Implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system like NetSuite is a huge and costly project that will change the way things are done within the organization. After deciding which system to invest in, it is important to choose a competent and reliable partner who understands the company's current and future needs.
Here we present three companies that all decided to implement NetSuite as their business system and chose Staria as their implementation partner. Keep reading to find out how their implementation projects went.
3 customers share their successful ERP implementation experiences
Starship Technologies - A smooth and fast implementation
Estonian delivery robot company Starship Technologies implemented NetSuite for group consolidation and finance for 6 countries in just 4 months, along with Staria's localization SuiteApp for Estonia. The implementation went smoothly and quickly and stayed within the agreed timeline and budget.
”The implementation was relatively smooth. We were blessed with a Rockstar project manager from Staria’s side, who always kept us on time and budget. We felt the usual pain on the customer side when implementing an ERP: time allocation to the project vs. to our regular jobs. However, the Staria team was eager to help whenever we needed”, says Adrian Suarez, Head of Finance at Starship.
“This is for sure one of the fastest implementations I have been a part of considering e.g. the number of countries and currencies. It would not have been possible without the huge commitment and dedication from Starship’s finance team and the great co-operation we had between Starship and Staria”, says Jimmy Löfström, Staria’s International Growth Director.
Now that the implementation has been completed, Suarez says: ”One of the biggest benefits of working with the Staria team was their experience. We’ve used NetSuite in the past but were not aware of best practices. They took the time to learn about our processes and make recommendations where appropriate. Consolidating accounts at month end went from a few days to a few minutes after the implementation”.
Key take aways
- A close collaboration between the company, which knows its own product best, and the implementation partner, which has great competence in implementation projects, is a good recipe for a smooth project.
- Working with an experienced and dedicated partner ensures you get the most out of your ERP investment by learning about the best features and practices for your business.
Smart Brands Laboratory - Effective communication and a successful project
Lithuanian growth company Smart Brands Laboratory had a strict and very ambitious timeline for its ERP project: discussions with Staria started in the summer of 2021, with the goal of being live with the system by the end of the same year.
"At that time we were actively talking with a few Oracle NetSuite partners, so Staria had to catch up with us quickly. Such effective communication impressed us from the very beginning. Another advantage that Staria had was a great reference from their long-time partner and another Lithuanian-based company. This encouraged us to learn more about Staria. Lastly, Staria has its own solution for Lithuanian localization, which was a strong factor while choosing the partner for our ERP project", says Ieva Gatulyte, ERP project team member and CFO.
"The whole implementation process was very smooth. Both Staria and Smart Brands Laboratory teams were effectively communicating via Slack on a daily basis, and all meetings were booked a few weeks prior so that everyone would be able to prepare for them properly. This let us follow the strict timeline we had. Overall, the whole Staria project team was very professional and guided us throughout the whole project. We worked as a team on choosing which solution would work best in our business case", members of the project team explain.
The first implementation phase is now complete, but the collaboration continues. "The Staria team is always proactive, which helps us to move forward smoothly and does not stop important processes on our side. We are happy that throughout the implementation process and until now we work with the same team from Staria that gives us a stable continuity and keeps us all on the same page", says Ieva Urnieziene, Project Manager
Key take aways
- Choosing a partner with expertise and knowledge of the local markets in which the company operates benefits the implementation process.
- As with most projects, communication is key to keeping the process efficient and on track.
- Choosing a partner who can offer the same team throughout the project and beyond ensures a smooth collaboration.
iBinder Group - A successful project through close collaboration
Swedish SaaS company iBinder Group consists of several companies and operates in several different countries. To keep up with the growth, which has been happening both organically and through acquisitions, they needed to revise their systems and solutions landscape and find a system that could consolidate all companies in the different countries in one system, with a single accounting process across all companies.
After an extensive process where they evaluated 6 different systems and both local and international players, iBinder Group implemented NetSuite ERP in 2022, along with Staria's Global Accounting Services, which are run on NetSuite.
The NetSuite implementation went smoothly, with close collaboration between the project teams from iBinder Group and Staria: "The competence of Staria’s implementation team was very good, with a combination of deep knowledge in NetSuite with accounting expertise. Besides that, they were always supporting, available and wanted to help us with our challenges", says August Tillqvist, Group Finance Manager at iBinder Group.
With the implementation complete, Tillqvist shared his keys to a successful implementation project: to set the right internal resources for the project and invest time in the processes, because without internal investment the project will not succeed regardless of the team that the partner has.
Key take aways
- The customer setting aside and investing time and internal resources into working with the project and collaborating with the partner is an important key to succeeding with the implementation.
- Choosing a partner that not only has knowledge and expertise of the ERP system but also of the other services related to the customers needs that will run on the system, for example accounting services, is important to achieve a holistic and integrated solution.
