With so many options, knowing which platform is best for your ecommerce business can be challenging. In the battle between NetSuite ecommerce vs. Shopify, there’s a clear winner — NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced (NetSuite’s powerful ecommerce solution).
NetSuite is the smart choice for CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs looking to take their business to the next level boasting advantages as an all-in-one platform with powerful revenue management, customizations, B2B and B2C flexibility, warehouse management, inventory tracking, and scalability.
All these benefits lead to helping your ecommerce business delight your customer’s shopping experience and increase profitability.
What is NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced?
NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced is an advanced cloud-based ecommerce platform offered by Oracle NetSuite. It combines robust ecommerce capabilities with comprehensive back-end business management functionality.
SuiteCommerce Advanced is designed to help businesses create and manage customized, feature-rich online stores that seamlessly integrate with their core business operations.
What is Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is an enterprise-level ecommerce platform offered by Shopify, a leading ecommerce company. It is designed to meet the needs of most businesses that require advanced features, scalability, customization options, and dedicated support.
However, it can be a one-dimensional solution that requires extensive supporting platforms to power sophisticated ecommerce businesses.
NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced Vs. Shopify Plus
Though NetSuite and Shopify are both popular ecommerce platforms, they differ in their approach and capabilities. NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced, as part of the larger NetSuite ERP platform, offers a complete business management solution that extends beyond just ecommerce. Let’s explore this in detail.
NetSuite Offers a Complete Business Management Solution
One of the biggest advantages of NetSuite is that it is an all-in-one system that offers end-to-end business management solutions. Using NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced, you can connect to core business processes such as CRM, ERP, and accounting.
NetSuite SuiteCommerce supports end-to-end business processes, from lead generation to order fulfillment. It enables businesses to manage the entire customer lifecycle, including marketing campaigns, sales, order processing, inventory management, shipping, and customer support. This comprehensive approach ensures a seamless flow of information and data across different stages of the business.
NetSuite also integrates with other business software, allowing you to access various applications such as email marketing and order processing.
NetSuite Powers Inventory and Warehouse Management
NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced connects your ecommerce store with core operational systems powered by robust inventory and warehouse management capabilities.
With the laser sharp RF-SMART add-on, you can equip your ecommerce business with:
- Real-time inventory visibility
- Multiple warehouse management
- Order routing and fulfillment
- Receiving, picking, packing, counting, and transferring stock
- Inventory control and replenishment
- Mobile barcode scanning
- Inventory reporting and analytics
RF-SMART can be configured and customized to align with your ecommerce business’ processes and requirements. The solution offers flexibility in setting up workflows, defining user roles and permissions, configuring validation rules, and tailoring screens and prompts to suit the needs of your company.
This adaptability allows ecommerce companies using NetSuite to optimize RF-SMART to their unique operational workflows.
NetSuite Excels at Revenue Management
NetSuite’s revenue management capabilities outshine Shopify Plus with its robust capabilities, including:
Advanced Billing and Invoicing
NetSuite provides sophisticated billing and invoicing functionality, allowing businesses to create complex billing structures, manage subscription-based models, and handle recurring billing. It supports various billing methods, including one-time, usage-based, and installment-based billing. NetSuite’s billing capabilities enable businesses to accurately capture revenue and automate billing processes, resulting in streamlined revenue management.
Multi-Channel Revenue Tracking
With NetSuite, your ecommerce business gets a unified view of revenue across different sales channels, including ecommerce, retail, wholesale, and more. It consolidates sales data from various sources, enabling businesses to track revenue and analyze performance holistically. This multi-channel revenue tracking feature allows businesses to gain insights into their revenue streams and make informed decisions.
Financial Reporting and Analytics
NetSuite offers advanced financial reporting features, including customizable dashboards, financial statements, and revenue-specific reports. Businesses can track revenue trends and analyze revenue by product, customer, region, and other dimensions, enabling better visibility and better decision-making.
Integration with Financial Management
NetSuite’s ecommerce capabilities are deeply integrated with its financial management module. This integration allows for seamless synchronization of revenue data, orders, and financial transactions. The linkage between ecommerce and financial management ensures accurate financial reporting, eliminates data discrepancies, and provides a holistic view of revenue and financial performance.
Compliance and Audit Trail
NetSuite provides robust compliance features, including audit trail capabilities and data governance controls. It maintains a detailed record of revenue-related activities, changes, and approvals, ensuring transparency and compliance with financial regulations. This audit trail feature aids in financial audits and provides an accurate record of revenue-related activities.
NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced Offers Superior Customizations & Integrations
Overall, NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced is better suited for both B2C and B2B ecommerce businesses compared to Shopify Plus.
It offers comprehensive features, robust B2B functionality, advanced order management, customization options, and deep integration with NetSuite ERP, making it an ideal choice for businesses operating in both markets. Let’s dig deeper into NetSuite’s advantages.
Extensive Customization Options
NetSuite allows developers to access the platform’s source code, including JavaScript and SuiteScript, enabling them to create custom functionalities, design themes, and implement unique business logic. This level of customization empowers businesses to create highly tailored and differentiated online stores that align with their branding and requirements.
