As Australia’s population grows and the need for housing picks up steam, the vertical construction industry will grow and recover.

When we see those amazing buildings going up everywhere, we often forget about the crew behind the scenes. There’s a whole bunch of suppliers, like the guys who provide the machines, who really keep the show running. The entire construction game keeps going strong because suppliers are tough and learn to work smoothly.

Despite all the chaos in the past years, construction suppliers make sure the technology needed keeps rolling in. From heavy machinery to building systems like lifts, HVACs, and automated access gear, these suppliers are truly unsung heroes, making sure the construction industry can deliver.

But keeping smooth operations —vendors, customers, and contractors— is no easy task. These businesses are always caught in the middle, pulled in multiple directions, like a referee in a match.

To deliver on time, things must run like clockwork.

If you don’t have a proper centralised system like an ERP, your project management and resource allocation end up all over the place.

And this chaos doesn’t just sit there quietly. It eats up time and money dealing with all sorts of disconnected systems and doing things manually. It’s like trying to build a house with a hammer and nails— not when you’re a technology provider!

To top it off, getting the best deals from vendors and making sure the right tradies are on the job to finish on time, well, that’s a whole different ball game. You need clear visibility across the board.

If you’re after a game-changer, demand planning is your ticket. It helps you stay ahead of the game by predicting what the construction companies will need from you. This boils down to better inventory management. You can figure out exactly what your business needs without overbuying stuff that’ll drain your wallet and gather dust in the warehouse.

A game-changing tool for equipment suppliers.

NetSuite is the ERP we recommend for equipment suppliers, giving them a leg up and a clear picture of everything in their business. With Netsuite, they can handle projects from start to finish.

Netsuite comes with a slick CRM that can track all customer interactions, projects, sales, and documents. It also keeps tabs on communications, contacts, and contracts between vendors and contractors.

Netsuite also has native Field Service Management (FSM), letting tradie crews access project details, update records, and collaborate with the office in real-time using their mobiles.

Once all your business data is in NetSuite, activating the NetSuite Demand Planning module helps build those super useful forecasts to improve inventory management.

NetSuite has construction suppliers’ backs covered. It helps them stay sharp, plan ahead, and smash through the hurdles.

In this industry, it’s all about building your dream crew.

Let’s unpack this: To get you started with Netsuite, it’s good to work with an experienced crew like Klugo. Our team is skilled at maximising NetSuite for construction equipment suppliers.

Sounds easy because we make it easy. Aquatec, one of our customers, aimed for more visibility and efficiency. Tanya Caruana, Business Process Manager, mentioned they needed a system that would grow with their business.

“We found that NetSuite was the only system that was fully integrated, cloud-based and didn’t need to be over customised from the beginning,” —Tanya said— “Its out-of-the-box capability met most of our needs, and the additional modules and customisations would cover the rest of our unique requirements.”

Klugo helped Aquatec jump that last hurdle and swiftly deployed a personalised tool for their wastewater solutions business. Just over twelve months later, Aquatec saw significant productivity improvements.

“All information is centralised, and the soft links make it easy to find the detail we are looking for – this is key to our business as we can pull up customer history or inventory levels in no time,” said Tanya

Aquatec had good systems in place, but they took it up a notch by integrating all those scattered software bits into one smooth, efficient, and data-packed system. Now, they can see everything clearly, keep their data spot-on, and have better control of costs and finances.

“The system helped us eliminate duplication, and we understand all our data. NetSuite allows us to plan sales trips, record information and not lose sight of viable opportunities.”

Aquatec are already eyeing up phase three with Klugo, ready to keep riding that wave of growth.

Going with a NetSuite partner who knows the industry was a smart move for Aquatec. It set them up for success with a tailor-made setup.

Partnering with Klugo can do wonders for your own business too. It’s all about squeezing every bit of goodness out of NetSuite and staying sharp in the vertical construction game, quietly shaping Australia’s skyline from behind the scenes.

About Klugo.

At Klugo, our goal is to make life easier for companies with fieldwork. We achieve this with NetSuite, an integrated platform that covers finances, scheduling and dispatch, maintenance, warehouse, production, sales, and more. We help businesses to keep things simple and better as they go—from initial deployment to continuous improvement— so their businesses run smoothly.

