Challenge

L.N. Curtis & Sons, a major retailer of firefighting and police wares, needed a more efficient way to manage large orders and educate their customers on how to maintain the condition of their equipment. The existing system of record, SX Enterprise, was an older on-prem software for wholesale distribution, which wasn’t scalable to rapid expansion and the pace of work.

Some of the primary obstacles with the system were the inefficiency in which it generated reports, the total absence of dashboards, and a lack of KPIs. These factors also created issues with the product database, which wasn’t effectively integrated with the company website, struggled with inventory accuracy, and frequently caused shipping errors.

To optimize operations and build a stronger technology architecture, the company sought a robust cloud platform configured to its needs.

How We Helped

L.N. Curtis & Sons started a formal, detailed ERP selection project, with comparisons across three primary vendors: Infor, Epicor, and NetSuite. The company’s CIO, Tim Blair White, suggested the firm needed a revolutionary, revelatory, game-changing solution.

“A new ERP should deliver on strategic initiatives that boost the company and profits,” said White. “Why put your organization through the utter agony of implementing a new ERP solution unless it really can deliver a quantum leap?”

The CrossCountry Consulting team supported the system selection and strategy process by reviewing five key decision-making factors:

  • Configurability. The new ERP needed to be flexible, easily configurable, and swiftly modified. This is especially important for L.N. Curtis & Sons since they deal with ever-changing products and cater to risk-taking customers. Cloud ERPs like NetSuite are known for their configuration ability.
  • Scalability. The team had deep experience implementing and enhancing NetSuite as a go-to solution for scaling companies.
  • Cloud-based power. Given the vast amount of information L.N. Curtis & Sons needed to manage, it made sense to store it on remote, networked servers. NetSuite is known for having an uptime of 99.96%.
  • Continuous enhancement. With a robust marketplace of integrations, add-ons, and functionality, NetSuite offered a one-stop shop for flexibility and improvement over time. CrossCountry’s NetSuite team supports admins and users with post-production enhancements and routine upgrades.
  • Architecture. A solution needed sufficient technological design suited to L.N. Curtis & Sons’ administration. NetSuite’s Data Center infrastructure has a litany of certifications for its top-of-the-line setup.

Throughout this review process, the team worked collaboratively with cross-functional stakeholders to guide conversations and considerations, ensuring the optimal selection was made.

Results

After careful consideration of the criteria, the company decided on NetSuite. With a new platform chosen, the company was able to sunset its legacy systems and transform how it handled traditional finance and procurement processes day-to-day.