This article is relevant if you seek an alternative to NetSuite’s native case system.

Background

Embracing NetSuite’s vision of a unified database for all master and transaction information can greatly streamline your sourcing and fulfillment business processes. However, the key to leveraging this integration fully lies in ensuring strong user adoption.

In the realm of eCommerce, customer service departments often rely on Case Management systems to address customer inquiries effectively. Many organizations turn to external tools like Salesforce or Zoho for their case management needs. The downside? Utilizing these non-NetSuite platforms often results in additional costs and complexities due to data being disparate or poorly integrated. The common rationale behind choosing these external solutions typically revolves around the desire for a unique customer service experience or the need to optimize licensing expenses.

But imagine a scenario where you can enjoy a customized, exceptionally fast user experience, all within NetSuite’s environment and free from the burden of recurring license fees. This is precisely the solution we crafted for our client in the do-it-yourself (DIY) swimming pool sales sector.

eCommerce to NetSuite Philosophy and Architecture

At Prolecto Resources, we are strong advocates of NetSuite’s vision: centralizing database management to efficiently run all business operations, thereby reducing reliance on third-party systems and the complexities of integration. This belief shapes our approach to eCommerce channels:

1. eCommerce as a Merchandising System: We view eCommerce primarily as a customer-facing platform optimized to enhance the end-user experience and capture sales. In essence, it’s akin to a point-of-sale system.
2. NetSuite as the Order Hub: Once an order is logged in NetSuite, the eCommerce system steps back. From this point, NetSuite takes over, controlling all order statuses and modifications, thus becoming the authoritative source for order management.
3. Direct Communication on Order Status: Information regarding order status is pulled directly from NetSuite and conveyed to the customer through customized, branded communications. This approach eliminates the need for data synchronization back to the eCommerce system, turning a NetSuite-fed user portal into a real-time gateway to NetSuite’s management data.
4. Leveraging Cases for Customer Support: Cases in NetSuite naturally lend themselves to driving the customer support function, including return processing. For an in-depth look at advanced and optimized returns management within NetSuite, I recommend my 2023 article, Drive Comprehensive NetSuite Product Returns and Refunds.

Adopting this philosophy allows us to forgo a multitude of third-party applications like Dynamics 365, Zoho, ServiceNow, HubSpot, etc., provided we can meet the criteria for a “better user experience” within the NetSuite ecosystem.

Click the images to see full screen.

Drive NetSuite with a different User Interface Skin

When you delve into the NetSuite database, setting aside user interface considerations, a well-structured and sophisticated relationship between business objects becomes apparent. However, the standard NetSuite interface, particularly in the context of NetSuite Cases, often draws feedback like, “This seems tailored more for accounting purposes. In customer service, we need a different, more tailored experience.”

This sentiment reflects a growing desire among organizations to engage with NetSuite through a more customized user interface. Recognizing this need, and with our extensive expertise in technology adaptation and integration, we developed an “Extensible Client Framework (ECF).” This framework enables the creation of high-performance applications that seamlessly overlay NetSuite’s existing structure, all without the necessity for additional hosting or licensing fees. To explore the capabilities and opportunities this approach offers, I recommend our 2023 article: Watch How to Extend NetSuite Sublist with High Performance Edits.

Enhancing NetSuite Case Management: A High-Speed User Experience

In the following video (8:21), I conducted an interview with Sylvain M., our senior technical analyst. He played a pivotal role, in collaboration with our Inventory Practice, in developing a custom customer service interface for NetSuite, focusing on efficiency and speed. This enhanced experience includes:

1. Interactive Case List: An advanced case list that supports inline editing, sorting, and immediate actions.
2. Organized Message Partitioning: Efficient segregation of case messages, enabling quick access based on categories like customer, employee, notes, threads, and more.
3. Focused Message Threading: A feature to highlight and extract key parts of a message, creating focused threads that help customer service teams concentrate on critical issues.
4. Direct Item Linkage: A rapid display of items related to each case, streamlining discussions around specific orders, with the flexibility to incorporate additional items as needed.
5. Knowledge Base Alternatives: While NetSuite offers a standard knowledge base, we’ve developed a more survey-like alternative tailored to our client’s needs, integrating it into the case management process.
6. Enhanced Message Generation: A complete overhaul in the method of selecting email recipients and crafting messages, including the use of pre-designed templates for intuitive communication.
7. Simplified File Attachments: An optimized system for linking files to cases, simplifying the attachment process in communications.

This development opens up new possibilities in NetSuite licensing models for organizations seeking a high-performance user interface. Additionally, through our Prolecto LABs initiative, we provide these innovative tools and applications to our clients as accelerator templates tailored to their unique needs, all without recurring fees.

Watch the demonstration (8:21) below.

Acquire a Customized NetSuite Case Interface

This article unveils how to tailor the NetSuite user experience to your preferences. Imagine a scenario where the screens, layout, and logic are crafted entirely based on your creative vision. The applications we develop require no additional licensing and are optimized for both mobile phones and tablets. This eliminates the need to invest in alternative customer service case management tools, bypassing the hassle of integration and ongoing license fees.

If this article resonates, consider signing up for notifications on future posts. If you are ready to transform your NetSuite Case Management goals, let’s have a conversation.

Marty Zigman

Holding all three official certifications, Marty is regarded as the top NetSuite expert and leads a team of senior professionals at Prolecto Resources, Inc. He is a former Deloitte & Touche CPA and has held CTO roles. For over 30 years, Marty has produced leadership in ERP, CRM and eCommerce business systems. Contact Marty to set up a conversation.

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