Your construction machines are precise, yes. Are your profits also precision-driven? Technology is having an impact on the way suppliers do business with construction companies. But its effects are not felt evenly across the board.

Some machine suppliers ride the technology wave, while others are left behind. Where you stand in the uptake of technology is likely directly affecting your company’s bottom line.

As the CEO of a company that supplies and services hardware for the horizontal construction industry, technology presents a significant opportunity to get the visibility you need to optimise your processes and finesse your financial management.

Optimising production and delivery is often referred to as operational efficiency. It is the ability to deliver a project in the most cost-effective and efficient manner.

The success of your operational efficiency directly reflects the profitability of a project by reducing costs and increasing profit margins.

The goal is to lower costs without compromising productivity, service, and quality. But it’s about more than just the money.

Using an integrated solution like NetSuite allows you to achieve more efficient operations, reduce wasted time and effort, increase team transparency, and improve data flow.

To ensure a successful and industry-tailored NetSuite implementation, choosing a technology partner with industry experience, like Klugo, is a strategic decision.

Precision dynamics: Kerfab’s recipe for growth.

Industrial machine manufacturer, Kerfab, is one of Klugo’s clients who have benefited from the technology NetSuite has to offer.

Nothing about what Kerfab does is generic. They manufacture made-to-measure attachments for wheel loaders and bulldozers, and the Make-To-Order model requires orders to flow seamlessly between business areas.

Although Kerfab’s business was thriving, their existing information system, an in-house ERP, needed help to keep up with demand. Kerfab’s General Manager, Jay Chirnside, received a word-of-mouth recommendation to use Klugo to help implement NetSuite.

“We heard very good things about Klugo from Headland Engineering, a regional NSW distributor of sheet metal machinery,” he said. “It turned out we made the right choice! Klugo took the basic NextService application and tailored it to the needs of an industrial machinery supplier. Thanks to Klugo, it’s now a task-driven application that suits our purposes brilliantly.”

Klugo integrated the different elements of Kerfab’s production system into a single information management framework.

The integrated production scheduling platform resulted in increased efficiency, reduced logistic costs and significantly shortened delivery times whilst still being able to produce custom, made-to-order items.

Improved profits are not a guessing game.

Financial data often resides in various systems, making gaining a unified view of economic performance challenging.

Cost tracking, invoicing, and revenue recognition can be error-prone without automation, and disparate systems can hinder timely and accurate reporting, affecting financial management and accountability.

Integrated tools like NetSuite’s Project Profitability and Revenue Management module allow you to closely track every project’s profitability, allowing for fine-tuning and refinement and making the most of your machines and service teams.

Having all data in a single source means accelerating growth and increasing profit margins through improvements to project profitability, resource management, revenue management and recognition.

Reporting profits by projects means your finance team can include sales orders as future revenue, allowing flexibility and planning for future revenue and earnings.

With advanced revenue management, you can reclassify deferred revenue or easily create revenue recognition entries, ensuring compliance with new regulations. It’s also easier to search by value price items.

Another way to become more efficient is automating bulk processes like weekly timesheets to allow for mass approval or rejection of time entries pending approval.

By optimising financial reporting, you can have accurate and up-to-date information about your business, allowing you to manage your cash flow better and make better decisions.

A shift with big impact on servicing construction.

Catering for construction companies is tough—they want top-notch service without breaking the bank. NetSuite is a game-changer here; it can help you make small tweaks to increase your profit margins. But you don’t have to figure it all out alone.

The journey to implementing business software is tough; we’ve all heard the horror stories.

It’s normal to underestimate the energy required to focus on all the complex details needed to ensure specific workflows can be translated from existing to new platforms. From the start, it’s a persistent effort to go live, with each stage adding complexity.

A good team coaching you through all these stages is crucial for software adoption.

Having a dedicated NetSuite partner like Klugo help implement the technology means that you have a team of software and industry-savvy experts helping you connect data across various departments of your business into one data-driven ecosystem that suits your specific business.

As the construction industry picks up speed and growth opportunities emerge, if you find yourself constantly playing catch-up with reporting and tired of exporting and importing spreadsheets to track where you were three weeks ago, it’s time to transition to a comprehensive business platform.

This move is the next logical step for any supplier entering a growth phase.

Because NetSuite works on a common data model with all modules, features and functions built together, you benefit from streamlined processes that save valuable time from being taken up with administrative tasks.

