What is NetSuite?

Your company will stand or fall based on the technology it embraces.

An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a software platform that helps businesses manage and integrate their core business processes—such as financials, supply chain, manufacturing, and human resources—providing a central repository of information accessible and shareable by different departments and team members within an organization.

Why NetSuite?

With over 37,000 companies worldwide placing their trust in its cloud-based business management platform, NetSuite presents compelling reasons for being the top choice in ERP selection. Operating your entire business from a single platform, it consolidates finance, supply chain, manufacturing, HR, and ecommerce into one system with a unified database. Moreover, its flexibility – from native integrations to its intuitive cloud environment – is unparalleled.

It can work exactly how you want it to, but everything comes with a learning curve. A technology investment of this magnitude requires careful handling, consideration, and expertise honed through years of dedication and hands-on experience in the field.

This is why we recommend exploring the NetSuite Partner ecosystem to find a solution consultant who can focus on your specific requirements and tailor your NetSuite module precisely to your needs.

After you've chosen a partner, make sure to hold them accountable to a structured process for implementing NetSuite, ensuring that the engagement includes all the following steps.

Steps to A Successful NetSuite Implementation

Comprehensive Planning and Analysis

A successful NetSuite implementation journey can't begin without thorough planning and analysis.

Your solution provider should dive into the intricacies of your business needs, workflows, and future goals. Then, they need to present a meticulously outlined project plan that guides each implementation phase, providing a clear roadmap for a successful outcome. A partner with a steadfast commitment to comprehensive planning showcases a strategic mindset, prioritizing the seamless harmonization of NetSuite with your organization's unique requirements.

Tailored Customization and Configuration

You may have the most unique, unusual requirements, but that shouldn't necessarily scare away your NetSuite partner. If they possess a powerful knowledge of the platform and its many use cases, they will be able to configure your module to meet your distinct business processes. Make sure that they not only understand those processes but are also able to translate them into customized NetSuite solutions.

This personalized framework is absolutely necessary to maintain efficiency, even if there's a chance the project might take a little extra time to align with your distinct operations.

Secure Data Migration and Integrity Assurance

A trustworthy NetSuite partner should excel in secure data migration, safeguarding the integrity of your valuable information throughout the process. Look for a solution provider with a proven track record in handling complex data migrations while prioritizing security measures to prevent data loss or compromise. This includes implementing encryption protocols, access controls, and secure channels to prevent unauthorized access or data breaches, as well as cleansing procedures to address any inconsistencies, errors, or redundancies in the existing data, enhancing its quality and reliability.

Effective User Training and Support

With all the best intentions, a surprising number of NetSuite implementations fail to achieve widespread adoption, and there are often common threads among these failures. Fortunately, you can prevent this reality by supporting your users with thorough training programs. Everyone should receive customized training sessions tailored to their specific needs and responsibilities within the NetSuite environment, covering essential functionalities, processes, and best practices.

Your NetSuite provider should also establish channels for users to seek assistance, ask questions, and report issues. Whether through a dedicated support team, user forums, or comprehensive documentation, ongoing support allows users to overcome challenges and make the most of NetSuite's features.

Seamless Integration with Existing Systems

A NetSuite implementation isn’t so much a transition as it is a bridge that spans between two systems.

Your NetSuite consultant must understand all the data structures, formats, and workflows of your current applications and databases, and only then can they employ effective data mapping techniques to move data between NetSuite and other systems. Data transformation processes also need to be established to convert data formats and structures for compatibility.

It’s also recommended that they set up comprehensive logging systems that capture errors, anomalies, and changes during the integration process, aiding in troubleshooting and providing a detailed history.

Ensuring Scalability and Future-Proofing

One of the key reasons why enterprises implement NetSuite in the first place is to consolidate their expanding architecture into a single or a handful of scalable servers. By moving to the cloud, they can minimize overall ownership costs, optimize processes, software, and databases, and free up precious data centre space.

However, it can all go awry if your NetSuite partner fails to build a modular and scalable architecture that allows for easy integration of additional features, functionalities, and modules as the business expands. You need a flexible design to adapt to future technological advancements. Moreover, they need to consider the future load on your system and ensure that the infrastructure, hardware, and network resources are provisioned to accommodate increased demands without compromising performance.

Ongoing System Optimization

Going live on NetSuite doesn't mark the end; instead, it signifies only the beginning of your journey.

That’s why you need to go with a solution provider that is committed to ongoing system optimization. This involves regular assessments, updates, and adjustments to fortify NetSuite in accordance with your organization's evolving needs. A proactive partner will help you leverage new features, keep track of industry best practices, and continuously enhance the performance and functionality of your NetSuite system.

Why Collaborate with a Partner?

By engaging a NetSuite consultant or partner, you truly get the best of both worlds. The full power of NetSuite, with real-time data to help you scale faster and smarter, is seamlessly combined with advisory account management, consulting representation, award-winning support, and in-house certified NetSuite developers.

Every business is unique, and each requires different perspectives and customized reports tailored to fit their individual business models. A third-party team not only comprises a diverse group of developers and consultants with backgrounds in various industries but also brings real problem-solving capabilities to the table when aiming to achieve your goals on the NetSuite platform. They can make certain that NetSuite suits your needs, and not the other way around.

Access to Expert Guidance and Industry Best Practices

NetSuite partners are highly knowledgeable about the software and the overall NetSuite market. Therefore, investing in a partner will provide you with access to impartial answers, demonstrations, and any additional insights you may need throughout the implementation process.

Strategies for Risk Mitigation and Effective Problem-Solving

Qualified solution providers possess a profound understanding of NetSuite's functionalities and best practices, allowing them to anticipate potential risks and address issues efficiently. You can rely on proven mitigation strategies, leading to a lower impact of risks and a smoother implementation journey.

Development of Custom Solutions and Access to Advanced Features

Partners will provide the tools necessary for you to make well-educated choices rather than rushed decisions.

NetSuite consultants adapt the NetSuite product to meet your specific business requirements. By customizing features and processes, the partner enhances the software's functionality, creating a more intuitive and user-friendly environment for employees.

Streamlined Project Management

When you entrust NetSuite with your implementation project, you engage with multiple teams responsible for sales, deployment, training, and support. Managing all of these transitions between disparate teams can be challenging.

NetSuite partners often follow an integrated approach across sales, implementation, training, and support. With a unified team handling various aspects of the project lifecycle, there is seamless coordination between different phases, minimizing handovers and reducing the likelihood of miscommunication or information loss between teams.

Continuous Post-Implementation Support and System Evolution

Post-implementation, businesses often encounter questions, minor issues, or the need for additional training. NetSuite partners offer ongoing assistance to address these concerns promptly, overseeing the system so that it operates smoothly and meets evolving business requirements.

They also actively work towards maximizing the system's performance. This may involve fine-tuning configurations, enhancing integrations, and implementing best practices to ensure that the NetSuite solution operates at its full potential.