NEXT READY FINANCIALS - Why Fast-Growing Services Companies Adopt NetSuite's Cloud ERP to Accelerate Growth - Dynappco
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NEXT READY FINANCIALS Why Fast-Growing Services Companies Adopt NetSuite’s Cloud ERP to Accelerate Growth
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NEXT READY FINANCIALS
Why Fast-Growing Services Companies Adopt NetSuite’s Cloud ERP to
Accelerate Growth
Introduction minimal real-time visibility into essential
Over the years, small to midsized businesses business information. Unfortunately, this
have pieced together a patchwork of strategy results in companies trying to
applications to run their operations. From grow by adding even more systems or
accounting to order fulfilment, to sales and applications for specific purposes—which
marketing, a venerable hairball of applications often aren’t integrated with each other—
exists across millions of small to midsized and may revise or attempt to automate
business. This infrastructure will not enable certain business processes. This application
rapidly growing businesses to sustain and hairball results in a level of complexity that’s
accelerate growth. rife with manual tasks and bottlenecks,
increases risks and errors, and can hurt
Piecing together various applications to
the customer experience. In fact, it hinders
effectively run your business is inadequate.
growth and in some cases, it can result in
This approach lacks many of the capabilities
the death of a once vibrant company.
that growing businesses need and provides
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 2
“Before, we’d have to wait until two weeks after each month-end for financial reports to be shared with each country, relying previously on ten people. But now with NetSuite, we are able to generate and share reports instantaneously with lesser resources being invested in creating the reports.” — Nauman A. Mian, CFO, Bayt.com Inc. For years, NetSuite has worked with cloud-based solution that enables accelerated growing business across all industries and business growth. Case studies and quotes from geographies, and with thousands of finance those who have adopted NetSuite describe and IT professionals guiding their companies why their companies made the decision, how through different phases of development. they have implemented NetSuite and the While these businesses are diverse, they benefits they are experiencing. experience similar challenges in dealing with If you are leading a growing business, and traditional, on-premise systems. are concerned that the pain and complexity Following is a summary of many of the issues imposed by an application hairball that is that growing companies typically face, and limiting your business, read on to discover why so many have decided to move to that you are not alone—and that there is a NetSuite—a Next Ready, modern, integrated, better way! © Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 3
An integrated cloud- based
system overcomes business
limitations both known
and unknown.
Five triggers that indicate QuickBooks is 1
failing your business It’s difficult to find out what’s really
Running complex business processes across happening across the business
areas such as financial management, revenue in real-time.
management, fixed assets, procurement, order Most systems are designed for an era when
management, billing, inventory management, companies could wait until the end of the
services delivery and more is not possible month to get the data they need. That’s not
with disparate systems and applications, from the case today—consolidated views and up-to-
a simple general ledger solution patched the-minute reporting can make the difference
together with a web store, warehouse between thriving and barely surviving.
management application and a customer Small teams at a single location can sometimes
support system, this solution simply will not get by without a fully automated system
support your growing company and because they are close enough to the action.
business processes. But as a company begins to grow or takes on
Moving to a single, integrated cloud-based new locations, the information that has to be
system is a better solution (as the quotes exchanged increases exponentially.
that follow indicate), but companies may not Additionally, the data needed for timely and
recognize signs that an application hairball is accurate business decisions is buried within
limiting the business due to manual processes, your disparate systems from sales force
errors and lack of real-time data and visibility automation system, inventory management
to make important business decisions. Here applications and customer service systems.
are five triggers that serve as red flags:
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 4Here are several symptoms that your data between systems is usually manual
management reporting isn’t meeting the and can result in errors. Additionally,
organization’s needs: management teams lack insight into how the
business is performing on a holistic level.
