GURUS Solutions (NetSuite Services)

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your company?

We are a manufacturer of specialized lubricants -- oils, greases, gear lubes. We have been in business since 1839. We have 500 sales reps throughout the country who sell our products. We manufacture them all ourselves in one location in St. Louis, Missouri. And we have seven regional warehouses that distribute the products to the end customer.

What is your position?

I’m the CFO. I’m in charge of the financial and technological side, and I also run our materials management team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge(s) were trying to address when initiating the project with ERP Guru?

When we first brought them onboard, it was to address a specific coding issue that we had with NetSuite. And then when we went to implementation, we struggled due to some data integrity issues and some customization issues. At that point we brought them on to help us complete the implementation.

One of the key things that we wanted to do was reduce our order processing time. The scripting itself that they did plus NetSuite’s new functionality, we were able to move it from five days to a day and a half. We were also able to reduce the size of our full-time support staff from three to one.

SOLUTION

How did you select ERP Guru as your solution partner?

They were recommended to us and they’re also a certified NetSuite consulting partner.

Could you describe the scope of the project in terms of its components: did it include custom development, design, training, support, etc.?

Outside of helping us complete our implementation, they essentially revamped our order approval process. Both of those things included design, development, training and ongoing support. I would say that the second part really only involved custom scripting. 

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in either monetary terms or personnel work hours?

I would say that that was probably about 120 hours. Whenever we give them an idea of what we want, and they give us a quote of how many hours it would cost. We have a rate, a flat rate set with them. They come back and say we think that would take 100 to 160 hours. Then they give us an accounting of it as they go. Each week, they say, okay, here’s how many we’ve got, here’s what’s left. And do we think we can complete it in that, yes or no.

When was the project completed?

They completed our implementation in 2008.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics or metrics that would demonstrate the effectiveness of the work delivered to you?

We have not had to increase our staff since 2008, even though we’ve gone up by 75 percent from a business standpoint. We are a more efficient company in that we have the same number of employees making 75% more sales. That was our goal in bringing in NetSuite and ERP Guru. We wanted to continue to grow, but leverage technology to keep us from having to increase our work staff.

How did ERP Guru perform during the project?

For that project, I would say, they did everything they were asked to do. And we were learning from each other at the time. We started out saying we wanted this, but at the end, we wanted more than that

Is there anything you would consider unique or special about ERP Guru as compared to other service providers you’ve collaborated with?

There are really two things that I know of. One is the partnership that we have. They feel that when we’re successful, they’re successful. They really are a part of our team. They’re not just in this to see how many hours they can bill. They take ownership of the project and its success, which means they do everything within their power to advance the ball.

The other thing is that their training regimen is fairly extensive. They train people in NetSuite, and at the end of that training, they give them a test. If they don’t pass the test, they’re not hired on. They take it very seriously. As a result, everybody you talk to has a very strong working knowledge of the system, its functionalities, and its applications.

In retrospect, is there anything that you think ERP Guru could improve upon or that you would do differently as the client before approaching this type of project?

For that particular project, the only thing that I might have done differently is spent more time evaluating the scope and specifications. We ended up making a few additions, which required more time and also resulted in going over our initial budget. That hasn’t happened since, so we’ve learned our lesson.