The best thing about beating your head against a wall is that it feels so good when you stop
When we set out to purchase an ERP system – or for that matter any high priced business asset – we usually try to do the needed “Due Diligence.” That is, we try to make sure that we are making a smart decision. A decision that will return value and one that won’t come back and bite us in the future.
ERP software purchases are very different from other business purchases. When a company buys a forklift it is getting a tangible asset. In 5 years it will still be a forklift. Although there will be maintenance costs from time to time, the company will still have an asset that will mostly perform like the day it was purchased.
The analogy cannot be extended to legacy on-premise ERP software.
Here are some of the problems that cause people to beat their heads
Version lock: The inability to upgrade any or all of your business software due to incompatibilities
You end up missing out on new technologies that can help your business. Your employees end up addressing the problem of missing functionality with workarounds in Excel and other manual procedures. Worst of all you will probably have competitors who don’t have your problems. They have access to the latest technology. Falling behind your competitors can negatively affect your business.
Poor Sales Performance due to Lack of Integration in Many Areas
Sales reps can’t see customer’s prior purchases, pricing, correspondence, etc. They can’t depend upon the quantities shown on hand for the items ordered. Customers are restricted in how they can place orders. Many business have to rely on synchronization of separate data sources. For example an inventory quantity on hand could reside in 3 different systems: accounting, warehouse management, and website. Many times these quantities are different for the same item. A big problem is you know at least one number is wrong. The bigger problem is you don’t know which one.
Poor Customer Service
Lack of visibility between sales, fulfillment and service. In many cases customer service reps lack visibility into the sales, fulfillment, and inventory information that they need to help the customer. Employees waste a lot of time creating reports for customers and vendors. They spend a lot of time on the phone answering questions related to past transactions and receivable and payable balances.
Poor Order Fulfillment due to Lack of Inventory Control
Long processing/delivery times, miss-shipments, stock outs on promised items
IT Support is Focused on “Break – Fix”
How much of your IT activities is tied up with day-to-day operations such as patches, fixes, support calls and managing an aging infrastructure? Is there any time or budget left to address new business requirements or adopt new technology?
What is the solution?
Eliminate Version Lock
With NetSuite you have no version lock. All 40,000 + businesses that run NetSuite are on the same version of the software. When there is an upgrade, everyone is upgraded – without exception! The upgrade is seamless and does not affect your data or customizations. The over 400 “Built for NetSuite” 3rd party solutions must be compatible with NetSuite’s semi-annual release cycle. If a compatibility problem is found mid cycle a patch is created and rolled out to all users automatically. With NetSuite you are always on the latest version and have access to the latest technology.
Eliminate Integration Problems
With NetSuite you have a single data source for all modules and most 3rd party products. Data uploads, downloads, and synchronization are things of the past. There is one version of the truth.
Provide World Class Customer Service
Allow customer self service. The NetSuite customer portal allows your customers to review current and history transactions, print statements, make payments, enter complaints (case management), and more.
Respond to customer complaints and issues promptly using built in alerts, reminders, and case escalation. The NetSuite customer dashboard provides a 360 view of the customer and will allow sales, support, and management to get the full picture.
Custom automated reporting can be easily created to support your larger customers who require their own reports. Users can quickly create these recurring reports and have them scheduled for delivery without user intervention.
Management Your Inventory
Inventory management is an integral part of NetSuite. Depending upon the needs of your business you do as little or as much as you want. If you manage inventory it has a major effect on your business as a whole. NetSuite will help you to order the correct items and amounts at the proper time. The fulfillment process will insure the correct item gets to the customer. Your inventory will be 98% accurate. Your sales people will be able to promise delivery accurately.
IT Savings
Implementing NetSuite typically results in an over all savings of 40% to 65% in IT service costs. Why? Because it just works.
A True ERP Cloud Software
To compete in the modern business environment you need software that is not affected by version lock. You need software where all data is real time. You need software that uses one unified data source. You need software that is a complete suite. You need software that is continually updated and upgraded automatically. You need software that embraces automation for repetitive tasks. You need software that reduces your reliance on IT. You need NetSuite.