• Team members waste time playing playing
“Hunt for the Spreadsheet”. Growing
2
businesses inevitably reach a stage where
Manual processes are used to entering and
employees rely on spreadsheets to fill the
reconciling data across systems.
information gap, since data lives in so many
In today’s “need it now” networked world,
disparate systems. People end up spending
it is frustrating for suppliers, customers and
more time hunting for data than actually
business managers to wait for answers while
analyzing it and making decisions.
information is manually transferred between
• Management reports are error-prone and systems. Incompatibilities between systems
out-of-date. As businesses grow, they may and imperfect integration have left employees
use multiple manual processes to augment a copying data between systems. These
less-than-optimum infrastructure. They may symptoms are a sign that it may be time for
rekey sales orders into their financial system, your business to transition to a next ready
reconcile customer information manually single platform cloud solution like NetSuite:
or manage SKUs across multiple systems.
• Sales orders, order entry and invoicing are
Reporting errors are inevitable and decisions
paper-based. Your employees may spend
are often made based on out-of-date,
hours every week manually entering order
incomplete or inaccurate information.
information into the invoicing system, while
• Reports take too long to run. With disparate someone else copies invoice details into
systems, it’s easy to hit performance a sales compensation spreadsheet. Data
bottlenecks but solving them is more difficult. entry errors lead to invoice queries that must
When reports take too long to run, it’s a be resolved, and month-end crises
sign that the amount of data the business are on the rise.
has amassed has grown too large for a
• Bad customer information results in
patchwork of applications to report on it.
unhappy customers. When some customer
• It is impossible to get a comprehensive view information resides in sales spreadsheets,
across all business units. As businesses while some is stored in standalone financial
grow over time, they usually have one set systems and other applications, there is no
of financials in a standalone ledger system, way to know which data is most current,
while financial data for newer geographic accurate and reliable. Bills may be sent to
locations or divisions ends up in other the wrong customer address or contact
installations or financial products. Moving information may be out-of-date.
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 5• Approval processes are slow and disjointed. Growing businesses can’t expect to creak
When people have to pass paperwork along, while others fly at on-demand speed.
around or match it up to information stored
Here are some warning signs that reliance on
in separate software applications, simple
disparate systems may be costing you sales:
processes like expense claim approvals or
routine contract signatures can take days or • Customer service fails because agents
weeks to finalize. don’t have up-to-date information. When
customers call to place orders or check
• Financial consolidation takes ages. Cross-
order status, it is frustrating to be kept on
posting transactional data between systems
hold or called back with an answer. This
is time-consuming and the finance team
often happens when information has to
works late every month to consolidate
be retrieved from someone in another
financial reports. Yet as hard as they work,
department or location. Customers may
managers are still unhappy because their
not file direct complaints, but churn and
weekly and monthly reports are delayed.
abandonment figures rise as customers find
• Sales forecasting and budgeting processes other vendors that don’t waste their time.
rely on guesswork, rather than facts. Since
• Stock levels are never where customers
it is difficult to get historic information in
want them. Common symptoms are running
the right format in a timely manner to do
out of stock at some outlets, while the
trend analysis, employees put figures in
same SKU sits on shelves elsewhere. It is
spreadsheets based on guesswork. Even
impossible to pre-empt outages because it
though the actual data exists somewhere, it’s
takes too long to update and consolidate
too hard to find and extract.
point-of-sales data. In addition, real-time
access to trend analysis by SKU and outlet
3
isn’t available.
Sales are lost because employees
can’t get information to where it is needed • Customers and vendors don’t have access
fast enough. to self-service information on your website.
Ecommerce has set the standard for Customers have asked for the ability to look
customers these days. They expect to see up stock, place orders and check status on
real-time stock levels, confirm delivery the web, but you can’t justify the required
schedules at the same time they place their investment of time and money. In addition,
order, and call customer service minutes after your current business system wasn’t
placing an order to add an extra line item. designed to operate 24x7 and it’s not clear it
But this level of real-time responsiveness is could be kept secure against online threats.
impossible with limited or disparate systems.
