In CIO’s 2017 CIO100 profile, Fletcher Building CIO John Bell described a Group Technology programme launched in late 2015 to centralise fragmented IT operations and shift investment from maintenance toward business growth. The account combines a large-scale technology consolidation with changes to service delivery, business engagement and innovation; its figures and outcomes are Bell’s interview-era reports, not current company data or independently verified results.
What the CIO100 #21 profile covers
CIO published Divina Paredes’s interview with John Bell on 29 March 2017. It was the #21 entry in the CIO100 series, whose leaders were asked about business transformation, innovation and leadership. The accompanying overview says the top 30 were ranked and entries 31–100 appeared alphabetically; it does not disclose Bell’s individual score or a detailed scoring rubric. CIO’s 2017 CIO100 overview provides that context.
Why Fletcher Building was changing Group Technology
Bell said the multifaceted transformation programme was established in late 2015. Its aim was to create “solid, reliable, and efficient technology foundations” while moving investment from “run to grow”—using technology not only to keep operations going but also to support differentiation and growth.
At the time of the interview, Bell described Fletcher Building as operating in more than 40 countries, supporting about 19,000 staff across more than 800 locations, and employing approximately 400 permanent and contingent workers in Group Technology. These are figures from his 2017 account, not present-day totals.
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The fragmented technology estate Bell described
Bell’s account portrayed a dispersed environment built up across business units. He reported 72 ERP instances, 16 CRM systems, 21 payroll systems, 20 data centres and more than 2,300 servers. The transformation sought to reduce that fragmentation and establish shared services across the group.
- Consolidate business-unit technology teams into one global Group Technology organisation.
- Move from multiple service desks toward one logical, 24×7 global service model.
- Consolidate data centres and design a single global network.
- Rationalise end-user computing and applications, and introduce software asset management.
- Implement ServiceNow to capture and handle service requests and incidents consistently, with more automation.
Bell said headcount had decreased and service levels and user experience were gradually improving. Those are outcomes as he reported them in 2017; the interview does not independently verify them.
How the operating model and business relationship changed
The programme was not only an infrastructure consolidation. Bell described an effort to connect technology planning more closely to business decisions across a portfolio of 32 companies. The organisation introduced divisional IT general managers and eight new Heads of IT roles, intended to improve engagement with business units and bring technology into investment discussions earlier.
Bell also described specialist technology centres of excellence and a global service model. To support the shift from embedded business-unit IT toward shared services, the programme included consultation, town halls and management briefings. The profile presents centralisation as both an organisational redesign and a cultural change, rather than a technology-only project.
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Digital Lab applications and reported business results
Bell said a Digital Lab of 20 developers, based largely in New Zealand, focused on applications intended to deliver business value. He reported that the team had processed about 800 ideas and selected 24 applications for development using Agile techniques. Named deployments included FletcherSpec Pro and a PlaceMakers estimating tool.
FletcherSpec Pro
Bell said FletcherSpec Pro increased specification throughput from two per month to 400 per month, and that turnover was up 80 per cent. These are interview-reported figures; the profile does not independently audit the results or establish that the application alone caused the turnover increase.
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- Author: Bungay Stanier, Michael.
- Publisher: Page Two
- Pages: 244
- Publication Date: 2016-02-29
- Edition: 1
PlaceMakers estimating tool
Bell contrasted the new tool with a previous outsourced estimating process that he said cost $800 per estimate and took one to three weeks. With the new tool, estimates took hours, according to his 2017 interview. The source does not establish a current price or independently measured saving.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Moving spending from “run” to “transform and grow”
Bell said more than 89 per cent of operating expenditure had historically gone to “keeping the lights on.” He described a target to increase the share spent on “transform and grow” from 10 per cent to more than 30 per cent. Those percentages describe the historical allocation and target in his interview; they are not evidence that the target was subsequently achieved.
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The same account linked that financial shift to workforce development. Bell said all 400 Group Technology staff had been trained in Agile and customer centricity. He also said eight graduates were recruited in 2016 as part of an ongoing programme to broaden the team’s skills and diversity.
What the case study demonstrates—and what it does not
The profile’s central lesson is that Bell framed technology transformation as a linked set of changes: consolidate services and infrastructure, create clearer business-facing roles, build shared expertise, and reserve more capacity for work intended to support growth. Its concrete examples show the kinds of process changes the programme pursued, but the reported throughput, time, cost and turnover figures remain Bell’s account in 2017. They should not be read as current operating metrics or as independently established causal effects.
Quick Recap
Read the original CIO interview with John Bell.
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