Digital solutions have become increasingly integral to Australian steel leader BlueScope’s strategy. However, in recent years, the company had realized that many of its existing enterprise resource planning and other legacy systems were falling short in supporting its business initiatives. Microsoft has reported that after realizing many of BlueScope’s existing ERP systems weren’t meeting business needs, the team searched for a cloud-based solution to consolidate multiple applications. BlueScope Australia’s Steel Product IT department’s Head of Strategy and Transformation Mr Jagdeep Singh said “Improving the experience of our customers and employees, and providing a single view across our supply chain, was either not possible or required increasing levels of complexity. For instance, in Australia we have over 300 applications supporting our Coated and Industrial Products business. Many of these systems are point-to-point connected, with black and white screens, making it very difficult for our employees to use and for our IT teams to maintain and untangle, let alone consider any enhancements. Our aging and custom-built IT systems are also becoming increasingly costly to maintain.” Most importantly, BlueScope’s ERP transformation project is the first step in improving its customer experience. Mr Singh said “Key business processes such as accurate pricing, easy quoting and timely, consistent information about orders and deliveries are not efficiently met by our legacy systems. We were looking for these capabilities to be part of the new solution.” After evaluating nine ERP solutions, BlueScope selected Microsoft Dynamics 365 with the Crowe Metals Accelerator. The company also teamed up with Microsoft partner DXC Technology to implement and customize the software for the BlueScope environment. In the first phase of the project, BlueScope has decommissioned 13 legacy systems and implemented a new self-service online portal, based on Microsoft Power Platform, to expand customers’ access to information. Mr Singh said “By deploying a new solution, we will see consolidation of our applications and simplification of our technology landscape by the decommissioning of multiple legacy systems. This would streamline business processes and provide a modern technology foundation for its Australian Coated and Industrial Products supply chain and customer-facing systems. This foundation would in turn support the business’s growth and ability to innovate.” BlueScope has on boarded around 300 users onto its ERP system to date, with plans to add another 250 in future phases of the project. The company also has a large number of customers using its new customer portal called SteelConnect. Once the entire supply chain for BlueScope’s Australian Coated and Industrial Products business is using D365 with CMA, the company will be positioned to integrate new and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced and predictive analytics, and back-office robotics to automate manual processes currently performed by employees.
Digital solutions have become increasingly integral to Australian steel leader BlueScope’s strategy. However, in recent years, the company had realized that many of its existing enterprise resource planning and other legacy systems were falling short in supporting its business initiatives. Microsoft has reported that after realizing many of BlueScope’s existing ERP systems weren’t meeting business needs, the team searched for a cloud-based solution to consolidate multiple applications. BlueScope Australia’s Steel Product IT department’s Head of Strategy and Transformation Mr Jagdeep Singh said “Improving the experience of our customers and employees, and providing a single view across our supply chain, was either not possible or required increasing levels of complexity. For instance, in Australia we have over 300 applications supporting our Coated and Industrial Products business. Many of these systems are point-to-point connected, with black and white screens, making it very difficult for our employees to use and for our IT teams to maintain and untangle, let alone consider any enhancements. Our aging and custom-built IT systems are also becoming increasingly costly to maintain.” Most importantly, BlueScope’s ERP transformation project is the first step in improving its customer experience. Mr Singh said “Key business processes such as accurate pricing, easy quoting and timely, consistent information about orders and deliveries are not efficiently met by our legacy systems. We were looking for these capabilities to be part of the new solution.” After evaluating nine ERP solutions, BlueScope selected Microsoft Dynamics 365 with the Crowe Metals Accelerator. The company also teamed up with Microsoft partner DXC Technology to implement and customize the software for the BlueScope environment. In the first phase of the project, BlueScope has decommissioned 13 legacy systems and implemented a new self-service online portal, based on Microsoft Power Platform, to expand customers’ access to information. Mr Singh said “By deploying a new solution, we will see consolidation of our applications and simplification of our technology landscape by the decommissioning of multiple legacy systems. This would streamline business processes and provide a modern technology foundation for its Australian Coated and Industrial Products supply chain and customer-facing systems. This foundation would in turn support the business’s growth and ability to innovate.” BlueScope has on boarded around 300 users onto its ERP system to date, with plans to add another 250 in future phases of the project. The company also has a large number of customers using its new customer portal called SteelConnect. Once the entire supply chain for BlueScope’s Australian Coated and Industrial Products business is using D365 with CMA, the company will be positioned to integrate new and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced and predictive analytics, and back-office robotics to automate manual processes currently performed by employees.
