How our ERP helps us see the whole picture

Please note: This post was written by Highlander prior to their rebrand to FluidOne Business IT - Sheffield.

We already know how recent global events have impacted every business, with so many of us having to change the way we work while adjusting to a new way of life.

These changes demanded a rapid response from business leaders, as well as the fast adoption of new routines, something which has proven to be more difficult for some organisations than others. Appropriate contingency plans play a major role in shortening response times in moments of crisis, and central to this is the implementation of the right tools to support your business.

Those who are already familiar with us will know how much value we place in NetSuite, the cloud-based ERP platform that we’ve used to run our own business over the last few years. We’ve always been big fans, but it’s safe to say that our appreciation has only grown in recent times as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

We’ve seen first-hand just how much a well-established, comprehensive and manageable ERP solution can help a business not only respond quickly to changing business demands, but prepare properly for a return to normality on the other side.

Here’s how NetSuite has helped us:

Many businesses rely on separate platforms for areas such as finance, operations or marketing. This creates siloes of information across disconnected systems, significantly hampering overall visibility of business performance.

With NetSuite everything we need is contained within a single unified platform, meaning our users can seamlessly switch between the different areas of our business without the need to know and work with multiple applications.

Thanks to its modular build, you can even add in extended functionality as required to ensure that everything is available in one place, with key information shared between different departments. We’ve found this particularly useful during the crisis as we have made timely alterations to our system and deployed new features without the cost or delays of custom built add-ons.

All of the data held within NetSuite is updated in real-time, allowing us to take an accurate snapshot of every area of our business, to help make informed decisions.

At any given moment we can see the different projects our team are currently working on, when they will be completed and what additional projects are pencilled in for the future. We have even created customised reports to show specific, live information on important measures our business relies on.

Thanks to clever automations, we use the actions of different teams to inform the next group of people and their actions in turn. For example, the creation of a new quote by the sales team automatically schedules time with our operations team to help provide an accurate view of resource and possible timelines. Once the piece of work is completed, subsequent sign-off on the project will automatically trigger the corresponding invoice for the accounts team.

These steps create a true, real-time record of business performance, providing us with everything we need to make decisions at speed, enabling us to respond in-line with changing demands and re-adjust resource provision as required, both in response to sudden events and the formation of longer-term plans.

For organisations using multiple systems, it can be difficult to manage and maintain individual platforms while ensuring appropriate credentials and secure sign-in for all those who need access.

This is only complicated further with a need to support remote working, something which has become increasing prevalent with so many of us now working from home as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

NetSuite is cloud-based, so it can be accessed anywhere. Applications for every area of our business are contained within a single platform, allowing quick access for our remote workers. Our users can sign in from wherever they are working, and whatever device they are working from, and access everything as they would do in the office.

Any new updates for the NetSuite platform are also downloaded automatically and implemented centrally, easing the admin burden on our own internal IT team.

All of this offers important reassurance that our key systems are available for our remote workers, allowing us to dedicate important time and resource to other areas, rather than troubleshooting business as usual process and admin.

In recent times we’ve helped several customers successfully migrate to NetSuite, and we’ve already seen increased demand as more businesses look to gain greater visibility across every area of their organisation to inform crucial decisions.

If you’re considering a switch to a cloud-based ERP, then we are here to help. With our initial consultation, we can guide you to make some important assessments regarding the key applications you rely upon, the different insights you need to successfully run your business, and how the different functionality within NetSuite can help you consolidate this into a single, flexible, and easy-to-navigate platform.

To take your first step, get in touch with a member of our team.