Transforming a Packaging Company’s Inventory Management and Cutting Month-End Close by 5 Days
A packaging manufacturer relied on limited, manual processes for data analysis—implementing NetSuite and integrating with Salesforce enabled automation and streamlined financial operations, inventory management, reporting, sales commission calculations, and more.
Challenge
A packaging manufacturer had outgrown its existing inventory management system, SBT, having to manually maintain its data in parallel spreadsheets. Generating daily inventory reports involved consolidating information from 10 different spreadsheets to create a single on-hand report. Operations had to manually track bulk orders to determine consumed and remaining inventory, while the accounting department relied on consolidating reports from two systems to reconcile and close each period. Overall, the highly manual, paper-driven processes were limiting the company’s ability to scale and grow effectively.
The integration between NetSuite and Salesforce cut month-end financial close by 5 days and achieved an impressive 80% reduction in manual processes and paperwork. This initiative improved reporting capabilities and provided greater business visibility.
How We Helped
To help the manufacturer switch to a comprehensive enterprise system, the team integrated Salesforce with NetSuite to streamline data flow between platforms, automated bulk order processing and distribution orders to improve operational efficiency, reduced manual efforts related to employee commission calculations, and automated calculations for landing costs and ocean freight to ensure accurate cost management.
The team facilitated a seamless integration between Salesforce and NetSuite using the Riveron SFDC Connector, which enables bi-directional synchronization between the two platforms for an effortless flow of data. Additionally, custom Salesforce quotes were integrated into NetSuite bulk order management, streamlining the order booking and release process and improving efficiency.
The bulk order management sync with Salesforce allowed automated distribution orders, inventory commitments, and allocations. This integration between systems enhanced order accuracy and fulfillment efficiency. Additionally, robust reporting and analytics provide insights into order trends and inventory levels, supporting better decision-making and forecasting.
The sales reps’ commission structure was integrated directly from Salesforce CRM, allowing for streamlined management. The system enabled commission calculations to be configured on a per-line-item basis, ensuring precision and flexibility. Commission payouts were automated, generating vendor bills for sales reps, which simplified and expedited the payment process.
The ocean freight management system now includes automated estimated landing cost calculations, utilizing CBM-based cost assessments to improve accuracy. It also supports mixed-use products per shipment, enhancing flexibility across shipments. Additionally, container management was improved with the implementation of inbound shipments, and the Available-to-Promise (ATP) report linked purchase orders, inbound shipments, and current inventory, providing a comprehensive view of supply chain status.
Results
Integrating the packaging manufacturer’s systems and automating key processes delivered substantial results, reducing the financial month-end close by 5 days and automating both the quote-to-order process and sales rep commission calculations. This streamlined approach gave the client easier access to reporting between sales orders (SO) and purchase orders (PO), with enhanced drill-down features and dashboards that improved visibility. Additionally, the NetSuite-Salesforce integration cut paperwork by 80%, boosting efficiency across financial and operational workflows.