Klugo’s team of consultants have extensive experience working with suppliers servicing the horizontal construction industry, so they can tailor the software to exactly what you need.

About Klugo.

At Klugo, our goal is to make life easier for companies with fieldwork. We achieve this with NetSuite, an integrated platform that covers finances, scheduling and dispatch, maintenance, warehouse, production, sales, and more. We help businesses to keep things simple and better as they go—from initial deployment to continuous improvement— so their businesses run smoothly.

Australia’s mining sector will continue to grow, having contributed a record $455 billion in export revenue in FY22-23, as a key global producer of lithium, gold, lead, iron ore, nickel, and zinc, to name just a few.

Nonetheless, climate change, the political landscape with China, consolidations, stock markets, and quickly emerging technologies constantly risk the survival of mining suppliers. Machinery suppliers, in particular, require adaptability and resilience to ensure their services’ continued efficiency and relevance in an ever-evolving sector.

Industrial equipment and heavy machinery providers are critical for the industry, and their field service crews are responsible for operating, installing, repairing and maintaining specialised equipment, contributing significantly to the mining sector’s overall efficiency.

Machinery service providers need tools that help them make more money from each technician’s work, provide better customer service, and improve the workplace for their service crews. To ensure sustained growth and increased profits, it is important to be one step ahead of the industry’s unpredictability.

What have we learned from deploying platforms like NetSuite? Well, machinery providers can train new staff easier and organise staff better. They also keep track of their work, customer info, and money matters in real-time. By linking their teams with live inventory and other important areas like the office and parts, they keep things running smoothly and save time, making their billable time more profitable.

The challenges of disconnected staff.

From our experience working with machinery suppliers, we understand the challenges they face delivering high-quality machinery and ensuring major mining corporations that their operations will be smooth. We found three common headaches that can be easily fixed with the right platform:

1. Coordinating staff across remote locations.
   With sites spread across Australia, coordinating staff or contractors in remote locations is a daunting task. Technicians may be required to travel long distances to reach mine sites, leading to inefficiencies in resource allocation, van inventory and delays in response times.
2. Assigning work orders and tracking progress.
   Efficiently assigning work orders and tracking their progress is vital for meeting client expectations and maintaining a smooth workflow. Traditional manual methods, such as clipboards and spreadsheets, are prone to errors and delays.
3. Accessing relevant data on-site.
   Having important customer information on-site is crucial to finding the right information about the machine’s history or needed repairs. Having no visibility makes the job harder and slower. A simple and quick way to get the necessary details is key for staff to work efficiently.

Cracking the code to achieve connectivity.

Cloud business systems make it easy for technicians to check work orders, equipment details, and repair instructions on their devices, no matter where they are. This makes their lives easier.

A good system also improves communication, sorts out the best routes, and shares information between the field staff and the main office, ensuring everything runs smoothly across different places.

A connected office can easily schedule, dispatch, and work with service staff, giving them more visibility and reducing wasted time. Connectivity boosts profitability, reduces losses, and encourages collaboration, training, and better work practices for the whole team.

1. Coordinating staff across remote locations.
   NetSuite field service mobile app allows technicians to access and update information on the go, reducing the need for physical paperwork and manual coordination. Technicians can receive and accept work orders through the app, minimising delays and streamlining communication between the central office and field staff.
2. Assigning work orders and tracking progress.
   The ERP system’s integrated tools centralise work order management, enabling service providers to assign tasks efficiently, track progress, and monitor job statuses in real-time. This enhanced visibility into operations helps optimise resource allocation and ensures timely service delivery.
3. Accessing relevant data on-site.
   NetSuite provides technicians access to essential data, repair instructions, and equipment histories. This ensures that technicians have all the information, tools and a qualified team to carry out their tasks effectively. Helping them become service heroes and improve your customer service.

Partnering with another service company.

When machinery providers are putting in a system like NetSuite, having the right partner matters a lot, especially if they understand the value of service. Being in the business of selling tech to big mining corporations, equipment suppliers know that service is as important as the machines. So, when picking a tech provider themselves, they should opt for one that not only has the best solutions in the market but also gives them skilled service with industry experience. This ensures that their system runs smoothly, continues growing, and effectively supports their operations.

