It’s no secret that Oracle NetSuite ERP is the long-term favorite for mid-level and enterprise-level businesses across industries, but the sheer amount of value it can bring is surprising for many organizations. 95% of businesses saw business process improvements as a direct result of ERP implementation, and 3 areas that regularly see the biggest ROI and improvements include reducing IT costs, inventory levels, and cycle times for overall more efficient operations.
Capturing those same benefits (and endless others) for your organization starts with implementing NetSuite. But the methodology and preparation matter just as much as the ERP solution itself. If your business has complex operations, is scaling up, or operates through custom workflows that need to map precisely to any new software solution your organization uses, then consider leveraging NetSuite development services from the very first stage of the project. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at:
- Why NetSuite is the right fit for your business, even if it seems like a big project
- How NetSuite development services can build you a custom solution that works
- Some strategic insights for using NetSuite development services to extract as much value from the ERP and the process as possible
NetSuite Development Services Open the Door: Why NetSuite Is Such a Popular Business Solution
Organizations ranging from healthcare service providers to retail clothing companies use NetSuite, and they use it because it works. Whether you need a tool with accessibility across multiple languages and work styles built right into the platform or you have completely custom work processes that no other ERP could support, NetSuite’s foundational advantage is that it’s versatile. Take a quick look at just 5 of the substantial business advantages switching to NetSuite can offer your business.
1. It’s the industry standard for mid-market businesses.
That’s more than just social proof. NetSuite is backed by Oracle and has a long history of research and development that makes it one of the most powerful options on the market. When you use software as popular and universal as NetSuite, that also means it’s easier to use: your employees will have exposure to it, there are helpful support resources for virtually any question or problem, and there’s a wide pool of consultants, developers, and support staff to meet various needs.
2. There are virtually limitless integration options for any tech stack.
When you adopt a new ERP, you don’t want it to shake up your tech stack. NetSuite offers integration capabilities for nearly all industry-standard tools and almost all departments—and quite a few non-standard ones. Even when integrations aren’t just a point-and-click setup, there’s a robust infrastructure of APIs and custom integration tools so your developers can create a connected ecosystem.
3. It’s a comprehensive business solution with centralized data.
While Netsuite is primarily associated with finance departments, it’s not just? an accounting platform. Instead, it’s a comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform that’s used for:
- Asset management: HR, corporate governance, and more
- Product and manufacturing management
- Procurement
- Order management
- Finance
- Business strategizing and forecasting
While there are endless tools available for each of these functions, it’s more important than ever to centralize all of your business data within a core system so everyone is operating from a single source of truth without delays, errors, or siloes.
4. NetSuite sets the stage for business automation.
If your business is using manual spreadsheet-style processes or disconnected tools, you’ll hit a hard limit on your ability to automate business processes. After a successful NetSuite integration, data entered into one field automatically appears wherever it’s needed across your tech stack. For example, that last-minute order completed by an online customer will zoom through the system to be on your quarterly reports, manufacturing task lists, and invoice system.
5. You can customize it to suit your business today and refine it to suit your business tomorrow.
NetSuite is an excellent choice for virtually every business, but not because it’s a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, it’s incredibly robust, and the right development team can flip the right switches and build the right processes for your unique business.
Related: The 8 Crucial Factors for a Successful NetSuite Implementation Guide
You can roll out what your business needs to thrive today, refine the processes if you see new alternatives, and continually put in iterative or sweeping changes so your NetSuite works just as well for your evolved business in five or ten years.
The Secret to Accessing All of These Benefits: Custom NetSuite Development Services
Because of all those use cases and benefits, switching to NetSuite is usually not a fast and easy change. Instead, you need experienced developers who are intricately familiar with the platform and know how to translate your business processes into hardcoded workflows. Depending on your company’s size and needs, you may already have a full development team in-house, or you may need on-demand consultation for the life of the migration project.
Here’s why your project should start with finding NetSuite development services—and the core advantages this strategy brings to the table when you need a custom business solution.
NetSuite Implementation and Migration Is a Big and Involved Project
When you want your business to move to NetSuite, it’s not just one project. The best way to view it is as two intertwined projects. You need to build NetSuite out so it offers the right functionalities and automations for each department, tier of user, and application. But you also need to migrate your business’s existing data, whether it’s all housed in simple spreadsheets, legacy programs, or a sprawling tech stack of programs that don’t currently talk to each other.
One of the most immediate advantages of hiring NetSuite development services is that you don’t personally need to know how to do any of that. A well-versed consultant will:
- Develop an in-depth understanding of your unique business to draft out the project
- Give you an overview of the project and its timeline
- Customize your iteration of NetSuite so your business processes can just ‘step’ into it
- Manage implementation and data transfer
- And, maybe most valuable of all, be able to predict, handle, and resolve problems along the way
Netsuite Can Be Designed to Fit Your Business (Instead of the Other Way Around)
The tools you use to run your business will naturally have a hand in shaping how your business runs. But when you have time-tested workflows and optimal ways of getting things done, you don’t want program limitations to interfere. NetSuite developers can partner with you to learn the ins and outs of your business processes and make sure your NetSuite environment supports them, whether you’re focused on marketing flows, building out supplier failsafe for your e-commerce business, or tracking uptime metrics and associated fees.