Shopify Plus customization requires knowledge of Liquid, Shopoify’s custom codebase, which may be more challenging to master.
Flexible Design and Layout
SuiteCommerce Advanced allows for flexible design and layout customization, providing businesses with complete control over the look and feel of their online stores. It offers a responsive web design framework that adapts to different screen sizes and devices, ensuring a consistent and optimized user experience.
You get more control over the display, showcasing products in various ways and other product-specific options with NetSuite’s Configure, Price, and Quote (CPQ) software.
Ecommerce businesses can create unique and visually appealing storefronts that reflect their brand identity.
Comprehensive API Framework
SuiteCommerce Advanced provides a comprehensive API framework that enables businesses to integrate with third-party systems, applications, and services. It supports RESTful APIs, allowing seamless integration with external systems such as CRM, marketing automation, payment gateways, and shipping carriers. This flexibility enables businesses to create a connected ecosystem of tools and services that work harmoniously with their ecommerce operations.
NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced is Built for Both B2C and B2B Ecommerce
NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced boasts several advantages over Shopify Plus for both B2C (Business-to-Consumer) and B2B (Business-to-Business) ecommerce businesses.
Unified B2C and B2B Capabilities
SuiteCommerce Advanced is designed to handle both B2C and B2B ecommerce models within a single platform. It allows businesses to operate separate B2C and B2B sites while sharing a common backend, streamlining operations and reducing complexity. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for businesses that operate in both markets or have plans to expand into different customer segments.
Robust B2B Functionality
For B2B exclusive ecommerce businesses, SuiteCommerce Advanced includes capabilities such as customer-specific pricing, negotiated pricing, contract management, quote management, and bulk ordering.
These features enable B2B businesses to provide personalized pricing and tailored buying experiences to their corporate customers, streamlining the procurement process and enhancing customer satisfaction.
Self-Service Portals for B2B Customers
Get self-service portals for B2B customers with NetSuite Ecommerce. Allow your customers to access their accounts, view order history, manage reordering, track shipments, and initiate returns. These self-service features empower B2B customers with greater control and convenience, reducing the need for manual assistance and improving the overall customer experience.
Advanced Order Management
SuiteCommerce Advanced integrates seamlessly with NetSuite’s robust order management capabilities. It supports complex order workflows, including split shipments, drop shipments, and multiple fulfillment locations. This is particularly valuable for B2B businesses that deal with large order volumes, complex shipping requirements, and multiple inventory locations.
Customization for B2B Workflows
SuiteCommerce Advanced offers extensive customization options to adapt the platform to specific B2B workflows. It allows businesses to create custom approval processes, implement complex pricing structures, configure workflows based on specific business rules, and integrate with existing back-end systems. This flexibility ensures that SuiteCommerce Advanced can align with unique B2B business requirements.
Multisite Management
SuiteCommerce Advanced supports the management of multiple websites and brands from a single admin panel. This benefits businesses operating in different regions, targeting diverse customer segments, or managing multiple brands. It provides a centralized management system, enabling businesses to handle multiple online storefronts easily.
NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced Has Unlimited Scalability
Overall, NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced offers unlimited scalability for ecommerce businesses compared to Shopify Plus.
Its scalable platform, elastic infrastructure, global capabilities, performance monitoring, and seamless integration with NetSuite ERP make it well-suited for businesses seeking to scale their operations without limitations.
Built on a Scalable Platform
SuiteCommerce Advanced is built on the NetSuite ERP platform, known for its scalability and performance. NetSuite’s cloud-based architecture is designed to handle high volumes of traffic, transactions, and data. It leverages a distributed infrastructure and load-balancing techniques to ensure reliable performance and responsiveness even during peak periods.
Elastic Infrastructure
NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced leverages the cloud infrastructure to provide elastic scalability. It can automatically adjust resources based on demand, allowing businesses to scale up or down as needed. This elastic infrastructure ensures that businesses only pay for the required resources at any given time, optimizing cost efficiency while maintaining performance.
Global Scalability
NetSuite provides multi-currency and multi-language capabilities, enabling businesses to expand their operations into new markets and serve customers worldwide. It also offers localization features, such as country-specific tax calculations and compliance, ensuring businesses can scale globally while adhering to local regulations.
Enterprise-Grade Performance Monitoring
SuiteCommerce Advanced includes performance monitoring tools that enable businesses to track and analyze the performance of their ecommerce operations. It provides real-time monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs), website speed, transaction response times, and other performance metrics. This visibility allows businesses to identify bottlenecks, optimize performance, and ensure a smooth user experience as they scale.
Implementing NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced
Properly implementing NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced is crucial for businesses looking to optimize their ecommerce operations and unlock the full potential of the platform.
The robust features and scalability offered by SuiteCommerce Advanced require careful configuration and customization to align with your company’s unique requirements. That’s where StratusGreen can help.
As a leading provider of NetSuite implementation and optimization services, StratusGreen has the expertise and experience to ensure a seamless and successful implementation of SuiteCommerce Advanced.
Our team of skilled professionals can guide businesses through the entire implementation process, from initial setup to customization, integration, and post-launch support. If you have any questions, please reach out — we’d be happy to help.