If you’re nodding along with these challenges and figuring out if NetSuite is the right fit for you, or if you’ve already chosen NetSuite and want a partner who understands you, your staff, and your industry, then connect with us. Our team has industry-savvy experts ready to tailor and deploy modules, workflows, and reports specifically tailored and used by mining service providers. A team with expertise makes your life easier by implementing a customisable business system that maximises efficiency, improves visibility and allows you to make informed decisions.

Mining technology providers achieve seamless coordination by leveraging real-time communication, route optimisation, and data synchronisation, ensuring efficient and timely service delivery across remote locations.

When teaming up with a specialised partner like Klugo, providers servicing the mining industry join forces with industry-savvy experts who can optimise their ERP system to fit their specific needs. A tailored approach makes the platform work, boosts growth, speeds up the return on investment, and helps equipment providers stay competitive and relevant in the tough Australian mining market.

About Klugo.

At Klugo, our goal is to make life easier for companies with fieldwork. We achieve this with NetSuite, an integrated platform that covers finances, scheduling and dispatch, maintenance, warehouse, production, sales, and more. We help businesses to keep things simple and better as they go—from initial deployment to continuous improvement— so their businesses run smoothly.

Adopting an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a necessity for staying competitive. However, merely implementing an ERP isn’t enough; it’s using it effectively that truly matters.

This article explores why achieving robust user adoption through expert training and change champions is imperative for realising the full potential of your ERP system.

The pivotal moment of Go-Live establishes the tone for success or failure. It is especially at this point when you must be closer to your key players and have a champion that glues it all together.

Don’t just take our word for it; let the director of Shops for Shops, David Witchell, narrate the experience firsthand. In this video, David emphasises their Go-Live’s experience.

“The Go-Live was quite unremarkable; in fact, it was so insignificant that I can’t even remember it. Everyone turned up for work, everyone turned on their computers, and everything was working.”
David Witchell, Shop for Shops Director

Klugo’s help in empowering key individuals within Shops for Shops made this transformation possible. David Witchell says, “Our staff were feverishly doing administrative work and trying to find data. Well, it’s all there now, and Klugo definitely helped with that.”

The journey never ends at implementation; it sets the stage for a culture of change that delivers the expected savings and results.

The Challenge of Poor Adoption

All too often, organisations invest substantial resources in acquiring and implementing these new tools and tech, only to find that their teams struggle to adapt their work practices to the changes. Without effective strategy – including a strong culture of change, a change champion and the right training program – the potential benefits of a new ERP can fail to materialise or wither away, and old habits may resurface.

Poor adoption of a newly implemented ERP can lead to wasted time and money and negatively affect morale and organisational enthusiasm for future change projects. Change is hard. When it’s hard and fails to bring the anticipated benefits, it can leave a nasty, disillusioning aftertaste behind.

Invest in expert training and empower change champions within your organisation to ensure that your ERP is not just adopted but embraced.

Comprehensive Training Options

The reasons why you need a training strategy to transform your ERP implementation:

• Proper training is the foundation of successful ERP adoption.
• Investing in training options tailored to your organisation’s needs will increase user adoption.
• Including customised training programs supported by ongoing industry expert guidance will ensure your team can set up and leverage unique business workflows.

Finding Your Change Champion

A change champion is a colleague who volunteers to help make change happen, ideally from the planning stage through implementation and into the new process integration into BAU. They don’t need to be tech experts, although being tech-savvy is certainly a bonus. Instead, their value lies in their ability to understand how the tools can help deliver value to customers and working with the vendor, colleagues and leadership to optimise this potential.

When selecting a change champion, look for someone who:

• will be significantly affected by the change,
• excels in communication and problem-solving,
• enjoys the respect of their peers,
• demonstrates emotional intelligence, including the ability to build trust and influence others,
• is familiar with current workflows (a subject matter expert), and
• believes in the power and necessity of change.

Once you’ve found your change champion, take some time to brief them on the change project you’re proposing, focusing on why the change is necessary and what your organisation hopes to achieve through it. It’s also worth giving them the opportunity to learn about the idea of change management in general. They don’t need to become master change managers. However, familiarity with the key concepts of change management will help them with the work ahead.

How Your Change Champion Boosts User Adoption

1. Aligning the ERP with Your Needs

• Change champions bridge the gap between your team and expert ERP partners, communicating the needs and limitations of current users.
• They use their hands-on knowledge to explore how customisations can power-up users’ experience and advise stakeholders on the best ways to leverage the system for your business.