At the same time, developers can point out where your current tools have hamstrung your business and where NetSuite can do better through smoother integration or automated data updates. This can result in processes that become substantially more efficient right at the outset.
Customizations, Integrations, and Automations
Work with experts to map out your business processes and what tools you need to talk with each other. NetSuite development services can carve out those processes so you have more visibility into how each department operates and any potential opportunities for growth or process improvements. With integrated platforms and real-time data automation, you instantly have a finger on the pulse of your business. Some types of customization you may want to built out for your business include:
- Unique KPIs that need to pull data from a custom array of fields
- Customized dashboards so everyone from your HR director to your facilities manager to every billing specialist has the insights they need to get work done
- Custom automations, reports, and approval triggers so pending work doesn’t fall into any gaps
Even if you didn’t start out using a NetSuite consultant to implement your ERP, hiring a consultant later in the project can still offer a powerful advantage. If you’ve already rolled out NetSuite but you want to see how you can make it better, a hired partner can quickly identify opportunities for automation, customize your dashboards or data infrastructure to seal up gaps, and provide ongoing support.
Higher ROI and Efficiency
Whether you’re moving from a different ERP or using an ERP for the first time, implementation sets the stage for how much it benefits your business. Employees may be frustrated by disruption and suddenly having to handle newly complex tools, especially if they’re on tight deadlines. Doing what you can to make the transition smooth and help users see immediate advantages will drastically increase buy-in and morale. NetSuite development services partners that offer a comprehensive range of options can help you:
- Get Support. Get NetSuite admin services or ongoing support throughout the transitional stages of the project. This guarantees that you always have a NetSuite admin and technical expert at the ready to handle questions and problems. Then you can get your own staff up to speed and also have on-demand services on the roster so you save time with ongoing support needs from experts who are already familiar with your system setup.
- Migrate for a Successful Start. Many of the growing pains of implementing NetSuite are all about data migration. During this process, your data needs to be cleaned, properly translated, deduped, and sorted into the right fields. Any data disasters can require a lot of cleanups and sour the experience, so make sure this part of the project is well-covered.
- Know When You Need Rescue and Recovery From a Bad Development Service. Sometimes, NetSuite migrations go awry. Your previous development services might have botched the project, or the project scope might not have included everything you need. When your consulting group messes up, look for a Netsuite Professional Services (NPS) organization that is experienced in fixing it and creating more efficient processes.
The Best Way to Leverage Development Services: 3 Keys to Long-Term Success
A fully functional, customized NetSuite iteration that smoothly shares and sorts through data in real time is the dream, but knowing how to leverage both NetSuite and your development team to get there is crucial. Follow these three best practices to get the custom business solution you want:
1. Opt for a third-party comprehensive service over an in-house expert.
Hiring a single in-house employee to manage your NetSuite is not the ideal solution for most organizations. They might become overwhelmed during the migration process, or they might be unfamiliar with certain parts of your industry. Even in the best-case scenario, a team of consultants knows more than a single employee about how to optimize NetSuite and create custom solutions.
Related: New NetSuite Admin Tips for 2023
In addition, a salaried employee is a constant cost with very fixed availability. With the right third-party service, you only pay for what you need. You can opt for full-time support or on-demand backup, small customization projects after implementation, and occasional reviews to see where you can extract more value.
2. Prioritize growth-minded customizations.
NetSuite’s functionalities are constantly evolving to incorporate more automations, integration with the latest tools, and, especially over the past couple of years, machine learning and AI. Work with a consultant to see where your current processes can be improved by incorporating these technologies. Also, make sure you go into your NetSuite project with a focus on analytics and iterative improvements so your team is always looking for ways to make processes better.
3. Get everyone involved in the decisions.
Your new ERP encompasses real-time financial processes, compliance, operational systems, and your warehouses and order cycles. Involve these decision-makers from the start, whether it’s as simple as ensuring everyone is on board with the change or having your development team work with each decision-maker to map out priority customizations.
Build Out the NetSuite Ecosystem That’s Tailored to Your Business
Every business is unique, and that means having custom business solutions that support your business instead of restricting it. NetSuite’s powerful ERP platform can strengthen your business with real-time insights and automations, but the right NetSuite development services will make sure you get those insights and automations the right way. Limebox is a NetSuite-Certified Partner with years of experience managing implementation projects, creating customizations, and providing support. Reach out today to see how we can work together to make your NetSuite project successful.