NetSuite Implementation Process | The 2023 Guide to Success

Managing a business is not all plain sailing.

Controlling cash flow, maintaining communication, dealing with the unexpected, and working on skills and attitudes, eventually require a host of effort, planning and strategy to conduct successfully.

Luckily, business owners needing to manage their staff, clients, data or inventory can rely on an ERP system that binds customer management to financial management and business intelligence to inventory into one system. Not just it leverages a suite of integrated applications, but an ERP system can work as the brain of a business’s technological system. It can gain visibility while accelerating productivity and operational efficiency, integrating all facets of a business.

Whether to streamline and automate processes or to create a more efficient operation, an ERP system can work as the best bet for any organisation or business.

Considering an ERP for your business? Go for NetSuite

If you have been researching ERP software options to improve your business performance, consider choosing NetSuite solutions. Though with so many ERP systems and various vendors out there, you might be thinking, why choose NetSuite ERP?

In such cases, it’s worthwhile to understand the benefits that the NetSuite ERP system can bring to your business.

• A single-source solution that manages everything, including accounting, sales and marketing, CRM, ecommerce and more.
• A user-friendly interface with a simple UI layout.
• Being a cloud management suite, with NetSuite, you can run core business applications and maintain IT structure with no additional cost.
• The real-time dashboard will allow you to view and act on real-time data.
• It positions your business to scale and increase efficiency pulling everything into one place.

No wonder investing in NetSuite ERP can facilitate you with a range of terrific benefits.

Major steps towards a successful NetSuite implementation

A successful NetSuite ERP implementation can power your business for years to come only by selecting the right implementation process.

1. Plan, discover and research your requirements

In this planning and discovery phase, the purpose is to define a detailed system requirement. And this task requires a strong project team who can handle the broad range of roles related to the implementation, including establishing relevant goals, requirements and KPIs. However, even if your company lack in having expertise in-house, you have the option open to enlisting the help of any NetSuite service provider.

Once you are done setting up a project team, the goal is to develop a detailed understanding of current issues. Take a look at your current business processes, system and workflows, and consider how each process can be improved to identify relevant KPIs. Then discover the high-level goals, your project scope, potential integration system, migration system and all.

2. Then comes the execution phase

In this step, you start getting hands-on with the NetSuite software. After understanding the current workflows, develop a detailed design for the new ERP system. Start configuring where necessary. Such as, you can start by migrating your data from the previous system to the new one and store it in one and the same place. During the process of transferring the data between the system, validate each and every data before going live.

Then, depending on your unique requirements, configure the essential NetSuite process and other necessary settings on accounting, shipping, cost or security preferences. Also, set up roles and permissions while building automation, integration and workflows. In this phase, NetSuite will absorb all your business information, including CRM integration, account balances and workflows.

3. Ensure proper NetSuite training for all stakeholders

In order to be able to use a new system and also to gain all the benefits of the application, offer training to your employees prior to deploying the system. This particular step offers a massive factor in the success of the NetSuite implementation. Otherwise, if the employees can’t familiarise themselves with the ins and outs of the NetSuite software, they can’t be expected to utilise the platform entirely.

So try to focus on giving a baseline understanding of the whole system and offer targeted training matching the need of the roles they play in your organisation. Even if not for all, initially, you can select some individuals to provide the training early on who will later work as a mentor for their colleagues.

Once they become proficient in the system, they can gather full knowledge of the NetSuite functionality earlier on.

4. Testing is a vital part

When your NetSuite system is nearly complete, you need to test it out and examine the NetSuite ERP functionalities. Testing is a crucial step to ensure that the results match the agreed-upon business requirements. It will help you correct any errors or process problems before going live. Testing can be done rigorously depending on your business needs.

Such as to test individual components of the system for bugs or any unexpected behaviour, you can perform technical testing. Or go for User Acceptance Testing, where your end-users will test the processes and customisation and figure out whether the system meets the requirements they outlined for.

5. Go-live implementation

Going live is definitely an exciting milestone, but everything on that day might not run according to the original plan. So if you are ready to roll out the new system, make sure to have a solid plan when you go live. You can even conduct a mock go-live test to detect any sort of final issues. And finally, when you are running the NetSuite software for the very first time, ensure that every requirement has been featured and everyone involved is happy with the final product. That is how to begin to use the NetSuite service successfully for real business purposes.

6. Ensure post-implementation support

After implementing the new business system, the work doesn’t end here. There is always a need to perform regular check-ups as you need to achieve maximum ROI from NetSuite. So the system will require tweaking and upgrades throughout the years ahead. Also, problems that you might not face during the testing or go-live step might pop up at any moment.

So make sure there is enough technical support and external resources available. Even if you have taken the assistance of any NetSuite developer, it’s a wiser idea to keep them around during the post-implementation stage as they will be more familiar with your environment. And this post-implementation support will ensure that your NetSuite solution continues to meet your needs.

Now, all set to implement NetSuite for your company? The mentioned steps can definitely lead you to a successful go-live. Upgrade all your business operations, attaining every ounce of profit you can with NetSuite implementation.