2. Building Trust and Belief

• Successful adoption relies on support from top to bottom. A change champion can communicate across these layers to build a mutual understanding of the vision and challenges.
• Change champions can transform a theoretical strategic objective into a powerful and real vision for improvement worth getting behind.

3. Continuous Support and Upskilling

• ERP training doesn’t end after the initial rollout. Change champions can facilitate ongoing support and guide team members toward best practices as your ERP moves from new to BAU.
• They can help users tailor the ERP to their specific needs. By assisting people in tailoring saved searches, alerts and dashboards to their precise needs, for instance, change champions are a powerful tool for saving time and delivering insights into your business.

The Importance of NetSuite Training

The importance of training is clear. Lack of training frustrates people using the software, killing the initial enthusiasm. A lack of training will also mean valuable features go unused.

However, there are many different ways to access training when implementing a new NetSuite implementation. The right training program teaches your staff how to use the new tools and why.

Free or off-the-shelf solutions offer some help.

NetSuite’s videos and courses are packed with information and regularly updated with each NetSuite release. Options include:

1. Oracle MyLearn is a free training portal from NetSuite. Access training, track progress, and receive course recommendations.
2. Updated product data sheets on a range of different topics.
3. Learning Cloud Support Pass, a subscription-based complete NetSuite learning offering.

A custom training program is better.

Have you ever completed a generic training pack only to be left with the question – what did that have to do with my job? Or even failed to find the time and motivation to actually complete the generic training?

Ready-made training solutions can fall short of meeting an organisation’s unique needs. To truly optimise your ERP implementation, partner with experts who understand your business, industry, and requirements. Klugo excels in field service management and manufacturing implementations and offer tailored training solutions that directly target your organisation’s needs.

Klugo’s ‘train the trainer’ approach ensures that area managers and change champions possess in-depth knowledge of NetSuite, enabling them to train their teams effectively. They’ll work with your stakeholders and change champions to ensure the product solution and the accompanying training directly target your needs. Klugo understand that the most important part of training is not in NetSuite but what we do before going live, prepping and upskilling your team.

A partner like Klugo, who was part of the implementation and has been engaging in constant system upgrades, can also help train new starters with not only NetSuite knowledge, but also train these new roles with the business’s unique and specific set-up. Change champions should also stay in touch with system upgrades and help spread the word about the new benefits they bring.

Conclusion

Achieving the full potential of your ERP system demands more than just implementation. It requires a strategic focus on change management, expert training, and the support of change champions. The implementation phase is the juncture that determines whether your new software fulfils its promise or falls short.

To maximise the effectiveness of your NetSuite ERP implementation, be sure it includes customised training and support, experts like Klugo, who understand your industry, can help empower change champions within your organisation. Doing so will create a culture of change that propels your business towards growth and excellence, ensuring your investment delivers the expected savings and results.

About Klugo

NetSuite + Next Service

Klugo’s vision is to unlock the full operating potential of our customers to maximise the value of their business. We do this by helping them achieve operating excellence using NetSuite + Next Service, the world-leading cloud ERP and FSM business platform for small-to-medium-sized businesses.

Some companies build things. Other companies service things.

That basically describes how a portion of people see the relationship between manufacturing and field service. Manufacturers produce things in a dedicated facility, forming a link in the global supply chain. On the other hand, field service providers travel to wherever a system needs to be installed, maintained, or repaired. It doesn’t matter how much commonality there may be between the people, processes, and equipment involved—some perceive manufacturing and field service as fundamentally different.

It’s understandable. It’s also incorrect, though.

A deep link exists between manufacturing and field service that deserves to be acknowledged and demands to be leveraged. Attitude shifts are overdue. More importantly, manufacturers must operate in sync with field service, starting by embracing tools to make such a thing possible.

Where Manufacturing and Field Service Overlap

Manufacturers may focus on production first and foremost, but field service (often called “maintenance”) also plays an integral role. If machines break down, assembly lines stop until someone can make a repair. When equipment needs scheduled service, technicians do the work to keep efficiency and output at the expected levels. And when production quotas grow, experts arrive on-site to install additional or superior equipment. Some companies build things, yeah, but they depend on field service at every step.

