Financial tools and inventory management allow scalability to high volume multi-channel orders and fulfillment.
Chief Operating Officer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Provides financial tools and inventory management.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
As a consultant/implementer, we track all projects and financial tasks.
We use NetSuite tools to handle a multi channel, high volume order environment providing insight and profitability by channel and product velocity and profitability.
What needs improvement?
The CRM module just does the basics. I’ve worked with CRM tools for over 15 years, rolling out Siebel and Oracle as a sales manager and as an IT leader. I now deploy NetSuite ERP and eCommerce.
I’ve worked with the SFDC folks in extensive demos as well as some contact management software. I know my way around this CRM subject area reasonably well.
The NetSuite tools perform the needed functions that a sales team needs. Because it is integral to the NetSuite platform with a variety of technical tools, I feel it is more capable for the sophisticated user.
My sense is that sales teams having sophisticated capability without having the time to learn or benefit from it, does not compete with the SFDC approach of rapid start up and simplicity for the end user.
Embedded graphics and a simpler UI seem to win over the sales teams. That is why the CRM within the NetSuite application is best sold as part of an enterprise sale. This prevents the sales team from going their own way in application selection. Companies that choose the best breed of solutions and then choose to integrate them, create a sub-optimized enterprise solution.
Do not treat the CRM capability as a bolt on to the excellent ERP platform.
Give the CRM module the embedded graphics and faster responding user interface for laptops and mobile devices that attracts the general sales and marketing teams.
For more sophisticated CRM users, leverage the native tie in to ERP and eCommerce for real time financial, inventory, and sales data.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used NetSuite ERP for three and a half years.
Buyer's Guide
NetSuite ERP
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about NetSuite ERP. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have not had stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not had scalability issues.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is excellent.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We made the switch from on premise applications to cloud-based NetSuite.
How was the initial setup?
Setup is straightforward. The methodology is extremely important. If the core business model and financial strategy is implemented correctly, all other modules become sequential building blocks.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Order at the end of the quarter.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Oracle, SAP, Sage, and QuickBooks.
What other advice do I have?
Build out the business and process models and walk through them multiple times. If there are integration points, make sure data mapping is part of the process model.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are a reseller and provide professional services.
President & Chief Solution Officer at CREIS
Good scalability, a nice user interface, and helpful technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The user interface is very good."
- "Some of the features around the payroll and payroll taxes and management of that are lacking. We had to outsource some of that because we found that the functionality isn't there."
What is our primary use case?
The client's use cases really revolve around core financial and accounting tasks such as ARAPGL cash management and things of that nature as well as some supply chain. Inventory management at a rolled-up level. They had a separate system for their core product inventory life cycle management, however, this was from the financial aspect and vendor integration and purchasing side of supply chain and billing management was going to be done through the NetSuite implementation.
Due to the fact that they had more on their wishlist, we were going to get into some commerce stuff, however, we backlogged that. CRM is what they're actually going to start on next year. We backlogged that as well. I'm all about focusing. I'm really about accounting. The initial high-level inventory management is the core thing we deployed as part of the first phase.
How has it helped my organization?
The client saw a lot of elimination of manual steps that they were doing in their old system. The acceptance of a lot of best practices made even just basic monthly closing a lot simpler and a lot quicker. They went from taking almost three and a half weeks to do a monthly close to five to seven business days.
That time savings alone, there's cost value there from a human resource standpoint.
What is most valuable?
The user interface is very good. That is extremely important when you're making and implementing change. A good, intuitive user interface and good documentation from a standpoint for training and support is super-important. The accounting functions are pretty basic and this was pretty standard.
While more customization on the cloud would be nice, it forced years of bad practices that were exceptions or custom ways of doing things.
The solution lends itself to scalability.
There's good integration with other products.
It's perfect for a company that is growing, that's still on the border of small to midsize. It fits perfectly from a cost and functionality perspective of them trying to get to standard practices that allows them to grow efficiently. They can take on a new business without adding people.
What needs improvement?
The cloud version lacked the flexibility for some customization. That would've been nice, however, it also then forced us to get out of some bad practices. It really helps you, actually, as it's not as necessarily flexible in terms of customizations, at least the version we worked with. They were working towards improving it.
