| | May 20169CIOReviewNetSuite has a robust search and report feature to easily extract business data and turn it into analytical information to drive the business in the right directionLesson Learned: Having NetSuite as the responsible party for the infrastructure backbone of the ERP allows more time for CIOs to focus on leveraging technology as a leader in the organization.We also discovered the NetSuite support community, both internal and external, is extensive. NetSuite does a fantastic job of providing vertical experts when you are seeking best practices in the use of their product. Due to the variety and vastness of those using NetSuite, it is very likely someone else is doing something similar to what you are seeking and NetSuite can aid you in defining the best solution for your needs. Combine this with the number of companies that have created bolt-on products that extend the core functionality of NetSuite, and you have a vast array of tools to continue raising the operating performance of your company. Lesson Learned: It doesn't have to be invented here. Seek and find what you need inside NetSuite and/or with the community of NetSuite Partners.As part of our transformation, one of the end results of the new generation of technology was an ERP that "empowers" the user community to not require a stop at IT when reports, searches, and analytics are needed. We moved away from IT being a bottleneck of information into IT facilitating the user community to serve their own needs. NetSuite has a robust search and report feature to easily extract business data and turn it into analytical information to drive the business in the right direction. NetSuite's seamless integration with MS Excel allows the data to be imported into Excel for further analysis. However, we found that having a variety of people capable of creating data analytics presented another challenge. Different people use different filters for analytics. As an example, someone may create a sales report for Q3 for a year that has different numbers than someone else. One person may include tax and freight revenue in his reporting, while someone else does not. Reports with the same title, but different numbers, lead to confusion and inaccuracy. Lesson Learned: Have a `Single Version of the Truth' when it comes to key data analytics. All output should require the source elements and filters to avoid confusion by those reading the output. With NetSuite having the operating components we sought --CRM, SCM, Finance/Accounting, and e-commerce--all of the data by which we make key business decisions exists in the same platform. This is an essential piece of keeping technology support effective and efficient, in that way we do not spend time synchronizing data from multiple sources. This provides a single source of information for anyone wishing to create reports and analytics. We did at one time try to incorporate a different platform's data into NetSuite. The data synchronization between the two systems was extremely challenging and costly. After a two-year adventure, we stopped using another platform and NetSuite became our single platform. Lesson Learned: Data synchronization is much harder than you expect. Much time is spent on the synchronization process, especially when it fails.All of the "Lessons Learned" mentioned above are some of the major points we learned as we went through the implementation of NetSuite. There were many more, and we continue to learn on a daily basis. A key point in our technology operations is continuous improvement. Fortunately, there are plenty of NetSuite friendly and NetSuite knowledgeable resources available to help us. In the end, NetSuite was and is the right decision for Lionel.
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