You’re considering NetSuite, but is it a good fit for your industry? Does it support the specific processes your business relies on? Can it handle your operational complexity as you grow?
These are important questions to answer before you invest in a new ERP system.
The short answer is that NetSuite supports a long list of industries, including manufacturing, wholesale distribution, retail and ecommerce, professional services, software and technology and many others.
But being in a supported industry doesn't automatically mean NetSuite is right for your business.
As a NetSuite Solution Provider, we have helped businesses evaluate, implement and optimize NetSuite. We’ve seen where NetSuite works well for businesses and how the right fit depends on a company’s specific processes, complexity and requirements.
By the end of this article, you’ll understand which industries NetSuite supports, how businesses in those industries use it and whether you should consider NetSuite for your business.
NetSuite's industry solutions combine core ERP capabilities with functionality designed to support different types of businesses.
Here’s a high-level look at some of the main NetSuite industries and how businesses in each one use it:
| Industry | Common NetSuite use cases |
| Manufacturing | Production management, BOMs, inventory, purchasing, demand planning and financials |
| Wholesale distribution | Inventory, warehouse management, purchasing, order management and fulfillment |
| Retail and ecommerce | Inventory, order management, ecommerce, fulfillment and financials |
| Professional services | Project management, resource planning, time and expense tracking and billing |
| Software and technology | Subscription billing, revenue recognition, recurring revenue management and financials |
| Food and beverage | Inventory, lot tracking, production, quality management and supply chain |
| Construction | Project management, job costing, purchasing and financial management |
| Healthcare and life sciences | Financial management, multi-entity operations, reporting and compliance |
| Nonprofit | Fund accounting, grants, budgeting, donor management and reporting |
| Financial services | Financial management, reporting, controls and multi-entity operations |
| Hospitality | Financial management, procurement, inventory and multi-location operations |
This isn't an exhaustive list. NetSuite also has industry solutions for businesses in agriculture, apparel, energy, logistics, media and publishing, real estate, telecommunications and other specialized sectors.
NetSuite supporting your industry doesn't automatically make it the right ERP for your business. Your processes, size, complexity and functional requirements ultimately determine whether it’s a good fit.
So, let’s look first at the industries where we have the most firsthand experience with NetSuite.
From our experience at ProjectLine, we can speak most confidently about its use in manufacturing, wholesale distribution, industrial service, product-based retail and ecommerce businesses.
That doesn't mean NetSuite is less capable in other industries, but these are the types of businesses we work with most often, so we've seen firsthand how NetSuite can help solve their day-to-day challenges.
NetSuite is a strong ERP option for manufacturers that need better control over production, inventory, purchasing and financials in one system.
Manufacturing becomes complicated quickly when these processes are managed separately. Your production team needs accurate bills of materials (BOMs), your purchasing team needs to know which raw materials to order and when, and your finance team needs reliable cost data. All of these teams also depend on accurate inventory information to make informed decisions.
NetSuite brings these processes together, with functionality for:
NetSuite may be a good option if your BOMs are difficult to manage, you're relying on spreadsheets to plan production, you don't have reliable inventory data or you spend significant time manually reconciling materials, production and costs.
NetSuite is well-suited to wholesale distributors that need to manage inventory, purchasing, orders, warehousing, and financials within a single connected system.
For distributors, a lot depends on having the right product in the right place at the right time. But that gets difficult when inventory data isn't reliable or your purchasing, sales and warehouse teams are working from different information.
NetSuite gives you a centralized view of inventory while connecting it to purchasing, sales and fulfillment. Depending on your requirements, you can use NetSuite for:
NetSuite may be a good ERP for your business if inventory accuracy is a constant problem, your purchasers spend too much time figuring out what to order, salespeople have to ask someone else whether a product is available or spreadsheets have become essential to keeping your operation running.
NetSuite can be a strong software solution for industrial service businesses that need to manage both field service operations and the inventory used to deliver those services.
If you install, maintain or repair equipment, your operation doesn't stop at scheduling technicians. Your field team may need access to customer information, service history and available inventory, while your office needs visibility into purchasing, quoting, invoicing and overall job profitability.
NetSuite can bring these processes together by connecting:
NetSuite may be a good choice if your field and office teams struggle to share information, technicians don't have easy access to customer or inventory data, parts usage is difficult to track or service information has to be manually transferred between systems.
NetSuite can be a good ERP for product-based retail and ecommerce businesses that need to connect inventory, orders, fulfillment and financials across multiple sales channels.
As your sales channels grow, keeping inventory and order data consistent becomes more difficult. An order placed online affects the same inventory that may be sold through another channel, and those transactions eventually need to flow into your financial reporting.
NetSuite can help manage:
NetSuite may be a good option if you're managing inventory across multiple channels, orders and inventory live in separate systems, your team spends significant time reconciling data or your existing systems are becoming harder to manage as sales volume grows.
While our firsthand experience is strongest in the industries we discussed above, NetSuite offers industry-specific ERP functionality for many other types of businesses.
Some of the other industries that use NetSuite include:
NetSuite also supports more specialized industries, including agriculture, apparel, energy, logistics, media and publishing, real estate and telecommunications.
The functionality you need will vary significantly between these industries. For example, a software business may care about subscription billing and revenue recognition, while a food and beverage manufacturer may be more concerned with lot traceability, inventory and production.
That flexibility comes from the way NetSuite combines its core ERP platform with additional modules, configuration and industry-specific functionality.
Just because NetSuite supports your industry doesn't necessarily mean it's the right ERP for your business.
Industry fit is certainly important. You want an ERP system that can handle processes common to your industry without requiring excessive customization or workarounds. But that's only one part of evaluating ERP fit.
Two businesses in the same industry can have very different requirements. A manufacturer with relatively simple production and a single location won't need the same functionality as a multi-entity manufacturer with complex production, warehousing and reporting requirements.
When you're evaluating whether NetSuite is right for your business, consider factors such as:
If you want to dig deeper into the characteristics we typically look for when assessing NetSuite fit, we've covered them in our guide to who NetSuite is best for.
Finding your industry on NetSuite's list is a good starting point. But the bigger question is whether NetSuite can solve the problems you're experiencing today and support where your business is going next.
Start by looking at your current systems and processes. Some common signs that you've outgrown them include:
If several of these sound familiar, you've likely reached the point where an ERP system is worth considering.
The next step is determining whether NetSuite is the right ERP.
That's where you need to get more specific. Document the processes your new ERP needs to support, the problems you need it to solve and the functionality you'll need as your business grows. Then evaluate how well NetSuite meets those requirements without introducing unnecessary complexity, customization or workarounds.
If you want help figuring out whether NetSuite is right for your business, talk to our team. As a NetSuite Solution Provider, this is something we help businesses work through before they commit to an ERP project. We look at how your business operates today, what's holding you back and what you'll need from your ERP in the future.
We'll walk through your current systems, processes and challenges with you and help you determine whether NetSuite is worth exploring further. There's no obligation to move forward with NetSuite or with us. Sometimes a conversation is simply the easiest way to get a clear answer.
Yes. NetSuite is a strong ERP option for manufacturers that need to manage production, bills of materials (BOMs), inventory, purchasing, Material Requirements Planning (MRP), costing and financials in one system.
Your specific manufacturing processes and complexity will determine whether NetSuite has the right functionality for your business.
Yes. NetSuite is well-suited to wholesale distributors that need better visibility and control over inventory, purchasing, warehousing, sales orders, fulfillment and financials.
It can be especially valuable when disconnected systems and manual processes make it difficult to maintain accurate inventory information or coordinate purchasing, sales and warehouse operations.
Yes. NetSuite can be configured and customized to support business and industry-specific requirements. This can include workflows, reports, dashboards, integrations and functionality.
However, customization shouldn't automatically be the first solution. Where possible, it's worth determining whether NetSuite's existing functionality or configuration options can meet the requirement before investing in custom development.
NetSuite is used by businesses across a wide range of industries and business models, including manufacturers, distributors, retailers, ecommerce businesses, professional services firms, software businesses and nonprofits.
Rather than evaluating NetSuite based on industry alone, consider your operational complexity, processes, reporting requirements, existing systems and plans for growth to determine whether it's the right ERP for your business.