Some of the features around the payroll and payroll taxes and management of that are lacking. We had to outsource some of that because we found that the functionality isn't there. This has been one of the bugaboos in that product. If the company grows into a lot more markets in terms of the business states and regions, they would need to look at maybe an alternate product for the sales tax and use tax compliance, as that area has gotten more complex in the last few years with the change in laws. NetSuite is well-suited for that.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for over 15 years at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is pretty stable. It's a tried and true product. It's going to the cloud that's different. By the time we went live, we were two releases behind the current release and so we didn't really have to worry about bugs. It was more stable at that point. At the same time, we were sandboxing with a newer version. I got the client on a cadence to catch up at least one version or stay one version behind the current. They've gotten better at responding quickly to critical bug fixes as well. Oracle may have just had some resource constraints or focus constraints on how they were responding.
At the time of deployment, they were going through a lot of technical issues with the Fusion product that was diverting resources off of NetSuite. Again, because they've got such a product suite, resources are sometimes very fixed or it's hard to scale up quickly and get the right people on board. I got the sense that they had teams focused across multiple products.
That said, stability-wise, it was pretty stable when we went live. Overall from a product standpoint, from a performance standpoint of the Oracle cloud, there was definitely some issues that they were experiencing. However, based on my regular contact with his client over the last eight, nine months, post-implementation, things have improved as Oracle was already on a path to upgrading their data centers.
With my prior client in 2018, I was involved in a lot of Oracle products at that time. Oracle had started down the path of pushing clients onto newer equipment, newer systems, and even transferring them into newer updated data centers. It doesn't happen overnight, however. They've been strategically doing that since late 17, all the way through this year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is one of the areas of limitation, as it's not designed for the larger, more complex businesses or businesses that grow out of being a small regional player into a super-regional type of organization.
With the improvements in the cloud product it's possible to move to another Oracle product such as the Fusion more easily. In that respect, once you get a certain level or need certain functionality, the ability to move from a NetSuite to Oracle Fusion now is much easier to do from the cloud.
Our clients are mixed organizations. Most are in the mid to large size company. I'm talking in the hundred millions into billions. I've had quite a few clients that are four billion-plus.
How are customer service and technical support?
Early on, the response was critical. There are those bugs or fixes that they'll get to that aren't impacting your businesses versus extremely critical bugs. Fields won't accept the value that needs to accept the value, or it's not calculating something correctly that's very obvious, for example. Responding to critical bugs was the initial problem. We felt it was putting clients at risk due to the fact that there wasn't a workaround. We were worried about going live with these particular bugs. Fortunately, they were able to resolve them.
I was able to escalate it enough and had enough connection, a good rapport with the Oracle leadership, for what we needed to do, that they acknowledged, "Our resources were pulled away on this. And we're getting somebody to specifically address these and look into it." And so they don't wait for the regular release packages. They made available a patch that we could deploy. They had them deploy it into the Oracle cloud. That's the other thing - you're directly engaged when Oracle manages your service in their cloud. Their team can deploy it whenever you say go. And so, because we were still in the test environment, we could get that in, and retest things. It was later than we liked, however, it still allowed us to go live. We were able to get it in and test it before we went live.
Overall, I'd say we are mostly satisfied with the level of support we receive and I would rate it eight out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
While we looked at other solutions, we didn't deploy any others with this particular client.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup has improved. Concerning what I know about it from 15 years ago to now, it's fairly straightforward. It's a lot more streamlined. There are not as many customizations you can do. You can create a few fields and add things here and there, however, when it comes to really create custom processes it forces you to use workflows and things like that. It's simpler in that it provides a lot more visibility to the business of how their processes work.
What other advice do I have?
I've had multiple engagements involving NetSuite as it is a good sweet spot system for mid-level size enterprises. I don't recommend it for large-scale enterprises. It's also too much sometimes for small companies. It's a great sweet spot, like I said, for mid-level companies. A lot of companies have been on it and sometimes they make good candidates as people who don't feel comfortable with some of the extra bells and whistles. It's a good, basic, fundamental ERP accounting supply planning system.
