Transforming supply chain operations at Martinus with Felix

Scott Craik, Supply Chain and Logistics Manager joined Martinus five years ago and shares how Martinus’s scale has brought both opportunity and challenge – and having implemented Felix in August 2024, he speaks to how Felix became central to managing that growth.

Challenges prior to Felix

• Rapid company growth: The employee count at Martinus ballooned from 164 to 1,800 over 12 months, requiring scalable systems and vendor controls.

• Platform fragmentation: Prior to Felix, there was a reliance on Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Word and SharePoint. They also changed ERP systems. This led to fragmented vendor data and poor visibility.

• Vendor explosion: Within their SharePoint system, 4,000 vendors existed with little clarity on services offered or usage history.

• Compliance overload: Navigating the federal red tape was time-consuming and resource-draining.

• Legacy systems: The company was juggling multiple outdated platforms that couldn’t support the new scale.

Outcomes enabled by Felix 

Vendor onboarding

• Significant efficiency improvements: By implementing Felix, Martinus transitioned from manual processes and complicated approvals to full digitisation.
  
  
• Vendor clarity: They now have full visibility across their vendor database and can observe who isn’t being engaged and can utilise a list of preferred suppliers.
  
  

 “Our onboarding process is now three times faster - what used to be manual and time-consuming has now been streamlined. Previously, we relied on Microsoft Forms and Word documents to send supplier invitations, which then had to pass through up to seven approvers. With Felix, the entire process is digitised, faster, and far easier to manage."

Reporting and transparency

• Accessible vendor insights: With Felix, users can now generate vendor reports by location, project or capability.
  
  
• Use of tags: 110+ custom tags are used to track service type, project affiliation, payment terms, requesters, HSC, sustainability, and more.
  
  
• Enhanced compliance tracking: Felix provides real-time alerts for expiring insurances to ensure engagement of compliant vendors.
  
  

“The ability to add tags is a game changer – it’s a simple yet powerful way to visually capture and share key vendor information with project teams. Even better, we can report on those tags to support business decision-making. Felix has become our single source of truth for onboarding and vendor management.”

Business efficiency

• Cost savings: Onboarding consumes time from requesters, approvers and system administrators – which comes at a cost to Martinus. Felix has digitised this process – streamlining processes, creating efficiencies and avoiding duplication – saving time and therefore saving on cost.
  
  
• Lean vendor strategy: Felix has allowed Martinus to ensure effort is only spent on vendors who add real value. A centralised system makes it easy to regularly cull unused vendors to maintain a lean, accurate database.
  
  
• Change management: Team buy-in has steadily grown as more staff experience the practical benefits of Felix first-hand. This proactive involvement is driving broader adoption across the business and Felix is gaining more and more genuine support. 
  
  

 "Another big improvement is our ability to quickly generate and share reports when the team needs to engage a supplier. We can instantly provide a list of all local vendors or those within a specific supply category, helping the team connect with existing options first before inviting and onboarding new vendors."

Felix in action across major projects

Felix underpins all Martinus projects - you can find out more about these on the Martinus website. Notable large-scale initiatives include:

Inland Rail - Albury to Illabo

• Scope: Albury to Illabo is the first section of the larger Albury to Parkes project, involving extensive enhancements to 44 kilometres of existing track within the 185-kilometre Albury to Illabo rail corridor. Infrastructure upgrades including lowering tracks and replacing bridges to support double-stacked freight containers. 

• Vendor and compliance demands: Significant environmental, community, and procurement requirements; Albury to Parkes project value is $403M+ across 35 sites.

Learn more about the Albury to Parkes project.

Albury to Parkes project - image courtesy of Martinus.

Sydney Metro West

• Scope: A significant infrastructure upgrade designed to meet the future demands of Sydney’s growing population. Includes installation of overbridge barriers, safety and security enhancements, road upgrades and finishing works to bring the Southwest T3 line to the standards required for Metro operations.  
  
  
• Vendor and compliance demands: Comprehensive business, community and stakeholder management indicate a structured approach to compliance, for vendors and subcontractors to align with.

Learn more about the Sydney Metro Southwest project.

Hurlstone Park Concept Station - image courtesy of Martinus.

Expanding into new markets

While Felix currently supports projects across Australia and New Zealand, it will also play a key role in supporting Martinus’s entry into new, international markets.

The Americas – USA and Chile

• USA expansion: Martinus is expanding in the USA through acquisition of full-service railway infrastructure company that builds and maintains large scale rail roads and intermodals within North America. 

• Chile expansion: By leveraging partnerships, Martinus is extending operations into Chile with a focus on large-scale rail infrastructure projects and expansion into the haulage sector. 

• Implementation: Felix is being introduced as the vendor onboarding and procurement platform to standardise operations across borders.

• Vision: Build process rigor and transparency in less-regulated international environments like the USA and Chile.

Final thoughts and recommendation

Scott is an advocate for Felix - frequently promoting at trade events and within senior management.

When asked if Scott would recommend Felix:

“Absolutely. From improved efficiency and compliance to a more transparent ecosystem, Felix has helped Martinus modernise vendor onboarding and procurement in one of the most complex and heavily regulated sectors in Australia.”