Netsuite – The importance of getting your ERP and CRM Systems right

Applications like ERP and CRM are the lifeblood of your business. Choosing the wrong applications could be very costly. Netsuite is an inbuilt end to end business platform for organisations of all sizes and all verticals. Modules are enabled as the business needs them and for each user group as defined by their roles.

I first came across Netsuite in 2012, we were using on premise Sage and Microsoft Sharepoint which we had customised to be used for CRM and business process management. We also had a support desk application for internal and external client users, and were subscribing to a marketing tool for email marketing. In a growing SME as we were then our setup was not working for us for some of the following reasons:

• We had the cost of operating the infrastructure (hardware, software, upgrades, power, cooling and staff administration) 
• There was no collaboration and data flow/sharing between users and departments. Sales couldn’t see any financial metrics, sales also couldn’t see customer support tickets.
• Everything was at least double keyed (customer information, contact information and so on)
• There was very little availability to connect systems.
• Automation was limited between systems.

The net result was an organisation where we weren’t effective and costly in what we knew and the intangibles.

So imagine my joy when I discovered Netsuite, a system built in the cloud (SaaS), and provided sections for Finance, CRM, Marketing, Support, eCommerce, Stock and inventory Management and much more. We conducted a needs analysis of each department to replace what we had today, and strategically we built a wish list. We then reviewed our findings against what was possible with Netsuite and discovered that not only would it deliver against most of our business needs, but we could also customise it as necessary.

The decision was made, and we began our migration, we never looked back and it allowed us to grow and scale with ease. It made our business agile, collaborative, and extremely efficient.

So “Get your ERP and CRM Systems right”!

I recently had exposure to a business that had multiple business streams, and as a result had built multiple systems. They have approximately 40 people in finance (nearly 15% of total headcount) and in the region of 60 applications. They are currently going through a form of application rationalisation but in a fragmented way, and as such will (if they are lucky) only reduce systems by about 25%.

Whilst a good size organisation, they are in fact as a business relatively normal in terms of structure and need, they had standard functions such as Sales, Marketing, Finance, eCommerce, Stock Management, IT Systems support (internal client and end user), Project Management, Technical Implementation and HR and of course all of these functions and more, can be serviced by only 1 SaaS application, yes you got it Netsuite.

Now I know that there are many ERP and CRM applications out there, and individually some really are very strong and fit for purpose. But I am yet to find one that will be as swift and easy to deploy, customise, manage and use as Netsuite.

So yes I am biased, but only because I am yet to find a better way, and it is so damn good!

For more information view our Netsuite page where we have key information and downloads.

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