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 6• Customer information can’t be easily handle stronger financial controls, better SKU
collected or filtered for sales campaigns. management or support for more complex
Even though the company is sending out financial processes, such as recurring billing
regular email campaigns, the sales team has and invoicing.
no information about responses when they
Here are some signals that an organization
call prospects and conversion rates are low.
has reached its financial system’s limits:
Unsold inventory is a problem because there
just isn’t time to organize a sales push or • Finance staff members must use several
mailshot to clear the excess products. different applications to do their jobs. As
the firm’s finance needs have become
4 more complex, the gaps have been filled
More accounting is done outside of the with other software packages—Excel
financial system than in it. spreadsheets or home-grown applications.
Standalone financial systems are designed When the finance staff needs to pay
to automate a limited set of core accounting attention to as many as half a dozen
functions. As a result, it limits how companies different applications, a risk environment
can run their operations. As businesses grow, proliferates and requires constant lookout
companies must adapt their processes to fit for errors—especially when relying on
the application, rather than having a system custom-built spreadsheets and software.
that is scalable and will accommodate growth.
• It is too difficult to add new sales channels,
It is easy to run out of headroom when
product lines or locations. Every time there
companies have more customers, vendors or
is a change in the business, staff must
inventory items than many standalone financial
work overtime to figure out workarounds
systems can practically handle.
to accommodate it. Standalone financial
The key to business growth and success is systems do not have built-in support for
greater transaction volumes and speed, but everyday functions like making simple
it’s hard for many financial systems to handle changes across matrix SKUs, adding new
this kind of pressure. Full audit trails, rich sales tax rates or handing bills of materials,
business planning and reporting or automated kits and assemblies for manufacturing
processes mean having to add systems and inventory. Processes that cry out for
constantly engineer short-term quick fixes. automation have to be done manually or
Standalone financial systems simply can’t from spreadsheets.
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 7• It is impossible to adapt quickly enough inflexible. Earlier investments in hardware
to changing business conditions. Many and software are costly to maintain and fail to
companies want to modernize operations keep pace with technological innovation.
and react to market opportunities and
competitive threats. Unfortunately, a lack of NetSuite is an always-current, cloud-based
advanced and specialized functions holds business solution—the newer, younger
them back. Specialized or industry-specific model of business management systems.
requirements like contracts and prepayments, NetSuite’s native flexibility and agility is
manufacturing inventory, or warehouse all-encompassing, and the overhead of
distribution can only be handled in standalone maintaining an underlying technology layer
external packages that have little or no is non-existent. NetSuite is designed to stay
integration back to your financial system. up-to-date with the state of the art in business
automation, giving companies the tools
needed to stay ahead of the competition and
5
to seize new opportunities as they emerge
The business spends too much time worrying
and grow.
about technology instead of focusing on
business results.
Every time a company adds a new layer of
business software, the underlying systems
infrastructure becomes more complicated and
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 8Stay connected to
your data anytime,
anywhere on any
device.
When is it time to consider cloud a serious failure or if there was a fire or
financial management? natural disaster. The company is overly reliant
Here are a few signs that indicate that a on fallible backup routines. Other major
business is ready to switch to a cloud-based concerns are malware attacks and data theft.
system like NetSuite: A sobering question lingers: how quickly
could your business recover if a server went
• System upgrades and improvements are
down and the company had to revert to
pushed to the back burner, due to the
a backup?
associated cost and disruption. Many
companies’ current business systems fall • A major deterrent to investing in new
short of what they need to accelerate technology is the time required to see
growth. However, because upgrading a return on investment. Funding new
to newer versions or adding new users applications or technology upgrades require
is disruptive and expensive, companies significant working capital, and it can be
downplay its value. Furthermore, many months before the organization sees a return.
businesses lack the adequate resources Even then, there is no guarantee that the new
to implement and manage new, required technology will deliver the expected results.
technology and ultimately prevent their When this is the situation, it often feels safer
employees and customers from accessing to just muddle along with existing systems
required and desired business information. and processes, even if everyone recognizes
that they are holding the organization back.
