Why Finance Leaders and Project Managers Should Give NetSuite’s Most Recent Release a Closer Look

Future-proof NetSuite ERP made even more appealing with first enhancement package of 2022

So, you invest in an ERP and then, twice a year, all your users automatically benefit from an ‘upgrade’ comprising improvements and enhancements, with no additional cost or downtime involved in receiving the enhanced functionality. Sound good?

What if this same ERP was completely scaleable with your business and able to accommodate increased complexity in structure, subsidiaries and currencies as your business develops AND (if you engage the right partner) is customisable to your business needs, meaning it is truly the last ERP you’ll ever need. Sound even better?

Last week, Oracle NetSuite revealed their ‘Sneak Peek’ of the enhancements to the market leading true-cloud ERP, enhancements that will be delivered to all users over the coming weeks.

Leading UK NetSuite partner Eureka Solutions boasts a NetSuite team that is among the most experienced and technically proficient in the country. Their overview of this upcoming release – NetSuite 2022.1 – provides insight into some of the improvements and enhancements NetSuite users will shortly benefit from.

Enhancements contained within the bi-annual releases tend to include general enhancements that all users will find of benefit, as well as enhancements that users in specific industries will find particularly useful. This release is no different, with wholesale distribution, retail, services, non-profit and software among the verticals with new features under the spotlight.

NetSuite is all about automating processes, improving efficiencies, and having real-time visibility of one unified source of accurate data. A couple of new feature highlights really build on this, so we look at them first, specifically:

• The Cash 360 Dashboard – to enable finance teams and leaders to have even greater understanding of their cash position and to forecast from within NetSuite.
• The Project 360 Dashboard – to further enhance visibility for Project Managers.

Cash 360 Dashboard:

Cash 360 will improve forecast accuracy and provide finance teams with quicker access to the data they need for this, as well as helping them to make strategic cash decisions more easily with a real-time view of the cash position. Configurable to each business’ needs, payables, receivables and available cash can be viewed in real-time, as well as trends. Multiple data points are combined to give all the information required to do this, and reminders for any tasks to be undertaken are also displayed.

For Service Businesses:

Project 360, on the other hand, is a Project Manager’s dream, providing visibility of all project-related information – resources, clients, financials and more – in one single view within ‘SuiteProjects’, especially useful for those managing multiple projects, assisting delivery of projects on budget and to schedule. Viewing projects in this way enables project managers to more quickly understand what projects need their focus, and it cuts down on time spent on gathering information and administering projects. With a clear view of project budget analysis, project billing, project profitability, project resourcing and more it’s the ideal platform from which to run a project / service–based business.

In addition to these developments, NetSuite has also – as ever – included enhancements that will be particularly useful to other verticals. At Eureka Solutions, as well as the benefits of Project 360 for our service-based customers, we are particularly interested in the enhancements for our considerable client-base in the following industries ….

Wholesale Distribution – enhancements include several features to support cross-channel sales and drive supply chain efficiency. Additional functionality for the NetSuite ‘Pack Station’ mobile app and the addition of ‘zone picking’ to NetSuite Warehouse Management System (WMS) are examples. These, combined with the Supply Planning Workbench released in 2021 (which now enables customised views), give wholesale distributors the competitive edge.

Software – already the strongest ERP for software and technology companies, NetSuite has been further enhanced in this release with new functionality including simplification of the billing process from within NetSuite, intercompany accounting, labour expense allocation and, of course, the Cash 360 dashboard mentioned above.

Non-Profit Organisations – again, NetSuite is already an ideal choice for the charitable, membership or other form or not-for-profit organisation, enabling them to unify all of their key data within one system. NetSuite 2022.1 includes functionality for charities to receive donations online within the SuiteCommerce module, which also delivers benefits for donors, such as managing their donations and downloading related tax receipts.

Retail / Ecommerce – retailers facing supply chain and fulfilment challenges will benefit from a number of the enhancements in the new release, some of which we’ve already touched on, including the Supply Planning Workbench and Warehouse Management System (WMS) enhancements, as well as the changes to the NetSuite Pack Station mobile app. These on top of the already winning ‘omnichannel’ package that NetSuite delivers for retailers (on premise and online) makes it a definite contender for retailers looking for a unified view.

This is a high-level overview only. Eureka Solutions consultants are on hand to discuss NetSuite as an option in more detail with you, should you be considering a new ERP either now or a little down the line.

These bi-annual enhancement packages – packed full of features based on customer requests – really do make NetSuite a fantastic and, most importantly, future-proof option.

If you would like further information or to arrange a call to talk through your requirements and ambitions, please get in touch.

Eureka Solutions is a 5-star NetSuite Partner and was named NetSuite Partner with Outstanding Performance of the Year for the UK and Ireland earlier this year. They are also a leading Sage 200 Partner with one of the most technically proficient business solutions teams in the country, so are ideally placed to talk through your challenges with referenceable examples – contact Richard Christie, Business Systems Specialist, on 01355 581960 or richard.christie@eurekasolutions.co.uk.