed.

MMK's marketplace will have the most intuitive and user-friendly interface, which will allow customers to significantly reduce the time they spend selecting and processing products, choosing a convenient delivery method, getting fast customer service, as well as their ability to quickly place an order for production and receive information about the order’s progress. Another distinctive feature of this platform is the absence of purchase volume restrictions for the most popular assortment on the market. Any customer can place an order even for a small batch of metal products.

As part of the platform's development, there are plans to attract third-party manufacturers and distributors outside the MMK Group as project participants, which will expand the product range sold through the marketplace. In the future, the platform will be able to provide additional services to customers, such as cutting, EPS and shot blasting, priming, plasma cutting, profile bending, etc. It will also be possible to provide individual payment terms.

The marketplace project is being implemented as part of the Company's strategy to digitalise business processes and expand customer services and will increase the demand for MMK products and increase sales efficiency and customer satisfaction.