Preface

NetSuite was created in 1998, in Northern California, from a desire to bring small- and medium-sized business processing into the internet age. A few people who worked for Oracle at the time wanted to create a Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) product you could run in your web browser without ever having to install anything in your offices. They received seed money for this new company and embarked upon their 20+ year journey to making the set of products weuse today.

I began working for NetSuite in 2012 as a technical consultant, delivering customizations and integrations for clients who were just about to go live on the platform. I’ve been working at that ever since, and one thing I’ve learned is that every business is unique and brings its own challenges when it comes to implementing NetSuite. At the same time, however, all companies share a few common traits when it comes to introducing them to the NetSuite lineof products.

With this book, I hope to share what I’ve learned about helping clients use NetSuite. I’d like to think I can help make the process of getting a company up and running on NetSuite less painful and faster than it might otherwise be. I hope you find this useful and will engage with me and the rest of the NetSuite user community in online discussions regardingthis topic.

Who this book is for

This book has two intended audiences. One is people who work for a company that helps other businesses implement NetSuite. We generally refer to those companies as NetSuite partners or vendors, or sometimes system integrators. They have lots of people on staff whose job is to work with NetSuite client companies and help them get started on the platform. These folks need to learn more about NetSuite and how to workwith clients.

The other audience for this book is anyone working at a NetSuite client company who needs to help their users do more with the product – or maybe they’re considering whether they could self-implement without the help of a partner. This will always be a large, challenging task, but you might feel more confident about taking this on after readingthis book.

What this book covers

Part 1: The NetSuite Ecosystem, Including the Main Modules, Platform, and Related Features

Chapter 1,Introduction to the NetSuite Ecosystem, Platform, and Related Features, starts with an explanation of what NetSuite is all about and what you can dowith it.

Chapter 2,Selecting and Applying an Implementation Methodology, covers implementation project methods and how to select the right one forevery client.

Chapter 3,Creating a Project Plan, discusses what a NetSuite implementation project consists of and how you can scheduleyour time.

Part 2: Understanding the Client’s Organization

Chapter 4,Documenting the Organization’s Requirements, covers all of the chal