• Backups, server failures, malware and
data security are constant worries. It is a NetSuite recognizes this and applies deep
major business risk when financial data is industry subject matter expertise to help
concentrated in a single standalone system, organizations define, understand and articulate
while ancillary information is scattered the business value of the NetSuite solution. To
around in other software systems and learn more about this pre-sales offering, check
spreadsheets. Business continuity would be out the NetSuite Value Assessment data sheet.
disrupted if one of the machines suffered
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 9Let the transition be
your opportunity, not
your obstacle.
Best practices for embracing the Cloud with the basics and add functionality over
As small businesses grow, it is clear that time, or immediately if the market dictates
alternatives to “the hairball” are needed, but it—for example, new revenue management
the path forward isn’t always well-defined. requirements, recurring billing, etc.
Here are several best practices that can
• Take time to understand the business
smooth the path to the Cloud:
needs and key business requirements.
• Reduce the burden on limited IT resources. Before selecting a cloud solution, be sure
Growing companies typically have limited the organization understands its business
IT resources. Cloud solutions eliminate the and key business processes. Growing
need to maintain on-premises hardware and companies often believe they are saving
software. The cloud also enables mobility, money by not spending the time needed
since workers can access the application to understand and capture the business
anytime, anywhere and from any device. requirements. Unfortunately, this can lead to
Cloud solutions are also highly scalable, selecting the wrong solution.
allowing growing companies to accelerate
• Hire a partner to help with data migration.
growth without needing to invest capital in
Regardless of what platform a company
technology or add additional resources.
adopts, it can be helpful to find a suitable
• Consider a suite. Rather than perpetuating partner who can help migrate data
the “applications hairball”, many companies and perform checks and balances before the
decide to adopt an integrated product suite. system goes live. This approach will ensure
A single cloud-based platform eliminates that the transition to a new system
the need to piece together different is consistent with business processes
solutions. An integrated suite makes and objectives.
managing data much easier. Dual data entry
is eliminated, since all information is stored
in a single, centralized data repository. A
suite solution enables companies to start
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 10Optimize your
business with a
cloud solution.
Conclusion Case Studies
If your growing enterprise is experiencing any Four growing businesses in different
of the pains discussed where a standalone geographies and industries—Ideate, Home
financial application may be limiting your Instead and W. Capra—shared case studies,
business growth, it may be time to consider summarized herein, discussing why their
the cloud-based products and services that organizations transitioned to NetSuite, and
NetSuite offers. Moving your company to how NetSuite has helped improve their
NetSuite allows for more efficient and effective effectiveness and efficiency.
business operations—essential for growing an
organization and enabling employees to react
to client and organizational needs in real-time.
To learn more about NetSuite’s product and
services offerings, visit www.netsuite.com/
portal/products.shtml.
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 11Case Study
Ideate
IDEATE,
AN AUTODESK RESELLER
“As we continue innovating around our business model, we never
have to worry about whether we have the right systems in place
to execute. The NetSuite Business Cloud does everything that
we need.” — Ethan Collins, Ideate Director of Operations
Ideate is a satisfied NetSuite customer of over • Explosive Growth Without Additional
a decade. Since implementation, they continue Overhead. With NetSuite providing real-
to reap the benefits of the NetSuite Business time insights and efficiency, Ideate grew
cloud—a journey that now includes expanding its customer base and revenue by more
from its backbone business as an Autodesk than 300 percent, tripled its products and
reseller, to developing and selling its own expanded to the East Coast and London—
software globally. without adding a single employee to its back
office staff of five.
NetSuite’s flexibility, integration capabilities
and ease of use solidified it as the modern • Industry Dominance Yields New
business platform of choice for this next phase Opportunities. With solid processes in
of growth. place and dominating its primary business,
Ideate confidently launched a new
• Customer Enhancements Streamline Internal
one—developing its own software. From
Operations. The 2014 Autodesk Reseller of
creating custom record types and forms, to
the Year continues to streamline operations
integrating leads from its website and web
by implementing creative customer-facing
services, NetSuite scaled to support Ideate’s
improvements within NetSuite. Customers
new chapter.
can now renew subscriptions in the same
portal they use for support and special
rebates from Autodesk are embedded in
Ideate invoices.
