The success and potential growth for retail businesses boils down to one fundamental question: Will you have the right inventory at the right place at the right time for your customers?
Ensuring products in demand are readily available for your customers is key. Having a reliable source of data and intel to inform your operational decisions is absolutely critical. How can all this be done?
Oracle NetSuite ERP is an all-in-one system for growing retail enterprises that connects all the dots across your business, from inventory to financials to customer service — and beyond. Let’s uncover how its array of features works in harmony to simplify your workflows and empower your retail business growth.
Key Challenges Faced by Retail Companies
The retail industry is evolving at a rapid pace, with tremendous growth potential fueled by digital transformation and changing consumer behaviors since the pandemic.
For example, customers expect to find products online and buy them in person and vice versa. Consumers are transforming, so retailers must evolve quickly to scale and, sometimes, to exist.
Here are the crucial factors your retail business will face as you look to scale:
Inventory Management
- Difficulty in managing and tracking inventory across multiple locations and channels.
- Inefficient inventory replenishment processes leading to stockouts or excess stock.
Financial Tracking
- Lack of real-time visibility into financial data, hindering accurate decision-making.
- Manual and error-prone financial processes, such as reconciliation and reporting.
Fractured Shopping Experience
- Disconnected in-store and online experiences, leading to inconsistent inventory and customer data.
- Limited payment options and slow transaction processing times.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Fragmented customer data across multiple systems, hindering personalized and targeted marketing efforts.
- Inability to provide exceptional customer service and engage with customers across channels.
How Oracle NetSuite ERP Fuels Retail Business Growth
By solving for inventory management, financial tracking, order processing, in-store POS, and CRM needs, NetSuite ERP empowers retailers to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive rapid growth.
Powerful Inventory & Warehouse Management with RF-SMART
RF-SMART is a mobile inventory management solution that seamlessly integrates with NetSuite ERP, offering enhanced inventory management capabilities for retailers. When combined, RF-SMART and NetSuite provide a comprehensive solution to streamline and optimize inventory management processes.
Real-Time Inventory Visibility
RF-SMART enables real-time tracking of inventory movements using barcode scanning technology.
With RF-SMART integrated into NetSuite, retailers can have accurate and up-to-date visibility into inventory levels across multiple locations, warehouses, and channels.
This real-time visibility helps retailers avoid stockouts, prevent overstocking, and make informed inventory management decisions.
Efficient Inventory Replenishment
RF-SMART’s integrated picking and replenishment functionality enables efficient stock replenishment processes.
When inventory levels reach a defined threshold, RF-SMART generates replenishment suggestions, allowing retailers to automate the reorder process based on actual demand.
This streamlines inventory replenishment, minimizes manual efforts, and optimizes stock levels to meet customer demands.
Streamlined Receiving and Putaway
RF-SMART simplifies the receiving and putaway process by providing mobile scanning capabilities.
Upon receiving goods, RF-SMART scans barcodes to update inventory levels in real-time, reducing errors and improving accuracy.
Retailers can easily allocate inventory to appropriate locations or bins using RF-SMART’s mobile functionality, ensuring efficient putaway and effective utilization of storage space.
Inventory Cycle Counting
RF-SMART supports inventory cycle counting, allowing retailers to conduct regular, accurate, and efficient physical inventory counts.
By scanning barcodes, RF-SMART verifies the inventory count against the NetSuite ERP system, minimizing discrepancies and ensuring inventory accuracy.
Retailers can promptly identify and resolve any inventory discrepancies, maintaining accurate stock levels and improving overall inventory management.
Warehouse Optimization
RF-SMART’s integration with NetSuite enables retailers to optimize warehouse operations and improve picking efficiency.
With barcode scanning, RF-SMART streamlines order fulfillment processes, reducing picking errors and enhancing productivity.
Retailers can assign tasks to specific employees, optimize pick paths, and track picking progress in real-time, leading to faster order fulfillment and improved customer satisfaction.
Serialized and Lot Tracking
For retailers requiring serialized or lot tracking, RF-SMART simplifies the process.
RF-SMART enables capturing and tracking serial numbers, lot numbers, and expiration dates, ensuring accurate traceability and compliance.
This is particularly beneficial for pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and electronics industries, where precise tracking is essential.
Smart Financial Tracking and Business Intelligence
Retailers can comprehensively understand their financial health, automate financial processes, ensure compliance, and make informed decisions with NetSuite ERP. This financial visibility and control level enables retailers to optimize their financial performance and drive business growth.
Data-Driven Financial Insights with Business Intelligence
NetSuite provides a centralized platform where retailers can access real-time financial data, including sales, expenses, profits, and cash flow.
NetSuite ensures accurate and up-to-date financial information with integrated modules such as General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Fixed Assets.
Gain business intelligence by generating customizable financial reports, dashboards, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to view your company’s financial health comprehensively.
