Do you manage your data? We live in an information economy. Data is the most important asset companies have in the modern business world.
The challenge is that most business owners don’t give much thought to managing their data and their IT estate. It’s not a sexy part of business, but it’s truly where the magic happens in your business.
ERP projects can help you and your team to manage your data and IT assets more efficiently. With the help of ERP software, teams can streamline processes, easily handle management and maintenance, and enhance their digital presence, all while helping their bottom line.
If you’re starting to use ERP in your business, good for you! That’s a huge step in the right direction. We may be able to help you even further.
In today’s article, we will talk about how choosing the right NetSuite partner can ease your ERP implementation project. We’ll tell you exactly what to look for to get the most out of your enterprise resource planning and put yourself miles ahead of other SaaS companies.
So stick around and get your pen and paper ready. It’s time to take notes because the class is in session.
Let’s get going!
Finding A Partner For ERP Projects
When you’re looking for anything, including a partner for the ERP implementation process, it helps start with the end in mind. Envision what you want this partnership to look like during the implementation process. From there, you’ll be able to develop some specific criteria to look for in potential candidates.
Here are a few criteria you should consider when hunting for a partner for enterprise resource planning with NetSuite.
1. Their Experience Level
You wouldn’t ask a math teacher to perform open-heart surgery. In the same way, you wouldn’t ask someone who’s never worked with NetSuite to manage your NetSuite ERP plan. You need to work with someone familiar with the NetSuite ERP solution for data migration.
When looking for potential ERP partners, you’ll want to see how long these providers have worked with NetSuite. Experience comes with time. The longer your potential partner has been in business, the more they’ve seen.
As a result, they’ll be able to solve, or even predict, any potential hurdles that may come your way during your implementation project.
2. The Products They Offer
ERP partners are either generalists or specialists. They usually offer a wide variety of ERP software products, or they offer products around one particular cloud-based framework, like NetSuite.
While a wide variety of products and system integrators may look good on the surface, you’ll want to look for a partner that specializes in your chosen platform. For our intents and purposes, that would be the NetSuite ERP implementation process.
Partnering with someone who only works on NetSuite has huge advantages. All of their time, energy, and knowledge has been devoted to the NetSuite platform. That means they’ll be able to tell you how your new ERP plan will benefit your business specifically.
Someone who generalizes with software on multiple platforms won’t have in-depth knowledge as a NetSuite specialist.
We offer all the leading practice ‘anchor platforms’ a SaaS company needs, and have in-depth experience with the bundles and add-ons to support them. Marketo, Pardot, Salesforce CPQ, Salesforce Billing, Revenue Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, and NetSuite
3. Observe Them In Their Natural Habitat
It may not seem important, but you’ll want to take a look at how your potential partner operates their own “ship.” What is their company culture like? Do they have a lot of the same values you and your team have?
Even though you’re paying for their service, you have to think of this company as a business partner and not a third-party vendor. Do your research and get to know who you’re “getting in bed” with.
There are a couple of different ways to do this. One of the best, if possible, is to visit their facility in person. If they’re a cloud-based business, obviously, this can’t happen. But, if you can walk through the building, shake hands, and have conversations, you can get a good idea of what things are like on their team.
If you can’t do that, then you’ll want to consider online resources. Websites like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Google can all provide valuable insight into what the company culture is like with your potential cloud ERP partner.
If you’re thinking, “Whatever. This doesn’t matter. Their prices are good, that’s all I need to know,” we urge you to reconsider.
Doing this research will give you invaluable insight. How your potential partner handles their team and business will show you how they will handle your project. “How you do one thing is how you do all things.”
Make sure their company culture and core values tell you good things about how they will handle your ERP projects before moving forward.
In-house we use Pardot, Salesforce, NetSuite, and Dell Boomi to manage our own business.
4. Social Media
Is your potential partner active on social media? Are they consistently providing useful information to their followers and customer base? They should have an up-to-date presence on social media platforms, and a blog, that positions them as an expert in the field of enterprise resource planning ERP.
Looking at these platforms is a pro ninja tip. It gives you free insight into their ERP software knowledge and experience before establishing an official business relationship with them.
Who knows? You may even find a few quick tips and tricks to implement before you make them your partner for your ERP solution.
5. Consult Customer Reviews
If you want to check up on the quality of service your potential partner provides (and you should), look for customer referrals. Those are a much better and much more accurate representation of quality service.
You can look at online reviews on Google but the best source of reviews is to reach out and contact former customers directly.
Ask them questions about your potential partner’s response time. Ask them if anything went wrong during the process. You can even ask them if there is anything they would do differently.
When you interview these former customers, ask them what they enjoyed about the process. But don’t forget to ask them about what went wrong as well. That can give you just as much insight into the process, if not more, than what they did right.
Reach Out To Your ERP Software Partner
Using the above criteria is a great way to filter through the hundreds of NetSuite ERP partners you’ll find on the internet. Now that you’ve found a partner that knows what they’re doing and aligns with your own core values, it’s time to reach out to them.
When contacting a potential NetSuite partner, one of the things you’ll want to pay attention to is their response time. How long does it take them to get back to you?
If someone takes days, weeks, or months to get back to you, it could demonstrate a lack of organization. That’s not a quality you want in someone handling something as important as ERP implementation.
They should also be able to clearly outline their process to you. When a particular obstacle arises during your ERP project, what are the steps they’re going to take to handle it?
Also, be aware if they’re trying to force you to buy unnecessary products. A good partner will walk you through their process before your partnership starts. They’ll tell you what to expect every step of the way.
It’s important to listen to them carefully and ensure their process aligns with your own processes and values. You and your partner’s missions should align, and they should understand your business. They should take the time to get to know what you do and adapt their implementation plan to help you scale up in the future.
Effective ERP Software Conversation
The conversation you’re going to have with a potential ERP partner is very important. If you’re working with the right partner, they’ve been around the block a few times.
Chances are they’ve seen most of the problems you’re going to run into. And, ideally, they’ve done some ERP implementation for companies in your industry. If they haven’t, they should have at least implemented for companies with processes that are similar to yours.
When you sit down to talk with them, this is your chance to ask more probing questions. Don’t be afraid to ask them how other people in your situation have handled similar problems.
This will give you insight into their knowledge and expertise. Can they really do what you need them to do?
You’ll want to ask them some important questions like how long does it take to go live. It’s important to know how long implementation will take because implementation means downtime for your business.
You’ll also want to ask them about their process during and after the implementation. They may have already explained their implementation process step-by-step. If they have, now is a good time to come back with any in-depth questions.
They also should be telling you their plan for post-implementation. What kind of service and support do they provide? What can you and can’t you expect from them after completion of the ERP process?
Their level of support after the fact is just as important as the implementation process itself. Make sure they’ll be staying around to help in some capacity.
ERP To the Rescue
ERP projects and ERP systems can be amazing tools for your business. The key is to implement them properly. Finding the right partner is the first step in that process.
Make sure they’re familiar with NetSuite and that they’re going to have your back during and after the process. If you’re looking to work with professionals who will be with you every step of the way, contact our team.
We are here to make sure you get the most out of your ERP software and ERP implementation. We’ll answer any questions. Our goal is to see you succeed.