To put that into perspective, consider the economic impact of field service on manufacturing:

• Unplanned downtime costs manufacturers and industrial companies nearly US$1 trillion annually.
• Machine failures and unplanned outages waste 3.3 million production hours yearly.
• Maintenance accounts for up to 40% of total production costs.
• The average facility dedicates 33 hours each week to scheduled maintenance.

These statistics reveal that manufacturers invest large amounts of time and money into performing field service and maintenance activities across their production environments. And when their efforts are lacking in any way, resulting in downtime, the costs are immediate and extreme.

Rethinking the Role of Field Service

Field service plays a fundamental role in the capability, scalability, and underlying cost of manufacturing. That explains why competitiveness in manufacturing increasingly depends on the efficiency of field service operations. Manufacturers can reduce maintenance and overall production costs by utilising technicians and inventory more efficiently.

More significantly, excellence in field service helps manufacturers reduce scheduled and unscheduled downtime. Performing preventative maintenance by addressing issues before they lead to breakdowns requires careful coordination of field service resources, but the result is reduced breakdowns and continually optimised production environments. Likewise, improving service delivery shortens planned downtime. The resulting production gains are hard to estimate but impossible to deny.

Imagine a factory where downtime was never a disruption. That results when manufacturers see field service as a core competency and treat it like a strength.

The most significant challenge in field service arises during periods of growth when tools lack integration. Disparate systems for Field Service Management (FSM), Manufacturing Execution System (MES), and Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) result in inefficiencies and communication gaps. Without seamless integration, companies expend substantial resources on importing and exporting databases, configuring complicated APIs, and managing multiple spreadsheets. Tasks like report generation, technician scheduling, and service-level agreement (SLA) sales become cumbersome, ultimately hindering growth.

The Power of Integrated Solutions for Field Service

Ongoing labour shortages and rising wages make it unlikely that manufacturers will be able to elevate their field service operations by hiring more staff. Since the goal is improving field service efficiency while lowering overall maintenance costs as much as possible, manufacturers won’t be able to expand their field service footprint significantly. They must do more with what they already have.

Technology makes that possible. There’s a cost involved with implementing new software. However, by integrating, automating, synchronising, and mobilising all aspects of field service, manufacturers see maintenance costs and downtime plummet, delivering a return far exceeding the investment in software.

Since manufacturers have historically seen field service as separate or secondary, many have not implemented robust technology (or any technology) to upgrade how they dispatch technicians, manage inventory, track service histories, or capture data in the field. Even among manufacturers with field service management (FSM) software in place, however, it may not be integrated or interoperable with the system(s) for managing other aspects of manufacturing, creating a disconnect that can only undermine service standards.

With an FSM solution that works seamlessly on-platform with the ERP, such as Next Service field management software and Oracle NetSuite’s ERP system, the full potential of field service is unleashed. Manufacturers can adopt a predictive maintenance model using tools that make tracking when equipment needs attention easy and automatically deploy a technician to the right place at the right time. They have more visibility and control into the individual and collective pieces of field service to do everything from reducing inventory shrinkage to increasing technician morale and retention.

Linking the field service software with the ERP has the biggest impact because it brings more tools and data together into one platform so that decision-makers at all levels see and do everything in alignment.

Centralising FSM within NetSuite ERP offers many benefits, enhancing streamlined reporting, advanced analytics, real-time inventory management, demand planning, and precise forecasting. In comparison, relying on a stand-alone low-cost FSM tool can result in substantial long-term costs. The costs associated with team inefficiencies, reduced visibility, and data fragmentation accumulate significantly. Unplanned downtime, extended equipment outages, and suboptimal inventory management will likely result in financial losses.

Integrating Next Service FSM and NetSuite leads to substantial savings and operational efficiency improvements:

• Manufacturers experience a considerable reduction in unplanned downtime. Ibema reported a 20% reduction in missed maintenance tasks.
• Efficient predictive maintenance models facilitate a significant decrease in machine failures and enable service plans. Bode Equipment increased service jobs by 34% over two years of use.
• Maintenance costs can be reduced by up to 40% and shrinkage to virtually 100%. Headland reported lost stock, and tools were cut by 98%.
• Manufacturers can utilise their existing workforce more effectively, reducing the need for additional hiring. Thermflo increased the dispatching team’s efficiency by 30% to 50%.
• Real-time inventory management and precise demand planning result in cost savings. Eagle Point Solutions reduced inventory reconciliation time by 75%.

