Executive Summary
During rapid growth, a nutritional supplement manufacturer faced challenges with its current business solutions, which failed to meet its growing needs. The company’s systems were disconnected, making handling a large volume of orders challenging. To better handle this growth, Withum was brought in to assist with implementing Oracle NetSuite ERP. Withum’s goal was to connect the disparate systems with NetSuite to provide an all-in-one solution for the client. Throughout the agile approach, Withum successfully enabled the client to operate efficiently with an integrated NetSuite system.
The Client
The client produces a nutritional supplement that helps to strengthen the body’s immunity. This product has a unique component called colostrum, and the client provides supplements with colostrum and other inactive ingredients to improve overall health. The company sells its product through various sales channels, including online through Shopify and Amazon and in-store with retailers.
The Challenge
As the company was rapidly growing, the client recognized the importance of an integrated system and contacted Withum for assistance in implementing NetSuite. Withum conducted an assessment to identify specific requirements within the system and subsequently worked through a design to optimize the NetSuite solution.
The client used various disconnected systems to run finance and operations, including QuickBooks and Cin7. Manufacturing and inventory movement operations were separate from their financial books, making it difficult to accurately track the economic impact of inventory transactions. The lack of integration between platforms prevented the company from having real-time, trustworthy data to allow for actionable decisions.
The company made the decision to implement NetSuite to manage its finances and operations, integrate E-Commerce (B2C and B2B) and Amazon with NetSuite, improve inventory management and consolidate its technology stack. The challenge was integrating their various systems to accurately track a large volume of incoming orders and inventory movement from multiple sales channels.
The Approach
Adopting NetSuite provided the client with an all-encompassing solution to manage operations, covering key areas like order entry, sales and financial management. This implementation would automate and standardize crucial business processes, establish strong financial controls and improve operational oversight through NetSuite’s built-in features. This strategic decision aimed to equip the client with the necessary tools to address current issues and to position themselves for sustainable growth and operational excellence in a competitive market.
In this NetSuite implementation, Withum applied its Agile Implementation Methodology (AIM), which includes shared responsibility with the client. The concept helps create a sense of ownership and collaboration. AIM is divided into three phases: Discovery, Sprint Cycle and Functionality Releases.
- The Discovery Phase aims to understand the current state of processes and systems and the company's requirements, resulting in a prioritized list of desired functionalities known as the Sprint Cycle Backlog. This phase is divided into two sub-phases: Plan, which involves project ramp-up, governance, resource assignment and budget establishment; and Analyze, which includes identifying tasks, conducting workshops to define the high-level design, identifying gaps and developing the prioritized requirements. The Discovery Phase connects all other phases of the project, ensuring that the Sprint Cycle Phase continuously supports strategic priorities through regular reviews of inputs from sprints and changing business requirements.
- The Sprint Cycle Phase involves deploying the NetSuite configuration. The Sprint Cycle Backlog, established during the Discovery Phase, is further refined, developed and tested before being released into the Sandbox NetSuite environment. Withum uses an "Alpha" to "Beta" approach, demonstrating out-of-the-box processes and managing customizations, integrations and advanced configurations in separate sprints. All customizations from the Sprint Cycle Backlog to the Prioritized Sprint Plan will be defined, including scope, budget and timeline, ensuring a structured and strategic deployment.
- The Release Phase involves validating and developing a final cutover plan for the NetSuite Production Environment. This phase may include additional sprints for data migration, customizations, integrations, training and final cutover requirements. Key activities include functional testing using business use cases to ensure completeness and system integration testing, with the client leading and Withum providing support. This collaborative approach facilitates knowledge transfer and prepares for the final cutover to the NetSuite Production Environment, ensuring all functionalities are thoroughly tested and validated.
The Solution
One of the essential goals of the project was to integrate E-Commerce (B2C and B2B) and Amazon into NetSuite. This requires an iPaaS Solution to connect Amazon, Shopify and the client’s 3PL to their NetSuite instance. Withum presented the client with options for potential iPaaS Solutions and reviewed various demos to ensure the solution would fit their requirements. In the end, the client chose Celigo as their iPaaS Solution. The Withum team worked closely with the client and the Celigo team to ensure the design and configuration of the connector met the outlined requirements.
Another essential aspect of NetSuite to the client was approvals throughout the system. The Withum team configured a series of approval workflows to ensure data accuracy and control for upper management. This allowed the client to feel confident about the accuracy of the data in NetSuite.
The Results, ROI
The NetSuite implementation brought many positive changes for the client, aligning with their primary goals. The project set the company up for strong growth and expansion, offering a scalable system to handle constantly growing demand. It also improved financial management, allowing for more precise control and strategic planning. By moving to an integrated cloud software solution like NetSuite, the client reduced vulnerabilities and boosted data security, while integrating their technology systems made operational processes much more efficient and streamlined.
Looking ahead, the client plans to continuously optimize and expand the functionality of their NetSuite system. Withum will work with the client to make these enhancements, including adding an EDI connector to reduce manual efforts in selling to retailers.
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