It shouldn’t come as any surprise that SuiteWorld 2023 was exhilarating. Yes, we said exhilarating. How else would you describe such a peek into a far more efficient, informed, data-driven future for companies? And that’s a future that, in many ways, is already here. Exhilarating.
To that end, we’re revisiting the sessions we were looking forward to most going into SuiteWorld, what we took from them, and what it all means for businesses going forward. Spoiler alert – generative AI isn’t a passing fancy, and NetSuite is leading the charge.
Creating Visualizations in NetSuite Analytics Warehouse
Session Description: Come explore how you can use the tools within NetSuite Analytics Warehouse to generate clear and interactive visualizations that illustrate what your NetSuite and other connected data, both new and historical, are trying to tell you. Help your team "get the picture" so they can better analyze performance and make well-informed decisions.
What We Learned
Business evolves quickly. Very quickly. That makes the ability to interpret and visualize data effectively a real game-changer. NetSuite's Analytics Warehouse provides a powerful platform for doing just that, with user-friendly enhancements and innovative features that have only improved with time.
The Evolution of NetSuite Analytics Warehouse
NetSuite's Analytics Warehouse has come a long way since its inception. Now, two years into its functional evolution, it's not just about hosting data – it's about making that data work for you. NetSuite revamped the user interface to be more intuitive, making it easier to merge diverse datasets and create meaningful data pivots. This allows businesses to access and understand their data in a more comprehensive way, transforming raw data into actionable insights.
Charting a New Course with Enhanced Visualization Tools
Visualization is a powerful tool in data analysis, and NetSuite has significantly advanced in this area. One of the most prominent enhancements is the ability to view analytics warehouse dashboards directly within NetSuite, eliminating the need to switch between systems. This feature allows users to create and view charts, graphs, and dashboards right where they work, making data more accessible and user-friendly.
Real-Time Data Insights Within Your Reach
One of the key advantages of the Analytics Warehouse is the ability to access real-time data insights directly within the ERP system. This feature provides a single source of truth for data, simplifying data management and improving accuracy. Further, with real-time insights, businesses can make more informed decisions more quickly, enhancing efficiency and competitiveness.
All told, NetSuite's Analytics Warehouse offers a streamlined, user-friendly platform for data visualization. With its enhanced capabilities, it's a valuable tool for businesses to extract meaningful insights from their data, aiding in informed decision-making and strategic planning.
From Automation to Intelligence: The Future of Finance in the Age of AI
Session Description: From its role in helping humans make decisions to automating complex tasks and processes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is destined to reshape the finance landscape. Will you be ready for the intelligence capabilities available to you? Come see how NetSuite's built-in AI helps make finance operations more efficient, enhances decision-making, and drives competitiveness. The future is coming sooner than you think.
What We Learned
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that AI is making significant strides in accounts payable (AP) and cash positioning. These areas, traditionally dragged down by manual processes and time-consuming tasks, are now being transformed by AI's ability to automate and optimize.
As you might’ve guessed, NetSuite is at the forefront of this transformation, leveraging AI to enhance accuracy, speed, and efficiency in AP operations. The result? More streamlined operations, reduced errors, and improved financial management, and not just in AP but across operations.
Harnessing AI for Trend Projection and Decision Making
One of the most powerful applications of AI in finance is its ability to project trends and guide decision-making. By analyzing historical supply chain and customer data, AI can project future trends and provide valuable insights to inform business strategies and generate genuine business intelligence.
NetSuite capitalizes on this capability, using AI to produce more accurate and useful metrics that drive strategic, data-driven leadership and decision-making. This proactive approach to data analysis lets businesses anticipate changes and make informed decisions that enhance operational efficiency and profitability.
Cash Flow Projections and Optimization with AI
AI's ability to provide cash flow projections and recommendations is another titanic shift in financial planning. By analyzing historical data and current market trends, AI can project future cash flows and recommend strategies to optimize cash positioning. NetSuite's AI capabilities extend to this area, providing businesses with valuable insights to enhance their financial planning and cash management strategies.
Increased Visibility and Efficiency with NetSuite Integration
Incorporating more systems into NetSuite not only streamlines operations but also increases visibility across the business. By centralizing data into one platform, businesses can gain a comprehensive view of their operations, helping them monitor performance, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions more efficiently.
Such a holistic view, combined with AI's predictive capabilities, empowers businesses to navigate this crazy, complex financial landscape with greater agility and confidence.
In the end, this session demonstrated how AI is redefining the future of finance, transforming everything from AP operations to cash management. With its advanced AI capabilities, NetSuite is leading the charge, helping businesses harness the power of AI to drive financial excellence.
Get Actionable Insights from NetSuite Analytics Warehouse
Session Description: It's not enough just to have data. You should be able to pull insights from that data that result in improved business outcomes. Not being able to track things like sales trends by channel or product line and supply chain risks can be a threat to customer satisfaction and the bottom line. Come learn how NetSuite Analytics Warehouse can turn data into decisions and see an expert use case from the CFO of Overture Promotions.
What We Learned
Harnessing the power of data is pivotal to making informed business decisions. In this session, we once again focused on NetSuite's Analytics Warehouse, this time hearing how it provides crucial, real-time insights to guide strategic planning and execution. This is a particularly powerful tool for private equity (PE) firms needing to create a more comprehensive view of their portfolios and business in general.
Empowering PE Firms with Real-Time Visibility
One of the most beneficial functions of the Analytics Warehouse is its ability to provide quick, real-time visibility into crucial business operations. Again, this is especially important for PE firms, who need to constantly monitor the health of their portfolio companies.
Now, PE firms can access real-time data on their portcos, allowing them to make timely and well-informed investment decisions. This real-time visibility not only enhances decision-making but also allows PE firms to respond swiftly to market changes, thereby gaining a competitive edge.
