Oracle NetSuite
NetSuite is a software company that has developed a cloud-based business management platform used by more than 31,000 fast-growing organizations across the globe. That platform consists of a suite of applications that help companies run their business, understand the performance of their businesses and drive major efficiency gains and cost savings.
The company’s ERP system manages core functions, including finance and accounting, inventory, orders and procurement. Customers can add options including CRM for sales, service and marketing automation, human resources (HR) for personnel records, performance management and payroll, professional services automation (PSA) to plan and track projects and omnichannel commerce for both online and in-store sales. All of these modules share a common database. Thanks to that central data source, information from across the system updates in real time and is accessible to authorized users across business functions.
That gives leaders a real-time, 360° view of the business so they can see which processes or departments are exceling and which need a boost.
NetSuite uses the software as a service (SaaS) model: Customers pay a subscription fee to access the technology but are not responsible for any underlying infrastructure or system maintenance, including purchasing and setting up servers, installing software or testing and deploying patches and upgrades. Oracle NetSuite handles all of that for customers, with two new software updates per year.
Eliminating the maintenance and upgrade costs that come with on-premises solutions not only saves money, it frees employees to focus on the company’s mission and serve customers.
The SaaS model also provides scalability: Businesses can add functionality as they need it without worrying about infrastructure and staff resources. For example, a B2B manufacturer may add NetSuite’s ecommerce module after it decides to start selling online.
Ultimately, NetSuite gives businesses visibility and control through a single source of real-time information and the ability to add modules on the fly. That increases their efficiency and agility.
Video: What Is NetSuite & How Does It Work?
5 Core Features of NetSuite
Although NetSuite may be the oldest, it is not the only provider of cloud ERP software. So what separates NetSuite from other cloud solutions? Here are five highlights:
Unified view of the business: NetSuite empowers any firm to run its entire business from a single platform. It brings together finance, supply chain, manufacturing, HR and ecommerce on one system, with one database, rather than using disparate software for each of those functions. Employees simply log in and, with a few clicks, monitor the status and performance of any aspect of their operations.
Native integrations: All NetSuite applications feed information into, and pull it from, the central database to ensure there’s only one source of knowledge. The platform’s natively integrated modules negate the need for third-party integrations that may be unreliable or unable to support real-time updates. This unified architecture delivers a common user interface across all modules; that decreases training time and gets people productive faster. This model also allows users to complete order-to-cash, procure-to-pay and other multi-step processes from a single application without re-entering or exporting information.
True cloud: NetSuite was born in and built for the cloud. In contrast, many “cloud” ERP systems are actually hosted or hybrid cloud — essentially, on-premises software retrofitted for access through the internet. Such solutions suffer from many of the problems that plague traditional systems, like version lock, slow upgrades and lack of scalability. NetSuite is a multi-tenant, vendor-managed cloud solution with endless room to support growth.
Deep reporting capabilities: The vast amount of data flowing from departments and business units into the NetSuite platform fuels its extensive reporting capabilities. Users can pull reports on everything and anything they may want to measure or understand, thanks to the system’s built-in reporting tools. NetSuite also has role-based dashboards that quickly give employees, managers and executives the information they need to make informed decisions.
Built-in flexibility: NetSuite can serve a broad array of industries not only because it comes with impressive functionality, but because it can adapt to meet the requirements of different businesses. The platform can be customized to accommodate your processes and corporate structure through SuiteCloud apps and tools, whether you’re a multinational brand with six subsidiaries or a startup still building its first product.
Products Overview
NetSuite can adapt to meet the needs of diverse businesses because it has a wide array of modules dedicated to critical business functions and processes.
Finance
Financial Management: NetSuite’s financial management solution handles many bookkeeping tasks by automatically updating the general ledger, tracking accounts receivable and accounts payable and submitting invoices. This module speeds up the monthly close and simplifies the creation of key financial reports for regulatory and statutory reporting. It supports complex revenue recognition standards and easily consolidates financial statements from subsidiaries — including business units in other countries — with real-time currency conversion.
Global Business Management: NetSuite OneWorld allows multinational and multi-subsidiary companies to manage their entire enterprises in one system. It can handle the diverse needs of global businesses via support for diverse currencies, languages, tax laws and reporting requirements. OneWorld offers financial roll-ups at the regional, country and global level, so decision-makers can get as broad or as focused a view of the business as they desire.
Planning and Budgeting: NetSuite Planning and Budgeting gives business leaders everything they need to create detailed departmental or companywide budgets and forecasts. The module also provides financial analysts with access to statistical models that allow them to run what-if scenarios that project revenue, expenses and more based on different possible outcomes.
