Adapting NetSuite’s Work Order Process
The Problem
A global supplier of sustainable custom print and packaging had recently attempted to implement NetSuite themselves to manage their U.S. operations. Although they had managed to get NetSuite functional, they were experiencing several issues with the way the system was setup as well as having a desire to establish accurate inventory and work order tracking in the system.
When it comes to NetSuite, HKS Technology assists many clients that are either in the process of completing an implementation or have recently gone live. We understand the challenges faced when adopting a new system especially when the implementation is perceived to have not been successful. Our experience allows us to quickly engage clients on problem resolution, knowledge gaps, and business process refinement without disrupting the day-to-day operations.
The Process
Our first goal with this project was to resolve some of the setup and data issues along with improving their chart of accounts structure. With that quickly completed we started to look at how we could implement inventory and work orders given the unique challenges of the client’s business.
During the production process the client is faced with two major issues:
The use of extremely low cost, low volume items, such as ink, where tracking consumption isn’t practical within the production process.
Purchased raw materials are often different lengths than expected, consumption varies on each job, and wastage occurs during the production process. This results in an inability to track raw material consumption accurately through the production process.
Once we understood the client’s challenges, we understood the challenges faced implementing a workable solution within NetSuite that balanced the inventory and accounting needs versus the ability to enter and manage transactions in the system.
We started by establishing the raw material and finished good items in an appropriate way within NetSuite and building out a customized bill of materials for each of the finished good item. We then created a highly customized work order process that sourced data from other system records that was able to generate a highly detailed and customized printed work order. This process leveraged SuiteScript, SuiteFlow, and advanced PDF templates to source, manipulate, and manage the data on each work order whilst eliminating a significant amount of manual data entry.
Within this approach we also simplified the accounting and transaction processing for the client whilst maintaining accurate inventory quantity tracking. Our understanding of inventory and job costing enabled us to take the lead on establishing clear and concise accounting practices for both the client and their CPA that considered the costing challenges of the production process.
The Result
With the project complete the client now has accurate tracking of raw materials, expanded control over the production and fulfillment processes, and simplified accounting processes allowing the production of accurate and timely financials.