Automated Financial Processes
NetSuite ERP automates financial processes, reducing manual effort and minimizing errors.
Tasks such as financial consolidation, budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting can be automated, saving time and improving accuracy.
Automated workflows enable optimized processes for activities like invoice creation, payment processing, and financial statement generation.
Integrated Financial Planning and Analysis
NetSuite’s Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) capabilities enable retailers to create budgets, perform financial forecasting, and analyze variances.
Retailers can develop comprehensive financial plans, set targets, and track performance against goals.
With integrated actual and projected financial data, retailers can assess their financial performance, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
Multi-Currency and Global Financial Management
For retailers operating in multiple countries or dealing with international customers and suppliers, NetSuite offers multi-currency and global financial management capabilities.
NetSuite supports real-time currency conversions, ensuring accurate financial reporting and consolidation across various currencies.
Retailers can seamlessly manage transactions, taxes, and regulatory compliance in different countries or regions.
Audit and Compliance
NetSuite ERP helps retailers comply with financial regulations and auditing requirements.
NetSuite maintains a comprehensive audit trail, recording all financial transactions and changes made in the system.
Retailers can generate financial reports that adhere to industry-specific standards, such as GAAP or IFRS, facilitating external audits and compliance with financial regulations.
Fully Synced Omnichannel Ecommerce
NetSuite SuiteCommerce empowers retail companies with an omnichannel ecommerce platform that integrates key business processes, elevates the customer experience, streamlines operations, and provides key real-time visibility and insights. By leveraging its features, retailers can efficiently manage their online presence, drive sales growth, and embark into new markets in the rapidly evolving retail landscape.
Integrated Omnichannel Ecommerce Platform
NetSuite SuiteCommerce combines ecommerce functionality with core business processes, such as inventory management, order management, and financials, into a single integrated platform.
This integration eliminates the need for separate systems and data silos, improving efficiency and accuracy in managing online sales — all in the name of improving your bottom line.
Omnichannel Selling
Sync and sell your products across multiple channels, including online stores, marketplaces, social media, and brick-and-mortar locations.
SuiteCommerce provides a unified view of inventory, orders, and customer data across these channels, allowing you to deliver a consistent shopping experience and manage all sales channels from a single system.
Customizable Online Storefront
With SuiteCommerce, retailers can create and customize their online storefronts to align with their brand identity and provide an engaging user experience.
The platform offers a wide range of design templates, layout options, and flexible customization capabilities, empowering retailers to create visually appealing and mobile-responsive websites tailored to their specific needs.
Advanced Merchandising Capabilities
Get access to robust merchandising tools to help you effectively showcase and promote your products.
SuiteCommerce offers flexible product catalog management, faceted search and filtering, product recommendations, personalized marketing campaigns, and promotions management.
These features enable retailers to optimize product presentation, improve discoverability, and drive sales conversion rates.
Streamlined Order Management
NetSuite SuiteCommerce integrates seamlessly with NetSuite’s order management system, enabling retailers to manage and fulfill orders from multiple channels efficiently.
It supports various order fulfillment models, including drop-shipping, pick, pack, ship, and in-store pickup.
Retailers gain real-time visibility into inventory availability, order status, and shipment tracking, providing accurate and timely information to customers and delivering a seamless fulfillment experience.
CRM Sync
SuiteCommerce also integrates with NetSuite CRM, giving retailers a holistic view of customer data and interactions.
This native integration helps retailers personalize the shopping experience, track customer preferences and purchase history, provide targeted marketing campaigns, and deliver excellent customer service.
Real-Time Analytics and Reporting
SuiteCommerce provides built-in analytics and reporting capabilities, offering retailers real-time insights into sales performance, customer behavior, website traffic, and more. With these actionable insights, retailers can make data-driven decisions, identify trends, optimize pricing and promotions, and continuously improve their online operations.
Scalability and Flexibility
NetSuite SuiteCommerce is a cloud-based solution providing scalability and flexibility to accommodate the growing needs of retail businesses.
It can handle high website traffic, support multiple currencies, and adapt to changing business requirements. Additionally, it offers easy integrations with third-party applications, payment gateways, shipping providers, and other systems, allowing retailers to extend the functionality of their ecommerce operations easily.
Integrated In-Store Point of Sale (POS)
By utilizing NetSuite’s SuiteCommerce InStore POS solution, retail companies can deliver exceptional in-store experiences, improve operational efficiency, and leverage unified customer and inventory data across channels.
Integrating InStore POS with other NetSuite ERP modules allows retailers to provide seamless and personalized interactions, streamline processes, and drive customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Unified Omnichannel Experience
NetSuite’s POS provides a unified view of customer and product data across multiple channels, including in-store, online, and mobile.
Retail companies can deliver consistent and personalized experiences by accessing customer profiles, purchase history, and preferences, regardless of the sales channel.
