Nucor

The Company: Nucor 

Nucor’s metal offerings span the globe, from towering skyscrapers to vast commercial vessels and wind turbines. Across nine strategically positioned sites in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, the Nucor Cold Finish Group meticulously refines steel bars of diverse dimensions, configurations, and compositions. These plants not only supply internally within Nucor but also cater to the needs of external clients.

The Situation: Less Revenue and Customer Relations Inefficiency 

Nucor encountered obstacles in collaboration, efficiency, and data accessibility due to operating nine plants across three countries, each running on its own distinct legacy system.

Communication and essential processes among the plants had become challenging, leading to frustrating delays for customers in simple order fulfillment. Low productivity and morale stemmed from employees spending valuable time on tedious manual tasks.

“We were literally not speaking the same language,” recalled Steven McNair, a representative from Nucor Corporation. 

Problems Nucor faced with their outdated system setup included the following: 

• Labor Intensive Paperwork: Due to the utilization of four distinct systems with varying terminology, part numbers, and documentation, both employees and customers were burdened with navigating through multiple sets of information and paperwork just to complete a single purchase.
• Inaccurate Inventory Management: Having numerous sets of product information and lacking a unified method to report transactions across the business, inventory and production reporting became inefficient and challenging. Furthermore, obtaining real-time data was nearly impossible, leading to constant tension due to the absence of critical information.
• Limited Cost Projection Evaluations: Lacking access to consistent cost information across all locations made it challenging to evaluate the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of different processes, as well as to determine which products were more profitable for the entire business.
• Lack of industry specific functionality: Nucor’s cold finish operation lacked confidence in finding a highly customizable and cost-effective ERP solution. Other ERP options they had explored failed to meet the industry-specific functionality, scalability, and ongoing requirements that Nucor was seeking.

Nucor needed an ERP solution customized to suit its operations across multiple cold finish locations, aiming to enhance visibility and deliver an improved customer experience.

The Solution: Crowe Metals Accelerator

To address the challenge of utilizing four outdated legacy systems across nine cold finish sites, Nucor identified the potential for a customized ERP solution to reclaim lost revenue and enhance the customer experience. Opting for Crowe Metals Accelerator and Microsoft Dynamics 365™, Nucor was drawn to their combined capacity to streamline operations seamlessly across all locations. Crowe recognized that Nucor required more than just minor adjustments; it necessitated a comprehensive transformation of disjointed systems. Ready to tackle the challenge head-on, Crowe was prepared to deliver.

Customized for a metals business such as Nucor, Crowe Metals Accelerator, integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365, could enhance customer relations, streamline processes, and ensure readily accessible data through unified workflows across all locations. Here’s what Crowe delivered for the Nucor Cold Finish Group:

• Streamlined Data Gathering Approach: Instead of investing months in exhaustive requirements gathering across nine plants, four ERPs spanning three countries, and thousands of requirements, Crowe adopted a streamlined approach. Beginning with a pilot plant and concentrating on key areas requiring significant alignment and standardization, Crowe pinpointed core issues, necessary functionalities, and prioritized rankings. This process informed a foundational design applicable to Nucor’s pilot plant.
• Customization: Starting with the pilot plant, Crowe assisted in configuring Crowe Metals Accelerator and Microsoft Dynamics 365 into a tailored ERP solution through collaborative efforts with Nucor, ensuring validation of the following: 
  • Ensuring system readiness by developing ERP software functionality to meet Nucor’s business requirements.
  • Preparing data readiness by cleansing and testing data for accuracy following migration from legacy systems to Microsoft Dynamics 365.
  • Preparing people readiness by training representatives from various company departments to ensure system usability, accuracy, and alignment with user needs.
• Implantation: To ensure the seamless transition of business-critical corporate digital tools without disruption, Crowe provided Nucor with a tactical change management methodology. This approach facilitated a smooth transition for cutover projects from legacy ERPs to Crowe Metals Accelerator and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

A Better Business: 

Following the successful implementation of Crowe Metals Accelerator and Microsoft Dynamics 365, with guidance from a specialized team at Crowe, Nucor achieved sustained success and attained:

• Nucor’s pilot plant achieved a successful go-live within a mere five months, enabling the company to swiftly realize value and deploy an efficient ERP implementation across all locations.
• Nucor customers benefited from a streamlined process with condensed and consistent documents across every location. This simplified their buying experience and enhanced Nucor’s overall customer service.
• After a successful pilot plant, Crowe assisted Nucor in simplifying operations by deploying a unified solution across all nine plant locations and the entire cold finish group.
• Users experienced unprecedented efficiency as they could now swiftly generate reports using an entirely new enterprise data warehouse and business intelligence solution deployed across all nine divisions.
• By harnessing a versatile architecture, Nucor effectively deployed a solution customized to its distinct needs, drawing insights from subject-matter experts across the company.
• Pricing and financial data were no longer obscured, difficult to access, or overlooked. Nucor gained the ability to evaluate comprehensive cost information for each location and department, offering valuable insights for informed business decisions and fostering best practices across the company.
• With a single unified system and functionality, Nucor enabled employees to collaborate seamlessly across locations without the need for additional training.
• After the initial pilot go-live, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the transition of all project members to a fully remote workforce midway through the project. Despite this unexpected challenge, Crowe managed to successfully complete the project on schedule and within budget.

“Crowe has a methodology and a team that is disciplined where necessary, but flexible and creative enough to accommodate differing client needs and implementation approaches,” said McNair. Through collaboration with Crowe, Nucor integrated Crowe Metals Accelerator and Microsoft Dynamics 365, consolidating multiple legacy systems, enhancing user experience, and revolutionizing its reporting procedures. This initiative not only delighted customers but also significantly boosted efficiency throughout its cold finish division.