Re-flow review
How Core Highways unified five businesses into one data‑driven highways operator
Location
Nationwide
Industry
Highways, Traffic management
Users
1200+
A 3x increase
in reported safety observations and near misses
Over 1000% increase
in data capture compared with previous systems
Around £250,000 in cost savings
from retiring two legacy workforce management systems
2.5 hours saved per depot
per day through collation of paperwork, compliance, and job records.
A ‘single pane of glass’ visibility
across operations, workforce, and commercials
15,000+ tasks completed & 200,000+ photos captured
in the first two months of one regional rollout, aiding evidencing and auditability
Getting Core Highways onto one platform has been the answer. One platform, one visibility, one way of working.
Summary
Formed from five independently operating regional highways businesses, Core Highways needed a single operational backbone to unify process, data, commercial visibility, and customer experience at enterprise scale. By implementing Re‑flow Field Management, Core replaced fragmented, manual workflows with a standardised, end‑to‑end digital operating model across all regions and acquisitions.
The challenge: standardising multiple acquisitions at enterprise scale
Core Highways was created through the acquisition of multiple regional highways businesses, each operating its own processes and systems. Despite rebranding under one identity, operationally the business remained fragmented: legacy and manual workflows, inconsistent data, and limited visibility made scalable growth and informed decision making increasingly difficult.
To support their long‑term vision, Core Highways needed an enterprise‑grade operational backbone that could standardise how work was planned, delivered, evidenced, and measured, while still remaining flexible enough to support regional teams and future acquisitions. As Stephen Savage, Core’s Group Head of IT, explains:
[Re flow] was chosen for its flexibility, and for the ability to have a single pane of glass across the job generation and workforce management.
The solution: a unified ERP ecosystem
Core Highways selected Re‑flow, paired with NetSuite, to act as its single ERP ecosystem, connecting front‑line operations with financials, commercials, and reporting in real time. Re‑flow became embedded business-wide, replacing disconnected tools and processes with a single, standardised way of working.
Unlike legacy systems Core had used previously, Re‑flow provided true end‑to‑end capability, supporting everything from job creation and planning to compliance, safety reporting, and commercial insight. As Stephen Savage puts it:
Re‑flow has an end‑to‑end capability that the other systems don’t have. So going back to those systems now would be a step backwards for Core Highways in terms of how we work and how we operate.
Key Re‑flow capabilities used:
Job creation, planning, and workforce management
Mobile data capture, photos, and evidence
Compliance and safety reporting
Call on, call off permitting
Commercial and operational visibility
Standardised workflows across regions
Integration with NetSuite for ERP and finance
The results
1. Enterprise‑wide visibility and data-backed decisions
With Re‑flow, Core Highways now operates data‑driven operations at enterprise scale. Operational and commercial teams have real‑time insight into job performance, cost, evidence, and delivery, enabling faster, better‑informed decisions.
It gives us a lot more scope as a business to see front‑end commercials and operational delivery…to make better educated decisions.
2. Standardised delivery at scale
Re‑flow replaced fragmented regional ways of working with a single, consistent operating model across regions and acquisitions. Jobs are planned, delivered and evidenced the same way nationwide.
Within two months of the Southwest region going live alone, teams completed 15,000 tasks and captured nearly 200,000 photos, significantly improving evidencing and audit readiness.
3. Stronger safety and compliance
Safety and compliance are built into day‑to‑day operations. Structured workflows reduce rework and improve the quality and consistency of reporting. Permit on and off notifications are now automated through live job activity, ensuring councils and other stakeholders receive updates on time.
“Since using Re‑flow, we haven’t really had rework,” explains Ryan Harris Regional Director of the Southwest. In just a few months, safety observations and near‑miss reporting tripled, driving a more proactive safety culture.
4. Better experience for customers and teams
Standardised, transparent delivery has made Core easier to work with, both for customers and field teams.
It makes it a lot easier for our customers to trade with us. That is the ultimate goal.
Looking ahead:
With Re‑flow fully embedded as Core Highways’ operational backbone, the focus is now on executing phase two. This includes implementing Lantra and DVLA integrations (so depot managers understand they have the right skills and resources within their depot for each job), incorporating automated job profitability analysis, client portals, and leveraging Re-flow’s upcoming PAS 2080 module to ease regulatory compliance in carbon reporting.
As an industry‑leading enterprise, Core has played an active role in shaping Re‑flow’s product roadmap, bringing real‑world operational insight into new software features. This ensures Re‑flow continues to meet the demands of complex, large‑scale highways operations.
We’re now looking to really leverage the functionality we know is in the system – or coming down the line. These are things that will accelerate our business and drive towards our growth goals.
