According to Vadim Makhov, deputy director of the Severstal-group on strategy and controlling, "A Balanced Score Card is a new approach to company strategy. Financial indicators which has been used traditionally in evaluating company's effectiveness don't provide a range of measurable indicators in a number of areas such as Markets and Clients, Business Processes and HR. A combination of a number of qualitative and quantitative parameters in all of these areas allows us to make judgements about company's performance."

One of the tasks of the BSC project is to improve interrelationship between various business units. The BSC will unite tasks faced by each employee with a common goal, which is set for the whole company. The system also allows to control and assess reaching goals at all levels.

Severstal is the first steel mill in Russia, which launched the BSC project with a goal of strengthening its position in the metals market and assuring it survival in the increasingly competitive environment.

The project was launched by Severstal's strategic planning department in January 2002. It has analyzed foreign companies' experience with the BSC and set deadlines for its complete implementation at Severstal. By 2004 the BSC will be fully implemented and automated in all company units.

In the course of the project the hands on technique of creating the BSC, adapted to specific characteristics of the company's business, will be developed. According to Vadim Makhov, the idea of launching the BSC at Severstal came about with the beginning of the restructuring of the Severstal group. Presently, the structure of the holding is being formed. In future, the BSC project will be implemented at other companies of the Severstal-group.