Seamless NetSuite Migration Optimises Operations

After multiple acquisitions over the years, this client faced challenges with the disparate finance and accounting systems it inherited during those acquisitions.  To standardise and consolidate, the client was restructuring 22+ entities and was looking to transition to a standard ERP system. Protiviti was responsible for managing the migration of five of those entities that would need to start transacting within NetSuite as of the first of its next fiscal year.

A two-phased approach

To prepare the client for its migration to NetSuite (previously selected by the client) within a two-month window, we approached the work in two phases: Most viable product and optimised state. In the first phase, numerous requirement gathering sessions with all in-scope divisions were held, focusing on efficiently capturing the most essential requirements needed for transacting. The project team worked closely with the client to understand current processes and systems, which were then translated to available NetSuite solutions. The biggest challenge the divisions faced was having to transition from homegrown systems that were 20+ years old to using a standard NetSuite platform, which required sacrificing some historical customisation.

Because the company was transitioning from homegrown, customised systems to a standardised NetSuite solution, it was critical to translate current processes to the new platform. After five weeks of requirement gathering and NetSuite solutioning, the team provided a full implementation design document, detailing all the required configurations, as well as a phased implementation roadmap.

During this time, user guides were also developed to ease the transition. Guides were created for each process the divisions would be responsible for in the new system, such as project creation, sales order creation, invoice processing, procure to pay and record to report. These user guides provided detailed, step-by-step instructions and screenshots explaining how the process would be conducted in the system.

Post go live

Once the business went live in the new system, training began. For the in-scope processes and divisions, Protiviti trained over 150 end users on NetSuite to ensure adequate engagement and accurate transaction capture. Training included:

• Process and end-to-end transaction demos
• As needed, one-on-one training sessions and hands-on support in production
• Informal office hours

Protiviti served as the liaison between new users and leadership, offering extensive assistance with any issues. The team continued to revise existing user guides with additional instructions and developed additional guides to provide to the divisions and accounting teams.

Satisfied with the new system and processes, this client then engaged Protiviti for a second phase of the project, focused on optimising NetSuite user adoption and pinpointing areas for improvement to achieve maximum efficiencies in both front- and back-office initiatives.