I'm not sure which version of the solution I'm using right now. I know it wasn't the latest as I'm not a fan of going right away to the latest and greatest typically due to the fact that there are some bugaboos that have to be worked on.
Companies want you to get on the latest system. However, another reason we don't choose the latest was once we went through a build and deployed a model with an 8 UAT, by the time we were ready to go live, they had already released another version. We held off due to the fact that we were comfortable with what we tested.
While we started using on-premises deployment models, we also now work with the cloud.
Oracle's done a good job, especially lately. I did a major Oracle project a few years ago where their cloud infrastructure was still a little slow performance-wise, compared to, hosting on Amazon or AWS. However, Oracle's really improved that. Especially in the last year, they've really upgraded their infrastructure center. The performance of NetSuite on the cloud is pretty good now. You can still get that on an on-prem type implementation or a cloud. My last deployment actually happened to be on the cloud. That's another reason we stayed with an early version, The client was still getting their feet wet with NetSuite in the cloud at the time.
I would advise others to be detailed in how they assess their needs to make sure that is the right fit for the company's size, not only for now but over the next five years. A company needs to ask itself: What are the business' growth plans? If you're shortsighted and go into it, where you're already at the top end of the capabilities, then you're losing your investment value. Also, it will be more time and effort to set it up, when you should really be picking either the next product up or a different vendor at the outset.
Overall, it's quite a good solution. I'd rate it nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
NetSuite ERP
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about NetSuite ERP. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Principal Consultant at a consultancy with self employed
A comprehensive solution for inventory and financial management
Pros and Cons
- "I am impressed with the product's ease of use. It also helps us reduce the techstack."
- "The product should improve its warehouse management solution."
What is our primary use case?
We use the product for inventory and financial management.
What is most valuable?
I am impressed with the product's ease of use. It also helps us reduce the techstack.
What needs improvement?
The product should improve its warehouse management solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I am using NetSuite products for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The tool is stable and we have had no issues with its stability.
How are customer service and support?
We work in a cost-controlled environment and hence use authorized NetSuite support from India. The team provided us excellent support but since they were based in India, there was a delay in time between our environment and theirs. However, the support was economical.
How was the initial setup?
The product's deployment is simple since it is a well-documented solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the product an eight out of ten. The tool is comprehensive. It is better to use the integrated platform of NetSuite and avail of its benefits.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Manufacturing routing, inventory management, and SuiteScript enable business-specific customization
Pros and Cons
- "We leverage the core platform but are able to add additional functionality for ease of use, tailored processes, and industry related reporting."
- "As with any system offering large volumes of data, there are limitations on processing large volumes of data in custom ways."
How has it helped my organization?
NetSuite allows quick modifications of entry forms, standard processes, and end result data. The ability to make modifications to the core system allows us to offer our clients more meaningful operational processes and reporting abilities.
What is most valuable?
The top three most valuable features for me are:
- manufacturing routing
- inventory management
- SuiteScript.
The functionality of these three features provides my team and me the ability to customize NetSuite for the craft beverage industry. We leverage the core platform but are able to add additional functionality for ease of use, tailored processes, and industry related reporting.
What needs improvement?
As with any system offering large volumes of data, there are limitations on processing large volumes of data in custom ways. The core data processing works great but when clients want to process data in custom ways, a limitation exists because of the cloud-based model and shared servers among clients.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There are no issues with stability. NetSuite has 99.9% uptime and it has scheduled releases with processes in place for full development cycles.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I believe scalability is a non-issue for 99% of companies. It may be an issue for companies processing excessive volumes of data but I don't have enough experience to comment further.
How are customer service and technical support?
NetSuite has a good technical support team. They are timely on case responses and replies. For each case submitted, I've always been able to get someone on a WebEx to help with the case. The case solutions are helpful the majority of the time, but some cases might lead to an enhancement request or a defect that is being worked on. Overall, pretty good technical support from my experience.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Yes. I previously was a consultant for Aderant and was happy to make the switch because NetSuite is a larger company with more resources and has the ability to offer a superior product to small, on-premise model ERP companies.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is complex. I would recommend that any company making a switch to NetSuite look to get help from a NetSuite VAR (Value Added Reseller).