This unified omnichannel approach offers retailers seamless shopping experiences, allowing customers to start, continue, or complete their purchases across channels.
Mobile Point of Sale (mPOS)
NetSuite’s mPOS capabilities allow retailers to leverage mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones as portable POS terminals.
Retail associates can assist customers anywhere in the store, process transactions, and access real-time inventory information, enhancing customer service.
mPOS empowers retailers to reduce checkout wait times, facilitate upselling and cross-selling opportunities, and provide a more convenient and personalized shopping experience.
Flexible Payment Processing
NetSuite POS supports various payment methods, including cash, credit cards, mobile wallets, and gift cards.
Retailers can securely process payments in real-time, reducing transaction processing times and ensuring a smooth checkout experience.
Integrated payment processing eliminates the need for manual reconciliation between different systems, streamlining financial processes.
Real-Time Inventory Management
Point-of-sale is tightly integrated with NetSuite’s inventory management system, providing real-time inventory visibility at the point of sale.
Retail associates can check product availability, view stock levels, and access product details from the POS interface.
This real-time inventory information helps prevent stockouts, enables accurate order fulfillment, and provides immediate visibility into stock transfers or returns.
Integrated Promotions and Discounts
Apply discounts, promotions, and loyalty programs directly at the point of sale.
Retail associates can access and apply relevant discounts or promotions based on customer profiles, purchase history, or real-time rules.
Easy Returns and Exchanges
NetSuite simplifies the returns and exchanges process for both customers and retailers.
Retail employees can process returns or exchanges directly within the POS system, allowing for quick and accurate handling of customer requests.
Real-time inventory updates ensure that returned items are immediately available for sale or transfer to another store.
Real-Time Analytics and Reporting
NetSuite’s integrated analytics and reporting capabilities provide retailers with real-time sales data, performance metrics, and KPIs at the POS level.
Monitor sales trends, track store performance, and analyze customer behavior to make informed business decisions.
Up-to-the-minute analytics empower retailers to identify opportunities for improvement, optimize inventory management, and drive sales growth.
Personalized Customer Engagement with NetSuite CRM
By utilizing NetSuite’s CRM capabilities, retail companies can personalize customer engagement, deliver targeted marketing campaigns, and provide exceptional customer service.
Integrating customer data, segmentation, personalized marketing, and service automation empowers retailers to build stronger customer relationships, enhance customer loyalty, and ultimately boost business growth.
360-Degree Customer View
NetSuite CRM consolidates customer data from various touchpoints, including in-store purchases, online interactions, and customer service interactions.
Retailers gain a comprehensive 360-degree view of each customer, including their purchase history, preferences, demographic information, and communication history.
This complete customer profile enables retailers to understand individual customer needs and preferences, facilitating personalized engagement.
Personalized Marketing Campaigns
NetSuite CRM enables retailers to design and execute personalized marketing campaigns across multiple channels, including email, SMS, and social media.
Retailers can leverage customer data to create targeted messages, offers, and promotions tailored to specific customer segments.
Personalized marketing campaigns help retailers build stronger customer relationships, drive higher engagement, and increase conversion rates.
Loyalty Program Management
Track customer participation, points accumulation, rewards redemption, and tier progression within NetSuite.
By understanding customer loyalty program data, retailers can offer personalized rewards, incentives, and exclusive offers to foster customer loyalty and increase repeat purchases.
Customer Service and Support
NetSuite CRM enables retailers to provide exceptional customer service by managing customer inquiries, issues, and support requests.
Customer service representatives can access customer information, purchase history, and previous interactions to provide personalized and efficient support.
With integrated case management and self-service capabilities, retailers can resolve customer issues promptly, enhancing the customer experience.
Automated Workflows and Notifications
Ensure timely and personalized customer interactions with automated workflows and notifications.
Set up triggers and actions based on customer behaviors or predefined criteria.
Automated workflows enable retailers to engage with customers at the right time with relevant information, such as abandoned cart reminders or personalized product recommendations.
Customer Feedback and Surveys
Collect customer feedback and conduct surveys to gather insights and measure customer satisfaction.
Retailers can design and distribute surveys, track responses, and analyze customer feedback within NetSuite CRM.
Implementing NetSuite ERP Into Your Retail Business
Implementing a sophisticated system like NetSuite ERP into your retail company is a critical task that requires deep expertise and experience.
Partnering with a seasoned team like StratusGreen ensures a seamless, efficient implementation process. We tailor the system to your specific needs, optimizing its impact on your business operations. Our hands-on approach can mitigate potential implementation challenges, ensuring minimal disruption to your daily operations.
Leverage NetSuite ERP to its fullest potential, driving increased productivity, improved decision-making, enhanced customer satisfaction, and predictable growth in your retail business. Feel free to contact our team for a personalized demo — we’d be happy to help.
