Windcat Workboats improves invoicing with NetSuite

01 · The challenge

One year to find a new ERP system

Following the takeover by CMB, Windcat Workboats had one year to implement a new ERP environment. CMB's own accounting system was too cumbersome for users and could have been a step backwards.

The new system had to record all accounting transactions, allow purchase and sales orders to be followed up, and let the various entities and branches abroad work with just a single accounting system, with inter-company accounts running automatically. CMB's more complex structure was kept in mind throughout.

02 · The solution

Close to the standard, with one fix for invoicing

Three systems were compared and presented to the users. NetSuite came out on top: it was the one they felt most comfortable with, and they confirmed how easy it was to use.

To keep the project from getting too heavy, the setup stayed as close as possible to the standard configuration, following the standard project approach. Both parties put a team together with their own project leader and kept a close eye on progress in weekly follow-up meetings.

One process did get a thorough improvement: sales invoices and rebilling used to run through Excel, which meant external costs were sometimes forgotten. Dynappco created a process that adds those costs to the sales invoice automatically.

• Procure-to-pay and order-to-cash in NetSuite
• Procure-to-pay and order-to-cash in NetSuite
• Inter-company accounts running automatically
• External costs added to sales invoices automatically
• Internal expense claims
• Existing Windcat reports carried over

03 · The result

From a short adjustment to more control

The project was delivered well within CMB's one-year deadline. Some users needed a short period of adaptation, since Excel was more flexible than the NetSuite invoicing module. A couple of months down the line they are very happy: NetSuite offers more control, with lots of processes running automatically.

The story had a sequel. An impact analysis showed that NetSuite also fits CMB, an organisation with many entities in lots of countries, different currencies and an entire manufacturing division on top of that. Dynappco has since started that implementation.