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would advise that you first meet with and scope out your project with a NetSuite VAR (Value Added Reseller).
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes. I looked into Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft Dynamics.
What other advice do I have?
Look to get help from a NetSuite VAR (Value Added Reseller). The implementation will always be tough, but with the help of an experienced team, the transition will be better managed.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are a NetSuite implementation consulting firm.
Netsuite Specialist at a recreational facilities/services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Provides a 360 degree customer view.
What is most valuable?
It’s a complete ERP Solution.
How has it helped my organization?
I really like the CRM module of NetSuite that gives a 360-degree customer view. Its CRM module is very much customized out-of-the-box as per most of the companies.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see improvement around the Revenue Recognition module.
Right now, several templates are there, but they are either too complicated, or they are difficult to configure, from a company finance perspective.
In addition, I would like to see improvements in the inventory module and in the manufacturing domain.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this product for seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability is sometimes a concern in NetSuite. To my thinking, if NetSuite is not configured correctly during implementation, and if there is too much customization (in terms of scripting) in a NetSuite account, then stability becomes a concern.
The architecture around NetSuite needs to be designed very carefully, considering all of the factors.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is never a major issue with NetSuite, if all the factors are considered during the implementation phase.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support rating can be defined as per the support taken. This can be Silver, Gold, or Platinum. If you select Silver, then you cannot really expect much support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have experience working with SAP. When compared with NetSuite, the latter is bit easier to configure for the features which are not present out-of-the-box.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was more or less straightforward for NetSuite. It needs to be handled properly considering the clients' requirements.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing in NetSuite is cheaper, if compared with SAP. But when it comes to license costs, you really need to discuss and itemize a description around teams, departments, and who will be using this system. You then need to plan accordingly.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We deployed SAP in the past.
What other advice do I have?
Focus needs to be given to the tiny details of company business rules beforehand. You then need to evaluate if those tiny business rules can really be implemented in NetSuite without much customization out-of-the-box.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Functional Consultant at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Whenever you create a transaction in the backend, the GL posting happens automatically. It needs to provide better budget allocation in order to achieve control over the fund distribution in real-time
What is most valuable?
Some valuable features of this product are P2P and O2C processes, inventory management, fixed asset management, project management, CRM, reports and customization.
If you take any industry, the base line for business is procurement and sales. NetSuite has given the transaction features to post in the GL, i.e., whenever you create a transaction in the backend, the GL posting happens automatically, depending upon the items/accounts that you have defined. Thus, you don't need to be an accounting expert, to know what should get posted or not. For each transaction, a customized approval/printing can be applied, thus making it global and apt for any industry.
Project management is not being used to a great extent, but it really helps many industries to track their budget versus the actual expenses incurred and the revenue.
NetSuite CRM+ and Sales Force Automation tools are almost equivalent to the Salesforce Cloud application that help the industry to gain new customers.
The customization feature gives us the liberty to design/customize NetSuite to any extent. I have worked to develop the NetSuite product structure for Educational ERP. Now, the product NetSuite ERP is SDN certified.
In summary, NetSuite is the future and can help small/medium-sized companies to grow in automation.
How has it helped my organization?
As a NetSuite functional consultant, I can see how this product is getting evolved with each version release. When we implement NetSuite to the organization, it automates the business to a large extent with minimum human interference. For example, the approval becomes easy due to live entry transactions or the sale functions are improved due to better use of Salesforce automation or there is better utilization of resources due to project management or there is better planning due to NetSuite demand planning.
What needs improvement?
NetSuite is still made for small/medium enterprises and needs to focus on bigger organizations, i.e., the Enterprise Edition. NetSuite also needs to provide better budget allocation in order to achieve control over the fund distribution in real-time. For example, if the budget allocated is less and the expense is utilized, the system should not allow the user or needs to warn the user from entering the transactions.
Under Budget allocation: We don't have control over the restriction on over expenses. After distribution of budget on the accounts, if lets say Stationery Expenses budgeted 400$ the actual expenses can not go beyond 400$, unless there is change in the Budget.
