NetSuite Drives Bull Products’ Programme of Continuous Improvement: 8 Years On

Based in Hereford, England, Bull Products is an independently owned manufacturer, importer, and supplier of lifesaving and fire protection equipment. Trading since 2006, the company has gone on to support the safety of endless commercial and residential developments, including famed landmarks like Big Ben, Manchester Town Hall, Silverstone Racing Circuit and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Bull Products’ range has grown drastically over the last 19 years, incorporating everything from fire extinguishers to signage, to ensure the safety of customer sites, workers and the general public. Prioritising exceptional quality and best-in-class products, servicing and advice, Bull Products is widely recognised as a leading company in the fire safety space.

WHAT WERE BULL PRODUCTS’ CHALLENGES?

With Eureka Solutions implementing a NetSuite system for Bull Products over 8 years ago, the company saw a rise in efficiency post-launch but were admittedly “not getting the most out of the platform” according to Business Systems Manager, Nicola Mosley.

A significant challenge lay in accounting for multiple subsidiaries. Having a close transactional relationship with sister-company Cygnus – where the fire alarms that Bull Products sell and lease are manufactured – managing this data in one slick process became increasingly crucial. Administrative teams needed to be able to switch between subsidiaries in just a few clicks to maintain processing speed and keep up with customer demand.

Another significant part of operations is servicing the safety equipment their customers hold. Bull Products was an early adopter of NetSuite’s Field Service Management, having previously used a competing solution unsuited to the needs of the business. Field Service Management from NetSuite enables Bull Products’ field-based teams to manage servicing and maintenance processes from within NetSuite, allowing team resource and parts to be allocated directly.

Supported directly by NetSuite, Nicola has become an expert in optimising the module for Bull Products’ requirements so that all processes are managed effectively:

“Since Oracle acquired Next Service (rebranded Field Service), the servicing side has improved massively. I work a lot on configuring the Field Service app for our engineers. For example, we now automate customer notifications when an engineer is booked, including a reminder before the visit.”

How Eureka Solutions Helped Bull Products to Get More From NetSuite

With Nicola’s encouragement and the help of Eureka Solutions, the team also began to use NetSuite to refine processes, leveraging the many under-utilised features the platform had to offer. When Nicola first joined, several members of the team were still storing crucial documents outside of NetSuite. This process was changed to make use of NetSuite’s powerful ‘file cabinet’ document storage feature, ensuring that important documents remained organised and accessible to everyone that needed them.

In her mission to refine processes and streamline business efficiencies, Nicola also utilises the Eureka Solutions support and development teams on a regular basis.

“Before I stepped into this role, there were a few people who weren’t fully embracing the system. They were still keeping documents outside of NetSuite. I’ve tried to push everything into the system—make it the single source of truth. As I’ve become more confident, others have followed.” Nicola said.

THE RESULTS

Leveraging the best of NetSuite has allowed Bull Products to grow rapidly over the last 8 years, without having to upgrade ERP. Expanding both in terms of headcount, number of subsidiaries and scale of operations, NetSuite has remained a constant for Bull Products, providing the desired “single source of truth” that the company so desperately needed to keep up with growth. From this initial investment in NetSuite, Bull Products has received long-term value across all departments.

NetSuite manages the business’ non-traditional structure and multi-subsidiaries with ease. With manufacturing and sales processes taking place under the Cygnus subsidiary, and product sales, hire, servicing and stockholding under Bull Products, the team is able to perform the intercompany transactions required. Accounting for both subsidiaries is clear and concise, with drillable insights allowing the team to view data for each in isolation and for the business as a whole. Adding to this ease of administration was the company’s new file structure, hosted in NetSuite.

Commenting on NetSuite’s ability to handle Bull Products’ business structure, Nicola said, “I think it’s amazing that one system can support a manufacturer like Cygnus and a supplier like Bull Products so effectively.”

KEY BENEFITS REALISED

• Easier multi-subsidiary accounting
• 100% elimination of duplicate data entry
• Enhanced customer insights
• Improved file storage
• Increased growth without systems upgrades

FUTURE PLANS

Discussing the business’ future, Nicola has big plans for Bull Products’ use of NetSuite. Utilising the expertise of Eureka Solutions, Nicola plans to embark on an ambitious carbon-tracking venture as part of the business’ Net Zero by 2030 initiative:

“NetSuite can help us to track product weight, CO2 data and more at the inventory level. It’s a big project but we plan to eventually track our carbon emissions and work towards neutralising these by 2030. NetSuite will play a huge part in this project.”

In the spirit of continuous improvement, Nicola will work with her team to identify any areas of frustration or inefficiency:

“I’m fully aware that we’re only just scratching the surface with NetSuite and there’s so much more we can do. I’m hoping to work with my team to identify any sticking points. Eventually I’d love to automate accounts payable and go completely paperless too. These are things that I’m keen to explore further with Eureka Solutions in time.”