Syncing Multiple NetSuite Instances for a Comprehensive View
In addition to providing real-time visibility, the Analytics Warehouse also offers the ability to sync multiple NetSuite instances into a single dashboard. This means businesses can combine and present data from various sources in an easy-to-understand format.
For instance, a PE firm with multiple portcos running on different instances of NetSuite can merge all the data into a single analytics warehouse. The result is a comprehensive view of various business aspects across all of the portfolio companies, presented in a consolidated, user-friendly dashboard. Of course, this consolidated view can significantly simplify data analysis, making it easier for PE firms to monitor performance, identify trends, and make strategic decisions.
Ultimately, NetSuite's Analytics Warehouse is a powerful tool that can transform how businesses, particularly PE firms, interact with data. By providing real-time visibility and a comprehensive view of business aspects, it lets firms make informed, data-driven decisions that can drive business growth and success.
NetSuite AP Automation for More Efficient Projects and Increased Profitability
Session Description: It's quite an exercise in trust, relying on vendors and third-party contractors to care enough to meet customer deadlines and buy the right materials needed for projects. Their performance is a reflection on your brand. But in this session, you'll learn how to get firm control of these transactions with NetSuite AP Automation. Process and match vendor bills instantly. Provide accurate costing for maximum project profitability. And make sure the customer gets billed back to cover those outlays in a timely manner. Why wing it when there's a way to hold everyone accountable?
What We Learned
In the never-ending quest for efficiency and accuracy, automation can be the most powerful of allies, NetSuite’s AP automation being a prime example. In this session, we learned how recent platform advancements in this area can streamline processes, enhance data accuracy, and improve overall business decision-making.
Recent Advancements in AP Automation
NetSuite has been making significant strides in AP automation, introducing features like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) bill capture and workflow automation. OCR bill capture is yet another potential difference-maker for businesses, allowing them to digitize and capture data from bills with ease, thereby reducing manual data entry and the risk of errors.
Meanwhile, workflow automation streamlines the entire AP process, from invoice receipt to payment. By automating previously manual tasks and procedures, businesses can save time, reduce the risk of errors, and focus their resources on more strategic tasks. And, yes, these benefits sound repetitive at this point, but that’s a good thing.
The Power of Machine Learning
The power of NetSuite’s AP automation doesn’t stop at OCR and workflow automation. Another key advancement is the integration of machine learning and the improved accuracy it drives over time. As the system sees more data, it learns and adapts, becoming better at recognizing and processing information. This reduces the need for third-party AP tools and enhances data accuracy, ensuring that the information used in business decisions is reliable and up-to-date.
Gaining Visibility and Efficiency
With NetSuite AP Automation, businesses gain increased visibility into aging, cash flow, and percentage completion. This information is crucial for informed decision-making, enabling businesses to monitor their financial health and make strategic decisions based on real-time data.
Moreover, the efficiency gains from not having to leave NetSuite are immense. By housing all AP operations within NetSuite, businesses can manage their AP processes more efficiently, enhancing user experience and productivity.
Bonus Round: The Growing Role of Generative AI in NetSuite
You can’t go 10 minutes without hearing about generative AI in some way. And for good reason. It’s revolutionary, at least when companies use the right tools from the right providers for the right tasks. And NetSuite is leading the charge in this area, a notion that quickly became the unofficial theme for SuiteWorld 2023.
To that point, before we let you go, we wanted to take a high-level look at how NetSuite is integrating generative AI across its products, the anticipation around its full launch, and the potential implications for businesses, particularly those eyeing IPOs or attracting PE firms.
Transforming Business Operations with Generative AI
NetSuite is at the forefront of AI integration, implementing generative AI across its suite of products. From finance to supply chain management, generative AI is transforming business operations, making them more efficient, accurate, and insightful. By leveraging the predictive and analytical capabilities of generative AI, NetSuite is equipping businesses with powerful tools that can analyze trends, anticipate changes, and guide strategic decision-making.
Leveraging the Full Use of NetSuite’s Product Suite
Generative AI isn't just a standalone feature in NetSuite – it’s an integral part of the entire suite. This was a major focus in the SuiteWorld keynote sessions, showcasing generative AI’s potential to leverage the full NetSuite platform. By tying generative AI into every aspect of NetSuite – again, from supply chain management to customer relationship management and more – businesses can gain a holistic view of their operations and make more informed decisions.
Anticipating the Full Launch of Generative AI
While NetSuite has already made significant strides in integrating generative AI, the anticipation for its full launch is building. Businesses are eagerly awaiting the full suite of generative AI capabilities, which promise to revolutionize the way companies use NetSuite. The full launch of generative AI is set to take NetSuite to the next level of business software solutions by automating routine tasks, providing predictive insights, and more.
The Popularity of NetSuite in PE and IPO Applications
Last but certainly not least, the potential of generative AI in NetSuite isn't just exciting for current users. It's also attracting the attention of PE firms. Thanks to its strong data analysis capabilities, NetSuite is increasingly popular among PE firms looking for robust and reliable business software solutions for their portco and fund reporting needs.
Furthermore, with its burgeoning generative AI capabilities, NetSuite can play a significant role in preparing businesses for an initial public offering (IPO). By providing comprehensive, real-time insights into business operations, NetSuite helps businesses meet the stringent reporting and transparency requirements of going public.
A Final Word from Embark
So there you have it. SuiteWorld 2023, come and gone. To bring this full circle, it was intriguing, informative, fun, and, most of all, exciting. That’s what we feel here at Embark when thinking about the countless ways NetSuite will transform organizations going forward – excitement. So, if you want to see what Embark can do for you – whether with NetSuite, transformation in general, or any of our other best-in-industry practices and services – let’s talk. Because there’s much work to do.