SalesForce CRM gives permission to approve transactions without log in to system just form email Note "Approve", "Done" . i.e. if I am the approver I will get an email notification and from that I can revert back as Note "Approve" or "Reject" to approve/reject record without getting in to account. In NetSuite we need to have the access for any approval so we need to log in and approve the transaction.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for three years and seven months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There were no stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
NetSuite is scalable to a larger extent. It can be mapped for many requirements.
How are customer service and technical support?
I would give the technical support a 6/10 rating.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I was using a customized educational ERP tool and wanted to work on a cloud ERP solution.
How was the initial setup?
The process started with getting support from them. Then we carried out the implementation in the vanilla environment for wholesale distribution; after which I developed the SDN certified NetSuite Education ERP product (edERP). So in terms of customization, I have worked from a simple to complex level.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
If NetSuite wants to target more small-scale / medium-scale businesses, they should reduce their pricing by around 30 - 40%.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We looked at other solutions namely, SAP and Salesforce.
What other advice do I have?
It is an excellent product. It is easy to navigate, has an excellent user interface and also is easy to learn because if its transaction and real-time posting of accounts.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Netsuite ERP Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Generally speeds up the accounting function with less errors. Allows you to view the current status of the business in real time.
What is most valuable?
The flexibility: In comparison to other products I've used, it is completely scalable. It would be suitable for a few users to hundreds.
If, for example, you want to renumber your chart of accounts, you just renumber it. If a supplier changes its name, you just change it.
It has a fantastic search capability. If you want to find a supplier invoice, you just type the number into the search bar and the results are displayed! If you need a new field for something, you just create it. It's not a three month project to get a new field, but rather just a five minute job! I could literally go on and on.
A huge plus point for me is that you're always on the latest version. You just get upgraded twice a year. This is a huge bonus. I've seen companies that spend hundreds of thousands of pounds upgrading to the new version. With NetSuite, the upgrade is included in the subscription.
As it's a genuine cloud-based product, you don't need servers, server managers, server rooms, backups, etc. It's all there for you. If you need to log in, you just need the internet and your login details. You do not need an IT team to organize access for you.
How has it helped my organization?
Companies where I implemented the solution commented as follows:
Found it easier to plan
Viewing the current status of the business in real time with the dashboard facility
Generally speeds up the accounting function with less errors
What needs improvement?
the functionality as far as I can see is really good. It's modern and really configurable - and even customisations that in other systems I've worked on would take months takes days - sometimes hours - so on the whole, it is a very good solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using NetSuite for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is cloud based and the performance has been fantastic over the last two years. I think I've seen a half a day of down time.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable, as long as you evaluate what might change in the future. You could set it up to allow you to add new divisions, departments, and even subsidiaries/companies very quickly.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is excellent.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used to implement Sage Line 500/1000.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was reasonably straightforward. It's all in the planning. If you plan what you want, it's easier to hit the target.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't get involved with this sort of thing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I only implement NetSuite for other companies.
What other advice do I have?
Make sure you get your requirements planned
Don't be afraid to re-evaluate processes
Don't be afraid to revisit things like your chart of accounts
I've seen many companies that just want to copy what they had in their old system into their new one. Every system will allow reporting in different ways. Ensure you set it up to get best, most efficient reporting for the new system.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: I work for a reseller.
IT Manager at a media company with 1-10 employees
stability and ease of use could improve, but feature rich
Pros and Cons
- "I have found there to be many features, such as manufacturing, accounting, financials, inventory, and purchasing."
- "The solution is not user-friendly and it is complex to use."
What is most valuable?
I have found there to be many features, such as manufacturing, accounting, financials, inventory, and purchasing.
What needs improvement?
The solution is not user-friendly and it is complex to use.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using NetSuite ERP for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In the two years, we have been using the solution it has failed twice and we have experienced many bugs and glitches.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is okay but they are not quick to respond.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used Microsoft Dynamics. it has some better features than NetSuite ERP.
What about the implementation team?
The company that did the implementation did not do a good job.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution is quite high.
What other advice do I have?
I rate NetSuite ERP a four out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: November 2024
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