Executive Summary
National steel industry leader Fielders has launched a major
initiative to win a significant share of the $600 million a year
Australian steel shed market.
With the technology backing of its software partner ESS,
Fielders is poised to become the first steel roll-forming company
to supply its customers with complete shed kits.
Fielders already produces 70 per cent of content for the shed
manufacturers, so it has moved to seize an opportunity to improve
the efficiency of its supply chain, reduce costs and win new
business by providing its customers with complete shed kits.
As well as establishing itself as a one-stop shop for both
current and new customers, Fielders expects the initiative to
deliver reduced production costs throughout its distribution
channel, creating opportunities for a major expansion in business.
The key to unlocking this opportunity is a customised software
system that enables Fielders and its customers to work together
seamlessly, providing a fully integrated production process from
design to delivery.
ESS applied its intimate knowledge of the building industry and
a clearly scoped understanding of Fielders' objectives to design a
software system that is completely customised to unlock this
business opportunity.
The tailor-made system designed by ESS enables Fielders to
provide its agents with fully customised shed kits. The agent is
able to use the ESS software to create a shed design to customer
requirements, provide an accurate quote, calculate all engineering
requirements and order the components required from Fielders.
Fielders intends this initiative to transform it from a
component supplier for the national shed industry to a complete
solution provider. By improving efficiency and reducing costs,
Fielders is planning to capture a significant portion of the
national shed market during the next three years.
Company Overview
Fielders has operated for more than a century, building a
strong reputation for its innovative approach to manufacturing.
The $180 million a year company produces roll profiles from sheet
metal, creating products such as roofing materials, doorframes,
fencing and walling.
Fielders' innovative culture is evident in the company's
products which include a Mobile Roofing Mil that forms Fielders'
concealed fix roof profiles onsite, and the KingFlor flooring
concept which provides composite steel formwork systems for
commercial developments.
Fielders is the only company in Australia to back its products
with a 20-year installation guarantee.
With its head office in Adelaide, Fielders employs a staff of
500 and operates major production plants in Adelaide, Perth,
Melbourne and Sydney with smaller-scale plants in Darwin and
Mildura.
The Business Opportunity
Australia 's shed industry - which covers everything from
single-car garages to sheds spanning 30 metres - is worth as much
as $600 million in annual sales.
Traditionally, as many as six suppliers have delivered their
components to shed assemblers, creating a complex and inefficient
supply chain.
Fielders Endurance Structures National Manager Paul Martin
joined Fielders in December 2002 to research the Australian shed
market and assess the viability of Fielders taking this major
step.
"The shed market is not a huge growth market taken overall, but
it does generate hundreds of millions of dollars worth in annual
sales," he said. "Also it covers all sectors, from industrial
production units and warehouses to aquaculture developments, barns
and rural holiday homes. We see rural holiday homes becoming a big
market as the cost of producing a good holiday home within a barn
design are considerably lower than by any other means of
construction.
"It made sense for Fielders to take advantage of this
opportunity, building on its extensive shed component base and
also to prevent any potential loss of revenue from another major
player in the shed kit component market."
Fielders, which already produced 70 per cent of content for the
shed assemblers, has established good relationships with other
suppliers, enabling it to obtain components it doesn't produce.
Mr. Martin said the initiative would enable its agents to deal
with Fielders as their only supplier. "Agents like dealing with a
roll-former direct," he said. "This gives a far more structured
and efficient supply chain, operating at a smoother and faster
rate with greater profitability."
Mr. Martin said a critical requirement was the software
necessary to automate the supply chain. "In order to supply
complete shed kits through agents, Fielders needed a specific,
tailor-made software system for the agents to use," he said.
"We had to empower our agents to do four things: produce
designs specific to customer requirements; quote to the client
accurately; do all the engineering so it would not require any
external input; and meet all the relevant building and structural
codes, administration work and council documentation."
The ESS Solution
ESS specialises in solving business problems for companies in
the steel industry. The Australian-owned company engineers
software that improves quality, reduces risk and cuts costs for
clients in a wide range of other sectors.
Fielders approached ESS to scope its software requirements for
this total shed kit supply.
"ESS has a very great knowledge of the building industry and
trends in building and construction, so much so that it almost
foreshadows the industry," said Mr. Martin.
"What sets ESS apart from others is that it takes time to get
the scoping correct. ESS has a very good grasp of the end result,
the output. It is very proactive in the roll-forming industry; so
in fact it leads the way."
ESS's custom-designed software enables Fielders' agents to
handle any design of shed, from the smallest free span of four
metres right up to a 30 metre free span. This gives absolute
flexibility in size, while maintaining consistent quality and
design. The software delivers significant savings in technical
resources and time by enabling agents to give on-the-spot
quotations and at the same time create all other information ready
to process the order.
The software's Bill of Materials and Bill of Works estimating
systems equip agents to give accurate quotations to customers,
send component supply details to Fielders, provide assembly
details for installers and create the engineering details needed
to certify the product.
Critical components were engineering routines and compliance
certificates, which are integrated within the easy-to-use program
for the Fielders' agent.
Mr. Martin said this ease of use was essential to ensure agents
used the software. "It's very user-friendly; so a complete novice
could be trained in one to two days," he said.
Business Benefits
Mr Martin said the ESS software equipped Fielders to manage
anticipated growth in demand from its launch in the total shed kit
supply market. "One main concern is that we need to ensure
Fielders' manufacturing plants have adequate capacity to meet the
increased demand," he said.
"Relative to market potential and the growth of the business,
the potential return more than justifies the expenditure. We look
forward to working with ESS on Stage Two of the software, that
will enable downloading direct from design to production, so the
design plan and logistics for any shed project never need to be
man-handled."