Manufacturing and field service are natural partners, integrated technology is how they team up.

Conclusion

There are clear opportunities for implementing software to digitise field service and manage it on the same platform as production. The advantages of centralising tools within your ERP for comprehensive field service are not only substantial but also cost-effective in the long run.

The choice to integrate is an investment, and with it, there are high risks of selecting software that delivers little value or, much worse, causes chaos in the field because of flawed features. Manufacturers eager to seize the advantage by acting early rather than waiting until later and falling behind the curve must put solutions in place soon. But they must choose wisely, as well.

For best results, depend on a software partner like Klugo with a team of professionals with equal manufacturing, field service, and technology expertise. Book a demo today to see how Klugo + NetSuite + Next Service unlock your operating potential for increased efficiencies, higher profits, and customer service excellence.

About Klugo

NetSuite + Next Service

Klugo’s vision is to unlock the full operating potential of our customers to maximise the value of their business. We do this by helping them achieve operating excellence using NetSuite + Next Service, the world-leading cloud ERP and FSM business platform for small-to-medium-sized businesses.

Australia’s manufacturing sector occupies a precarious position right now. There are strong headwinds to contend with, from continuing supply chain uncertainty to growing recessionary fears. But there are also bright spots on the horizon, most apparent in the projections suggesting that Australian manufacturing will grow more than 1% annually through the middle of the decade and soon exceed $421 billion in yearly output.

The question facing each manufacturer is how to navigate the inevitable challenges in the coming months and years while capitalising on the growth opportunities taking shape. It will take a concerted effort. Most importantly, manufacturers must be willing and able to adapt, replacing the status quo with a strategy tailored to the peaks and valleys that lie ahead.

Of course, making the wrong changes can be even more disruptive than doing nothing at all. Manufacturers must be cautious not to undermine their operations or diminish their value in the pursuit of doing things differently. Likewise, companies must align their transformation efforts with their market, strategy, and means. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work. However, neither will one that’s overly customised.

We hope to find some middle ground between either extreme. In certain areas, all manufacturers, especially those involved with field service, will need to focus their attention to remain competitive. There are also certain operational and strategic solutions that can elevate any manufacturer’s inner workings. The companies that don’t just survive the next decade but become bigger and stronger in the process will follow a similar success strategy. We suggest it looks something like this:

1. Becoming a Data-Driven Business

After years of implementing technology to improve individual parts of production or administration, it’s time to adopt technology that integrates disparate data sources and combines multiple capabilities. Manufacturers that unify data, features, and solutions under one umbrella see significant increases in efficiency, intelligence, agility, and marked gains in innovation. No surprise, then, that digital manufacturers have an advantage over their competition, especially those less tech-mature, and that advantage grows every year. The winners and losers in Australian manufacturing are shifting. Those who come out on top will gain that lead with digital technology more than anything else.

With that mandate in mind, choose technology that centralises as many pieces as possible onto a single platform to share data and synchronise capabilities. The alternative is integrating solutions through APIs, but that link isn’t as robust, flexible, or secure. Successful digital manufacturers will work with more technology and data but fewer vendors overall.

NetSuite ERP is pivotal for manufacturing businesses embracing data-driven operations, specifically focusing on IoT inputs and asset management. In a competitive landscape, data reigns supreme. NetSuite excels at aggregating data, from crucial IoT inputs to asset management details, and extending beyond machine-generated data to encompass human insights, easily captured in real-time from any device at any location. This practical data, encompassed by equipment, machinery, operational records, and customer interactions, offers a comprehensive view of business processes. The insights from this data enable real-time monitoring of production efficiency, inventory optimisation, and asset utilisation. NetSuite centralises this information, streamlining operations, reducing inefficiencies, and facilitating data-driven decision-making.

2. Address Labour Issues

Australian manufacturing has long struggled to find all the skilled (or even unskilled) workers it requires, and the Covid-19 pandemic only exacerbated that shortage. Public and private sector entities have both made efforts to expand the manufacturing talent pipeline. Still, shortages look likely for years to come and may get worse in many instances. When the demand for skilled workers exceeds the supply, manufacturers must retain their talent, boost their workforce’s productivity, and attract available talent away from the competition.

