The real-life benefits of Phocas for NetSuite users

NetSuite, as a leading SaaS ERP, provides a comprehensive platform for managing business operations across manufacturing, wholesale and retail. However, while NetSuite’s core functionalities are robust, its inherent reporting capabilities often fall short. The challenge lies in extracting and transforming raw NetSuite data into actionable insights. While NetSuite offers its own data warehouse solution, NetSuite Analytics Warehouse (NSAW), its implementation can be technically demanding, and reports require substantial customization to align with specific, business needs.

Recognizing this gap, NetSuite's SuiteApp marketplace has fostered a thriving ecosystem of integrated solutions and apps. This enables specialized business intelligence tools, like Phocas, to seamlessly connect and enhance NetSuite's analytical offering. Phocas, with its pre-built connectors and intuitive interface built over a decade-long partnership with NetSuite means reliable data insights across all data sources. Phocas BI empowers NetSuite users to carry out self-service reporting and understand and utilize the raw data.

This blog explores the tangible benefits NetSuite customers experience when integrating Phocas BI, focusing on practical applications and efficient business processes.

1. Proactive, real-time data analysis

Reactive decision-making is a liability in current marketplaces. Real-time BI solutions are essential for proactive analysis, allowing businesses to identify trends and anomalies within large data sets before they escalate into critical issues. Phocas enables the creation of dynamic, interactive dashboards that provide instant visibility into key performance indicators. This empowers users to drill down into granular data, uncovering the root causes of emerging trends without relying on time-consuming report requests.

For example, a sales manager can monitor customer purchasing patterns in real-time, identifying early signs of declining sales and proactively implementing corrective measures. This level of granular, immediate data analysis is vital for optimizing sales performance and mitigating potential losses. Andy Taylor, IT manager at Baylis & Harding, emphasizes that Phocas enables them to "be proactive and influence the business," transforming data into strategic foresight. This level of foresight is vital for all business functions.

2. Dynamic data visualizations and custom reports

NetSuite's standard reports, while functional, often present data in a static, one-dimensional format. This limits the ability to explore data dynamically and uncover hidden insights. Phocas, on the other hand, empowers users to create dynamic data visualizations and custom reports that cater to their specific analytical needs. Terry Fagan, ICT operations manager at Hairhouse, highlights the ability to "drill down quickly and discover answers to off-the-cuff questions," enabling on-the-fly analysis and informed decision-making.

Phocas facilitates the seamless consolidation of data from multiple sources, enabling comprehensive analysis and reporting. This is also valuable for financial analysis and budgeting processes, where consolidated views are essential for accurate forecasting and performance tracking. In contrast to static excel reports, Phocas provides interactive, dynamic data exploration.

3. Empowering self-service reporting

A significant drain on organizational efficiency is the constant back-and-forth between business users and the finance or IT departments for report generation. Phocas addresses this challenge by empowering self-service reporting, enabling users to generate their own reports and analyze data independently. This significantly reduces reliance on technical experts and accelerates the decision-making process.

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Phocas's intuitive, drag-and-drop interface simplifies report creation, eliminating the need for complex scripting or SQL queries. This empowers users of all technical skill levels to access and analyze data effectively without the need to know how saved searches work. Dean Nicolaides, Senior Management Accountant at Zeder Corporation, notes that Phocas "moved us away from the reliance on a few power users," democratizing access to critical business information.

Phocas also streamlines workflows by enabling the creation of reusable report templates and automated report generation. This saves valuable time and resources, allowing users to focus on understanding the financial data and customer profitability.

4. Enhanced stakeholder communication drives alignment

Effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders are essential for driving organizational success. Phocas BI facilitates this by providing a centralized platform for accessing and sharing relevant data and insights. By creating customized reports and dashboards, users can tailor information to the specific needs of different stakeholders, ensuring that everyone has the information they need to make informed decisions.

This enhanced communication fosters strategic alignment and promotes a data-driven culture throughout the organization. Phocas acts as a powerful reporting tool, extending the standard reporting capabilities of the NetSuite ERP, and providing a more comprehensive and insightful view of business performance.

5. Data management and data model optimization

Phocas provides strong tools for data management, and allows for users to easily understand the data model that is being used. This clarity allows for stronger reporting, and helps to maintain data integrity.

Enhancing financial oversight

For a CFO, the ability to quickly access and analyze financial data is paramount. Phocas provides a comprehensive suite of tools (BI and FP&A) that empower financial decision-makers to gain deep insights into the organization's financial health. Traditional methods, often reliant on exporting data from the NetSuite ERP and cumbersome spreadsheets, are prone to errors and delays. Phocas, in contrast, offers real-time access to accurate data, enabling proactive financial management.

Phocas facilitates the creation of visually compelling graphs and charts, allowing for quick identification of trends and anomalies. This visual representation of data enhances the understanding of complex financial information, enabling decision-makers to make informed choices. By automating the generation of financial reports, Phocas frees up valuable time for finance teams to focus on strategic initiatives.

Leveraging modules and KPIs for business performance management

Phocas's modular design allows users to tailor the platform to their specific needs and can start with Business Intelligence and then add Financial Statements and Budgets and Forecasts. This flexibility enables customers to focus on the metrics and KPIs that are most relevant to their performance goals then scale customized reporting across divisions and speed up the budgeting and forecasting process.

The ability to automate the tracking and reporting of key metrics ensures that decision-makers have access to up-to-date information, enabling them to make timely adjustments to their work.

Maximizing NetSuite's potential with Phocas

Phocas empowers NetSuite users to leverage the full potential of their ERP data, transforming it into actionable insights. By providing robust BI tools, enabling custom reports, and facilitating self-service reporting, Phocas enhances NetSuite's capabilities and drives data-driven decision-making. By understanding the pricing of the SaaS platform, and the ability to handle all sizes of datasets, any company can make a well informed decision.

Hear from the many satisfied Phocas + NetSuite users in the video below: