What mistakes to look out for in a NetSuite Implementation

Posted on January 14, 2022April 26, 2022 by epbuddies

What mistakes to look out for in a NetSuite Implementation

When introducing a new system into a firm, whether that be changing CRM software, transitioning to a cloud-based platform, or initiating an ERP implementation may be difficult. If you don’t take the time to thoroughly integrate the project into your business operation, you’ll discover that problems are more likely to arise. Of course, you want your implementation to be successful and a breeze, so having well thought out plan is crucial. Any large system transition will have an impact on your company’s day-to-day operations, but to avoid obstacles becoming huge, we recommend learning what typical mistakes cause delays and how to minimize the possibilities of them hurting your implementation project.

During implementation projects, about 43% of organizations face some sort of delay. This is due to poor project planning, unplanned modifications, and data transfer challenges. Delays can result in higher implementation services for a business owner. According to NetSuite partners, these are the most typical causes of delaying a company’s NetSuite adoption.

Unsuitable NetSuite Partners

When deciding which partner to team up with for a NetSuite deployment, examine the industry your firm operates in and analyze whether the partner is well versed in your industry. You’ll need someone who has worked for a company like yours before. Various partners may have worked in various sectors. A manufacturing and distribution company’s NetSuite deployment will differ from a business services company’s goals and day-to-day operations. A helpful tip to gain some insights can be speaking with other businesses that have worked with the partner to get a firsthand insight into how their project went. This will prove that you have picked the ideal implementation partner best suited for your business model.

Failure to Run a Data Cleanse

Consider your current system. Does it appear to be in working order? Is there any outdated information that needs to be archived? Is there data laying around in the incorrect locations that need to be sorted? Before you even consider moving data from old legacy systems to your new system, you must first clean up, sort, and archive everything, so that you avoid missing files once you have migrated. Failing to do this step will result in current problems being carried over to the new system. After a new system is implemented, people frequently criticize it for not operating well and wish for the old one to return. One typical cause is that the data that was moved was not properly organized to avoid this mistake for long-term success.

Failure to Document Your Present Business Needs

Wanting to jump right into the new system you were shown when you originally decided on your solution can be exciting, but desiring all of the benefits the new platform delivers without a strategy may lead to problems. When it comes to business process transfer, this is one of the most common mistakes firms make. If you rush ahead, focusing just on how your business operations are carried out today, you may suffer pain and incur more costs later, in the case that something was overlooked must be included in your system development at a later point. Without thoroughly reviewing what you currently do, you risk just replicating your company’s current systems. This may lead to potentially losing out on new and exciting process options inside the NetSuite platform that will help your organization function more smoothly and meet business requirements. Take the time to learn about and comprehend the NetSuite platform and all of its features.

Dismissing the Opinions of Your Employees

Make sure that everyone who really uses the system has the opportunity to discuss what they use the present legacy systems for in their day-to-day job while deciding on the overview of the system requirements. Many companies will develop a new system based on what the management team believes the existing systems are being utilized for. Inquire about each user’s necessities, management may be unaware of certain their employee’s processes for their everyday routines.

Failure to Provide Training

You must devote time and resources to adequately teaching your employees how to utilize the new system. If you don’t, outdated procedures will quickly resurface since they are more convenient for the users. NetSuite is supposed to provide simple user interaction. It’s doubtful that your employees would immediately embrace and embrace a new system, but solid training plans and support will make the implementation timeline go much more easily.

Failure to Form a NetSuite Implementation Team

Implementing a NetSuite system isn’t a one-time task that you can forget about after implementation. It isn’t as simple as that. At the very least, your company will require at least one NetSuite expert who can maintain and improve your system in the future as needed. If you’re a bigger organization, you could require an entire internal team. You’ll need a full-time dedicated team or NetSuite Administrator who can maintain your NetSuite system running well. Software implementations require the most skilled team members.

Companies must carefully plan their implementation methodology as it is a critical factor in a successful deployment for this digital transformation. The implementation process requires many insights from both internal and external teams for optimal user adoption and to enjoy a path to success. The entire process relies on execution phrases with proper training and a key team of implementation consultants.

How a Shoe Manufacturing Company Benefited from Merchandise Hierarchy Reports

Posted on December 23, 2021April 26, 2022 by epbuddies

How a Shoe Manufacturing Company Benefited from Merchandise Hierarchy Reports

Shoe manufacturing peaked in Canada at about 52.9 million pairs in 1968. Imports were not substantial in the Canadian market until the early 1960s when they jumped from 6.8 million pairs to 75 million pairs in 15 years, this accounted for 63 percent of the whole Canadian market for footwear that year. Imports from Asia dominated the low-cost sector, while imports from Europe dominated the fashion footwear industry. According to the industry, the existing market share of less than 50% jeopardizes the existence of not only the Canadian footwear industry but also the leather industry and many suppliers. Under government protection, due to competition, the industry continued to invest in automation and electronic technologies, as well as restructuring plans to help it compete with foreign firms. The Canadian footwear sector is also expanding its export markets and specializing in winter footwear, for which it has already established a global name.

