Overview
Blu Connection is a Singapore-based company that produces pre-reduced indigo used in the denim industry for dying blue jeans. The company was founded in 2010, and the three founders make all decisions independently. The company decided to use NetSuite as its cloud-based software to manage its business operations. This case study explores how Blu Connection utilized NetSuite with Etter+Ramli’s Managed Services to improve their productivity and streamline their business operations.
Challenges
Before engaging with Etter+Ramli, Blu Connection faced significant challenges in utilizing NetSuite. With no proper training modules for specific tasks, employees had to learn on the job. Within a few short years, the user base had completely changed, and knowledge transfer was limited to day-to-day tasks only. This led to a significant amount of manual work outside the system, resulting in lower and lower productivity. The employees also had to manage shipping documentation manually, leading to errors and a lack of visibility into the process. Blu Connection had difficulty training staff on NetSuite.
Solution
Etter+Ramli engaged with Blu Connection and completed a detailed analysis of their business processes and identified areas of system improvements. Tasks being done manually and or outside of the system were the first targets, with new processes proposed for later automation and internal controls to improve reporting quality and capabilities of the remedy. By applying Etter+Ramli’s “Managed Success” Methodology, Blu Connection was able to adopt more of NetSuite progressively, and staff began to improve their productivity. Initially, the focus was on solving blocking issues and stabilizing users, then the focus shifted to automating the areas of greatest productivity leakage. The company saw significant productivity gains in managing shipping documentation, which was created manually in Word & Excel from data that was in/outside NetSuite. Still, after E+R's intervention, the documents became prepared as outputs of the system. Once the areas of productivity drain were automated, the focus rested on the quality of data and process compliance, process gates became reliable, and this fed into a business reporting framework that allowed management to make use of the real-time data for decision-making purposes.
Results
Blu Connection realized an 80% improvement in productivity after Etter+Ramli's involvement. They were able to streamline and automate their business processes and improve the quality and reliability of data at the same time. A key example was that preparing detailed documents for shipping client orders (containers) was essential for their logistic flows, and by improving this bottleneck alone Etter+Ramli awakened management to the benefits of a dedicated system resourcing approach. What used to take four (4) hours to prepare manually, and require an FTE was now done without error and in a matter of seconds. Etter+Ramli helped the company improve its data structure, introduce process improvements and compliance gates, advancing reporting outcomes and capabilities which now feed management with reliable information automatically.
Improvements
Blu Connection's productivity improved significantly after partnering with Etter+Ramli. They had a high transaction volume and an IT manager who was instrumental in the company's success. However, the manager left the company, and Blu Connection decided not to replace her. Despite this, the company's productivity remained high, and they were able to lower their headcount in that area because of Etter+Ramli’s dedicated and skilled resources in NetSuite.
Conclusion
Working with Etter+Ramli has been a game-changer for Blu Connection. They have been able to optimize their use of NetSuite, eliminate manual tasks, and streamline their processes, which has led to significant productivity gains. Blu Connection is in the Automation lifecycle and is well-positioned to continue growing and scaling its business.
At this stage, businesses have clear processes, but manual workarounds are still present. Etter+Ramli spearheaded the solution development to automate and overcome the manual workarounds that are preventing users from fully utilizing NetSuite. Etter+Ramli understands that automation is critical to achieving success, and it works closely with the client to ensure that processes are streamlined and optimized for maximum efficiency.
With Etter+Ramli’s help, Blu Connection was able to improve its data structure and become more productive, even after losing a key staff member.
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