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 12Case Study
Home Instead
HOME INSTEAD,
A SENIOR CARE SERVICES PROVIDER
“NetSuite has really increased the efficiency of the finance team.
We’re able to provide reports in any format in real-time, plus it
accommodates us as we grow.” — Ann Monday, Finance Director, Home Instead
Paul and Lori Hogan founded Home Instead its existing QuickBooks Enterprise system
Senior Care® in 1994. Their personal experience would not be able to provide the multi-
helping Paul’s grandmother remain at home, currency capabilities, reporting and added
where she enjoyed life past age 100, stirred functionality Home Instead would need in
their passion to enable other families to do the future.
the same. Today, the Home Instead franchise
• Advanced Customer Support handles new
network is the world’s leading provider of in-
complexities. After evaluating Sage, Home
home care services for seniors. Services span
Instead implemented NetSuite because it
the care continuum, from providing personal
had a strong reputation in the industry and
care to specialized Alzheimer’s care and
was proven to be scalable. When changes
hospice support.
in tax rules required the company to charge
• Franchise model fuels rapid expansion. The sales tax, it brought in NetSuite Advanced
demand for senior care services grew quickly, Customer Support to manage integrations
with the franchise model helping to accelerate with tax and payment processors.
this expansion. Currently, the network’s more
• Automate payments, business diversification.
than 1,100 independently-owned and operated
Now able to automate payments and billing
franchises provide in excess of 70 million
and automatically charge sales tax to 750
hours of care annually throughout the United
North American franchisees, Home Instead
States and 11 other countries.
is looking to expand its services to care for
• QuickBooks still too slow. As the business Alzheimer’s patients and provide Alzheimer’s
grew and began working with international training support services for businesses.
franchisees, it quickly became apparent that
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 13Case Study
W Capra Consulting Services
W CAPRA CONSULTING
SERVICES
Founded in the wake of the merger between • Frankenstein systems wreak havoc. As
two major petroleum brands by employees who the firm grew, it added disparate solutions
saw a new opportunity in providing consulting to address immediate areas of need. The
services within the petroleum industry, W. finance and operations staff was using
Capra has since grown to become a leading QuickBooks for accounting and invoicing,
consulting firm with practices in payments, retail Paychex for payroll, Zoho for CRM, Float
technology and data security. It now has three for resource scheduling, TriNet Expense
offices in North America providing clients with Cloud for expense reporting and Harvest
everything from strategy and roadmapping to for timekeeping.
implementation and delivery.
• NetSuite over Sage, Intacct, Salesforce.com.
• Petroleum and beyond. From humble Management realized that to grow and
beginnings providing consulting services properly serve clients, they would need to
back to their old organization, W. Capra has replace their myriad solutions, completely
grown significantly by expanding its services disintegrated workflow and “what seemed
offerings to capitalize on new opportunities like millions of spreadsheets.” They selected
and maximizing client retention. Over the NetSuite and OpenAir over Intacct and
previous decade, W. Capra has expanded a Sage-Salesforce system to run CRM,
exponentially to better serve its clients— financials and professional services
serving a wide spectrum ranging from large automation and implemented in 100 days.
petroleum brands to large merchants and
Fortune 100 businesses.
© Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 14“OpenAir and NetSuite provide the tools that are needed to make the cutover from five to 10 systems to one true system of record and data management. It’s definitely a solution that works for companies like us.” — Tim Radway, Director of Finance and Operations, W. Capra Consulting Group • Efficiency fuels further growth. Scheduling resources, which was one an activity driven by views scrawled on whiteboards and post it notes, is now both easier and more efficient, manual invoicing processes are gone, and the firm has one unified system for operations. Management plans to leverage the NetSuite capabilities to enable growth into new lines of business and expand workforce and client base without additional overhead investment required. © Oracle | Terms of Use and Privacy Page 15
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