About the Client

NetSuite 2022.1 Pack Station app comes with new mobile enhancements that help warehouse workers process with faster times and more accuracy. There is a built-in converter for weighing packages that seamlessly switches between pounds and kilograms based on user preference. For accuracy and speed, workers can now check the packing instructions for items for each order packaging in the app before getting started. For speed again, the release comes with a bulk activation feature that helps to accelerate the pack and unpack “Ship As Is” products, rather than doing it individually.

For Warehouse managers, NetSuite 2022.1 helps to make the picking, scanning, releasing, and filtering much easier. The feature highlights customizations in the NetSuite Warehouse Management System (WMS) app that improve picker movement and wave filtering through automation.

ERP Buddies solution

Problem

In this case, our client was running into problems focused on the organization of their many products. Although this company has many popular products that are winter-specific, they also have other lines of seasonal wear for the Summer and Fall times. This includes products such as sandals and sneakers. These different product lines introduced their need for a more structured and organized solution that would need to be implemented in their ERP system, in this case, NetSuite. This added feature to their solution would allow the company to create more seamless and automated workflows.

Requirements

With our client’s extensive product lines due to seasonal wear and new designs, they required a system that would be able to seamlessly provide hierarchy reports that would organize information based on product sales, inventory, and organize the items in a hierarchical manner. By enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of their allocation, store-replenishment planning, and procurement processes, merchants may increase sales, raise profits, and reduce inventory costs.

The solution and Process

ERP Buddies knew exactly what would benefit this client and solve their unique needs. The solution was simple, with NetSuite already implemented, their next step was to develop a category system composed of all of the client’s current types of products. This includes categories such as seasonal (Summer, Winter, Fall, Spring), colours, style types, gender, and more! Determining hierarchy needs provides useful methods to categorize and determine relationships between the products, you can also group merchandise that shares similar characteristics. Having this type of organized structure allows for insight on year-to-date sales, trends and helps determine what the needs of the customer are so that the client can adjust and give their consumer what they need.

The Benefits

Our client’s successful NetSuite hierarchy reports project ensures that their business is operating in an efficient manner that best meets their product lines needs. They can now utilize the hierarchy reports to categorize processes or products for a specified time period and place them in their unique category. Having this organized process can now decrease the loss of capital. After you’ve allocated items, you’ll have a solid structure for workbooks, reports, pricing, promotions, and more in the downstream process. You can make informed merchandising selections using this framework. Using merchandise hierarchy to organize your workbooks or reports makes it easy to examine specific details. Such data is useful for identifying sales trends across product categories and creating sales strategies such as promotions.

Shoe manufacturers develop a wide range of shoe styles, in this case, our client’s product range was so wide due to demand and popularity that they now were seeking new methods of organization in order to help grow and scale their business further. Creating merchandise reports was the ultimate solution that will not only help organize but also provide insights into trends regarding their sales and product demand.

How a Recycling Operations Company Implemented NetSuite Customizations

Posted on December 16, 2021April 26, 2022 by epbuddies

How a Recycling Operations Company Implemented NetSuite Customizations

The recycling industry estimates that about 45% of the world’s production of product is created from recycled scrap. Industrial recycling actually makes up the largest sector of the recycling industry. Industrial products have the ability to retain their properties through the recycling process, therefore end-of-life products can be reintroduced as raw material and then utilized as new goods. The value of these products also does not depreciate, making this type of recycling very sustainable. Due to its reusable nature, many natural resources are maximized which also reduces the amount of waste in landfills.

About the Client

Our client who operates in the industrial recycling business is based in Canada and services all through North America as well as globally. This business provides recycling solutions for almost every type of industrial project and also gives its customers access to direct markets in order to maximize the value of their scraps and waste materials. Our client’s services include evaluation of material and pick up. Their warehouse allows the processing of recycled goods at the highest standards.

With worldwide operations and specializing in industrial recycling, our client has taken on challenges through innovative recovery techniques which commit to their goal of excellence in customer service. Some of these challenges appeared when more services and various types of recycled products came in demand. The need for a system that could be further customized to cater to new processes appeared.

Problem

As mentioned, the recycling of different types of materials rose, and along with more variety came bigger product lines and processes. This introduced new needs for the company, such as coordinating more products and overseeing the management of new procedures, commissions, and automation. The transition to less manual processes was needed in order to have an efficient system with accurate data. The need for a more customized solution was necessary, as this has the potential to take the business to the next level. A customized solution also allows the business to meet each of their specified needs that would be unique from other businesses.

ERP Buddies Solution

The Solution and Process

Now, how did ERP Buddies approach this project? The client of course was in dire need of more customization for their business processes. Efficiency would be taken to the next level.

The process of implementation included:

The creation of a custom deal record which works as building blocks which then allow for the creation of custom fields, lists, and event specific links with other NetSuite records and transactions. These custom records are easy to format and configure. Create the ability to encapsulate and link purchase orders and sales order which can then be utilized and sourced in data to calculate commissions. These manual processes were automated and customized through the NetSuite platform and the company. Now this addition can save time on business activities such as tracking commissions. Finally, the creation of a fully customizable NetSuite model encompasses the business’s needs and goals, in which their requirements are completely met.