Faster time to market, a need for rapid implementations and the shift to omnichannel are just a few of the things NetSuite is helping manufacturers and wholesale distributors account for and adapt to. All three took center stage at the industry-specific keynote address at the annual SuiteWorld 2017 conference recently.
Indeed, rapid change is a significant hurdle for all companies in the space. As R “Ray” Wang, Principal Analyst and CEO of Constellation Research, noted in the keynote– 52 percent of companies in the Fortune 500 have either gone bankrupt, been acquired or merged or fallen off the list since 2000. These organizations failed to respond quickly to the change.
In order to show the depth of change happening right now, Wang highlighted nine trends he’s seeing in the industry.
NetSuite outlined what it’s doing to tackle these industry challenges as well as show how its customers are using the NetSuite solution to help them realize what is next for their businesses.
Having the Right Systems in Place
A unified cloud solution enables businesses to grow, scale and adapt to change. It eliminates the hassles of managing disparate systems and allows companies to streamline the business and get a single source of truth.
To help manufacturers and distributors build the right technology foundation, NetSuite unveiled SuiteSuccess for both Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution. NetSuite’s industry teams leverage SuiteSuccess to focus on the unique industry challenges in Manufacturing and Distribution so that companies have faster time to value, increased business efficiency, flexibility and greater customer success.
Bruce Capagli, COO of Precision Disposables, a manufacturer and distributor of protective apparel for industrial and healthcare markets, implemented NetSuite in 59 days with the SuiteSuccess model. Capagli said the biggest benefit of SuiteSuccess was having a direct relationship with NetSuite experts.
“The NetSuite group really took the time to understand our business, our needs and where we want to go in the future to make those proper recommendations, and create that roadmap for how we implement,” Capagli said.
Precision Disposables is currently in phase two of SuiteSuccess implementing NetSuite warehouse management and SuiteCommerce.
Supply Chain Operational Excellence
NetSuite is providing new and enhanced functionality within its software to help bridge the gap between the operational and financial sides of the supply chain to help companies improve operations and go to market faster. Some of these news features include better product data management, supply chain control tower, container management and cross subsidiary fulfillment and improvements around the inter-company framework and journal.
Bart Thielen, CFO/COO at Blue Microphones said his company has cut manual processes within the global supply chain with the NetSuite platform.
“When we brought in NetSuite one of the things we looked at was the portal,” said Thielen. “We now have our 3PLs use NetSuite as the portal to pull, fulfill and invoice orders. “
The next step for Blue Microphones is implementing SuiteCommerce for B2C ecommerce. The goal is to better understand its customers and capture that data in one central location.
“We expect in five years to double our size,” said Thielen. “With NetSuite it’s scalable and we can grow with this system for a long time.”
Seamless Omnichannel Customer Experiences
RST Brands, a manufacturer and distributor of furniture and lifestyle décor, is pioneering the omnichannel experience for the industry. To provide that seamless experience while moving from strictly a B2B company to also offer B2C ecommerce, RST Brands traded in its home-grown websites for SuiteCommerce Advanced.
“The nice thing about SuiteCommerce Advanced is that the sites are now one,” said Bill Apgood, Jr. CFO/COO of RST Brands. “The data is live inside of NetSuite which provides our customers a better experience.”
Utilizing the Bronto commerce marketing automation solution, RST Brands can send automated, targeted emails to customers who leave products in their online shopping carts.
“We have a 60 percent open rate on our email,” said Apgood. “Of that 60 percent, 30 percent click on the link within Bronto and 13 percent order the product in the abandon cart -- which is great.”
RST Brands also has a unique relationship with Costco. Members in over 450 stores can test out RST Brand’s furniture display inside the store, and when they’re ready to purchase they text a code and have it shipped directly to them. After the product ships, Costco members receive an email (via Bronto) explaining important product and contact information.
To learn more about what NetSuite is doing to support the manufacturing and wholesale distribution industry, watch the on-demand keynote session from SuiteWorld17.
