NetSuite Inventory Management Review – Cut costs and time associated with supply chain management

Efficiency is everything for wholesale distributors and other retail suppliers. Rather than relying on paper-based purchasing tools, NetSuite Inventory Management offers a cloud-based solution that can lower costs and streamline the distribution process.

In this NetSuite Inventory Management review, I will take a close look at NetSuite’s highly rated inventory management platform. In particular, I will be looking at the real-time inventory control and demand-based inventory replenishment features to determine whether using NetSuite Inventory Management can actually save distributors time and money.

NetSuite Inventory Management Review – About the Product

One of the most popular features in NetSuite’s cloud-based ERP software suite is the company’s inventory management platform. NetSuite Inventory Management gives distributors control over their inventory across multiple locations and significantly decreases the costs typically associated with order procurement, warehousing, shipping, and fulfillment.

Key performance indicators like shipping costs and delivery performance are easy to track when businesses use NetSuite Inventory Management, thanks in large part to the platform’s continuous monitoring of real-time data. As a result of using NetSuite Inventory Management, organizations are better able to calculate lead-time and reordering points based on historical and seasonal demand. They’re also able to streamline the shipping process and improve customer satisfaction overall.

Main Functionality of NetSuite Inventory Management

NetSuite Inventory Management offers many of the features that distributors have come to expect from cloud-based inventory management platforms — along with a host of add-on benefits that push the system over-the-top. Syncing NetSuite Inventory Management with other business apps allows distributors to take advantage of a number of key features, including demand-based inventory replenishment, bin management, margin management, and serial and lot tracking.

Prebuilt integrations with UPS, FedEx, and USPS allow NetSuite Inventory Management users to streamline their shipping processes. NetSuite Inventory Management also offers support for matrix items. This means that distributors can manage different combinations of items in a single matrix, leading to simplified pricing and more straightforward description management. Having support for matrix items makes it easier for salespeople to identify specific item combinations for customers, based on size, color, and many other unique factors.

Benefits of Using NetSuite Inventory Management

Businesses that use NetSuite Inventory Management in conjunction with other tools in NetSuite’s product suite get the benefit of synergy. Accounting, CRM, and e-commerce systems work together, not against, a distributor’s inventory management system. Having one unified system makes it easier for companies to reduce IT costs and other typical concerns associated with trying to maintain multiple business applications.

The other real benefit to using NetSuite Inventory Management over traditional paper-based inventory management methods involves time. Managing inventory with NetSuite Inventory Management saves distributors hours of work each week. NetSuite Inventory Management facilitates this by eliminating data entry and automating many of the tasks that are typically associated with order fulfillment. For example, NetSuite Inventory Management converts leads into orders, and orders into shipments, without the business owner having to lift a finger. This type of very advanced automation technique is one of the features that NetSuite Inventory Management uses to stand apart from competitors in its industry.

The Basics: What Does the Interface Look Like?

Review your inventory management dashboard each morning to get a complete look at where your business currently stands. NetSuite Inventory Management’s role based dashboard includes information about the top five inventory sales and other key performance indicators for the current time period.

Inventory management dashboard

Plan for future supply issues by taking a look at the demand history. NetSuite Inventory Management shows you the demand history by item. For example, a retailer can see exactly how many mittens or hats he sold during each month of the past year. He can then use this data when making supply orders in the future.

Demand history per item

Not only can distributors calculate item demand on a seasonal basis, but they can also configure their NetSuite Inventory Management accounts to show item demand on a per-location basis. Projection methods and projection intervals help to refine this data even further.

Calculating demand plans

Create proposed purchase orders and select the specific items you need. NetSuite Inventory Management automatically derives the correct plan based on quantity, creates the purchase order, and submits it to the vendor via email, fax, or print copy. Managers can add specific rules to NetSuite Inventory Management to ensure appropriate approval has been obtained before purchase orders are sent to suppliers.

Creating purchase orders

Support Information

Distributors who use NetSuite Inventory Management can feel confident in the company’s vast support network, which includes FAQs, a knowledge base, online support, phone support, and video tutorials. Users who have specific questions about using NetSuite Inventory Management are encouraged to connect with a representative for immediate support.

Pricing Information

Pricing for NetSuite Inventory Management starts at $99 per month. Subscription plans start at a base price of $499 per month, plus $99 per user, per month.

NetSuite Inventory Management Review – The Bottom Line

Utilizing NetSuite Inventory Management can help distributors cut both the costs and time typically associated with handling supply chain issues. The platform’s real-time visibility tools give distributors insight into how demand, supply, costs, and fulfillment issues shift over time. By reviewing these trends, managers are better able to plan for future purchases and eliminate inventory stock issues. NetSuite Inventory Management saves managers time by virtually eliminating the data entry tasks that usually go along with inventory management. As a result, the procure-to-payment process is more straightforward and vendors tend to be more satisfied overall.

Ratings: ease of use 5/5, features 5/5, value 4/5