The right tech tools can help on all fronts. Today’s workers, whether current or prospective employees, want to use technology to make their workday more effective, efficient, and intuitive, and they will gravitate to employers that offer it. When technology optimises the workday, people are more productive (drastically so), leading to smaller staffing needs. Technology can solve the people problem in manufacturing, with the important caveat that to ensure adoption, workers must like using the tool and get meaningful benefits from having it.

NetSuite ERP can be highly advantageous for managing manufacturing businesses’ workforce. This integrated system offers several management benefits, including streamlining employee training, optimising operations, and creating a safer and more efficient work environment. Centralised data plays a critical role in enhancing accountability, enabling precise tracking of actions and decisions while facilitating cross-team collaboration. By implementing NetSuite, manufacturers can substantially improve workforce skills, operational efficiency, safety standards, and data-driven decision-making. These benefits can lead to a competitive edge and more enjoyable working environments.

3. Build Supply Chain Strength

The pandemic highlighted how shocks to the supply chain can have long-lasting and far-ranging consequences. Rising geopolitical uncertainty, particularly regarding China, suggests that Australian manufacturers will face further supply chain struggles. In response, 84% of manufacturers surveyed are near-shoring or on-shoring operations. More people manufacturing in Australia is good for the industry overall. Still, it puts new pressure on supply chains, too, and compels the domestic manufacturing base to become more resilient to the benefit (or detriment) of all.

Supply chains are hard to predict and even harder to control. Manufacturers have limited means to avoid stock issues and shipment delays, so they must make smarter use of their inventory by minimising shrinkage, carefully tracking consumption, and ordering strategically. Inventory tracking tools are the solution as long as they’re flexible enough to travel everywhere that parts get consumed and integrated sufficiently with the rest of the business to accurately forecast needs and order supply.

NetSuite MES, powered by Oracle’s robust AI algorithms, revolutionises demand planning for manufacturers aspiring to become data-driven, empowering businesses to make informed decisions. By centralising data, the platform provides a comprehensive view of the entire operation, ensuring that management can model accurate forecasts. NetSuite’s precise forecasting is enabled by centralising sales, production, and inventory data. This data-driven approach allows manufacturers to optimise production schedules, reduce excess inventory, and meet customer demand more effectively.

4. Drive Customer Engagement

In Australia and elsewhere, the arrival of new manufacturing startups while larger players have consolidated their power has created a highly competitive landscape. Almost everyone must fight to hold their market share, which increasingly depends on keeping customers engaged through flexible, convenient, and consistent services. No one can rest on their reputation any longer. Everyone will be judged not just on their products and services but on the overall quality of the experience. And if that experience is lacking, a competitor is closing in to claim the business.

Technology that records every customer interaction makes the data widely accessible and helps with tracking and notifications, leading to long-lasting customer relationships. Fewer dates and details get missed with a centralised system to sync everyone and everything, and manufacturers can go above and beyond once they can digitise customer relationships. What’s clear is this: manufacturers providing the best service and support are not doing it on paper.

As a consolidated CRM, NetSuite centralises all customer data, spanning sales opportunities, project insights, order management, financial records, documents, compliance documentation, service history, and even forecasts. The real value lies in the benefits derived from this data centralisation, automating repetitive tasks and processes frees up valuable time for the workforce to concentrate on customer service, upselling opportunities, and nurturing personal and human relationships. The system’s proactive alerts and workflow automation enhance the customer-centric experience, ensuring no crucial interactions or follow-ups are missed. This seamless automation boosts productivity and allows for a more personalised and human engagement with customers.

Conclusion

Opportunities abound for Australian manufacturers to grow their revenue, customer base, and market share. At the same time, though, many forces could complicate, restrict, or derail a company on an upward trajectory. Technology is the difference-maker, as the list above makes clear. But the key takeaway, and the real centrepiece of any success strategy, is the importance of selecting the right technology over many similar-looking alternatives. With that vital piece in place, the sky’s the limit.

About Klugo

NetSuite + Next Service

Klugo’s vision is to unlock the full operating potential of our customers to maximise the value of their business. We do this by helping them achieve operating excellence using NetSuite + Next Service, the world-leading cloud ERP and FSM business platform for small-to-medium-sized businesses.