Net at Work LLC

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of finance and a minority owner of a nationwide distributor of a variety of products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Net at Work Inc.?

Net at Work is a 20-year-old partner. We initially needed a vendor to assist us in picking and implementing a system to run our business on.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They supported us prior to implementing the new system, testing and verifying that it would do what we needed it to do. Net at Work helped us change to a product called Sage X3 from our prior Sage product. Their team also educated our staff about Sage X3, which is a warehouse management, order fulfillment, and accounting system. Basically, it runs the entire backend of the company.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with four people from Net at Work but principally, 1–2.

How did you come to work with Net at Work Inc.?

As we started working together about 20 years ago, I can’t answer that question at this point.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $500,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in 2000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The company runs smoothly, which is essentially the only metric I need. Employees know how to use the software, entering and filling orders. Customer service also knows how to answer questions.

How did Net at Work Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via phone and email. Their team uses project management tools that work fine.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Net at Work is a full-service provider. They’re relatively local to us. When we need them on-site, they’re able to be there. Their team is technically knowledgeable and resolves issues along the way. It’s easy to work with them. If we didn’t have a good relationship with them, we wouldn’t still be with them 20 years later.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nobody is perfect. There are aspects of the software that we would like to be a bit smarter about. However, I would put that onus more on us than Net at Work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest with them and be realistic with yourself. They have the tools and the manpower to get the job done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of sales and marketing for JR's POS Depot. We’re a point-of-sale equipment reseller and distributor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Net at Work Inc.?

We needed to update our current IT infrastructure, which included our old ERP system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During the initial conversations, we discussed the requirements for the ERP system, the data we’d have to track, and the Payment Card Industry (PCI) regulations we’d have to meet. Net at Work recommended a couple of different systems for us.

We finally chose a system, and they helped install, integrate, and get it up and running so it was operational. Their team worked with us to customize the system to our specific business needs.

Before it went live, they helped us with on-site training and answered any questions our team had. After we went live, they followed up with us because we’re always looking to grow and add on to our system. Now, we’re constantly in contact with them about new prospects we can add to our system.

What is the team composition?

Stuart (Practice Director) is our main point of contact. Depending on the project we’re working on, he’ll allocate resources internally.

How did you come to work with Net at Work Inc.?

We initially started this project with a company that was later purchased by Net at Work. We had the opportunity to start negotiations with a new vendor or stay with Net at Work.

Our team met with Net at Work’s management; they flew to our office. After the meeting, there was a good sense of where they stood and where we stood. We were happy with what we saw so we decided to continue working with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $100,000–$130,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Their team is thorough; they see every case to its conclusion.

How did Net at Work Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is excellent. They’re proactive, which I appreciate. Initially, we had biweekly or monthly calls until everything died down. Now, everything is running well and working for itself. Their team provides webinars covering different topics that teach people new functions and features of the ERP software.

We mostly communicate via email. They’re very flexible, and Stuart always makes the time to help me out. We feel like we’re always being helped and taken care of.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with their visibility. I can email or call Stuart anytime I need and don’t have to go through a call tree or robot to get to him. They’re subject matter experts on the system themselves. They live and breathe what they do all day. Because of that, they get us answers quickly and if not, they work with the product manufacturer to get a resolution to our issue. It’s clear that they’re experts; we know we picked the right reseller to go with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At the beginning of the engagement, they didn’t have a support plan; everything was billed by the quarter-hour. For a small business like ours, billing on the quarter-hour, for say a five-minute call, put a sour taste in the owner of my company’s mouth. But we worked through that with Net at Work. I understand it from their standpoint, but from ours, we provide the same services to our customers free of charge. However, we’ve now worked through that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared. If you don’t know what you’re getting involved in, it could be a little bit over your head. I always recommend people to keep on learning. Net at Work has those classes for new functionalities and older ones as well; take advantage of those because they’re invaluable.