Billing: NetSuite SuiteBilling helps companies manage invoicing and billing. It supports transaction, subscription, usage-based and other billing models, reducing the complexity of managing financials for many modern businesses. SuiteBilling records revenue in compliance with current revenue recognition standards. This module helps businesses stay flexible and profitable.
Operations
Inventory Management: NetSuite Inventory Management provides a single view of inventory across all channels and locations, automatically updating levels in real time. The inventory management module can use sales data to set reorder points and alert purchasing managers when it’s time to place replenishment orders. It also manages cycle counts. All of this functionality helps businesses keep the ideal amount of stock on hand and avoid both out-of-stocks and excess inventory, boosting cash flow and profitability.
Order Management: NetSuite Order Management handles the complete order lifecycle, from receipt through delivery, at each stage — as they’re placed, released, shipped and settled with the customer. This module can automate order processing and manage fulfillment across channels based on predefined rules. All of this leads to faster, more accurate fulfillment that reduces shipping costs while increasing on-time delivery rates and customer satisfaction.
Procurement: NetSuite Procurement can improve the complete procure-to-pay process to save businesses time and money. Customers can keep a list of approved vendors, collect quotes and automate purchase orders while granularly monitoring performance and spend and enabling vendor self-service and expediting payments.
Warehouse Management System (WMS): NetSuite WMS builds on the system’s inventory management capabilities, adding functionality for put away, order picking, barcode scanning and returns authorization. The WMS module can run on mobile devices to direct warehouse employees through receiving, picking and cycle counting. The application, which also reports on warehouse activity, boosts warehouse efficiency and helps companies fulfill and ship orders faster.
Manufacturing: NetSuite Manufacturing is built for companies that make or assemble products. The module helps with production planning and scheduling, shop-floor management and monitoring production to reveal insights and improvement opportunities. It ensures you have all the right supplies and parts in the right place at the right time and allows managers to build, release and track work orders. That visibility into the entire production process can ensure quality, reduce costs and increase on-time delivery.
Demand Planning: NetSuite Demand Planning can help plan future demand for the products and services you offer based on historical data, existing opportunities or imported sales forecasts. The module can plan using the moving average, linear regression or seasonal average methods. Demand planning also helps with supply planning, automatically creating purchase and work orders based on the demand plan.
Customers
Customer Relationship Management: NetSuite CRM presents a 360-degree view of customers. Sales force automation features help manage leads, quotes and sales to speed up the lead-to-cash process. Forecasting tools review sales data to more accurately predict future sales. The CRM application also improves customer service by combining all important data, like sales history and active support cases, in one place. Marketing automation tools in the CRM help companies manage campaigns and segment customers so they can be targeted with more relevant messaging.
Commerce: NetSuite SuiteCommerce allows retailers, distributors and manufacturers to create outstanding omnichannel shopping experiences. The application allows companies to launch and manage mobile-friendly ecommerce sites with user-friendly tools. Multi-channel, multi-location businesses can connect all transactions and visits by unifying SuiteCommerce with the SuiteCommerce InStore point-of-sale application. The result is better customer experiences on the front end and a seamless order flow on the back end, with all payment and customer information automatically flowing into the ERP.
Additional Capabilities
SuiteApps: SuiteApps are a vast catalog of applications developed by Oracle NetSuite and partners that extend the capabilities of your NetSuite instance, whether through additional functionality or integrations with other SaaS solutions. There are SuiteApps for all types of industries and business needs, and most of them run within NetSuite.
Payroll: NetSuite Payroll automates calculations of earnings, deductions, taxes, bonuses and paid time off, accounting for variations in taxes across the United States. With the module, businesses can pay employees via direct deposit or print checks, file payroll taxes and create tax forms (like W-2s and 1099s) for employees. The payroll solution reduces the time spent processing payroll and ensures compliance with oft-changing employment laws and regulations.
Human Resources: As NetSuite’s HR system, SuitePeople weaves human resources data throughout the suite. This solution stores personnel information, guides new hires through onboarding and tracks promotions and compensation changes. It gives employees self-service tools to request time off, view directories and org charts and publicly congratulate colleagues, while allowing managers to conduct and track performance reviews. SuitePeople lets employees handle more tasks on their own and helps organizations retain top performers.
Professional Services Automation: NetSuite PSA solutions are designed for services companies or services divisions within product companies. This system provides project and resource management, billing, time and expense management and project accounting capabilities. OpenAir can track time and expenses in detail, then automate customer billing based on project milestones or a set schedule. The module delivers better resource utilization, a higher rate of on-time projects and increased profitability.
Analytics: SuiteAnalytics harnesses all the data in the NetSuite platform to provide deeper insights, from summary to transaction levels. The SuiteAnalytics workbook enables users to build on saved searches and reports with custom filters and visualizations. Employees can get answers to pressing questions with simple drag-and-drop tools — there’s no need for coding or complex queries.
Explore More
