When promotional products companies struggle with implementing NetSuite, the conversation typically focuses on technical capabilities or system configurations. However, after helping dozens of companies in this industry, we’ve discovered that technology isn’t usually the primary issue. The missing link is something far more fundamental: industry-specific expertise.
This gap between technical NetSuite knowledge and an understanding of the promotional products industry creates a disconnect that costs companies thousands in unnecessary development and leaves them with suboptimal systems.
The Knowledge Gap That Costs You Money
Picture this: your team needs to generate multiple purchase orders for a single sales order that includes products from different vendors, each with their own decoration requirements. If you’re in the promotional products industry, this scenario is all too familiar—split shipments, third-party decorators, variable lead times, and custom instructions for each component. It’s complex, but it’s the norm. And yet, when you bring this to a typical NetSuite consultant, you find yourself spending hours just trying to explain the basics of how your business operates.
At Net Lobster, we speak your language. We understand the nuances of kitting, decoration methods, vendor drop ships, and customer-specific requirements because we’ve built solutions for them time and time again. Instead of starting with a blank slate, we bring industry knowledge to the table—meaning faster project timelines, fewer misunderstandings, and solutions that actually fit the way you work. When you don’t have to teach your consultants how your business functions, you can spend more time getting real results.
Why Generic NetSuite Knowledge Isn’t Enough
NetSuite is a powerful, flexible platform designed to work across multiple industries. But this flexibility comes with complexity. Without industry context, even experienced NetSuite professionals may miss opportunities to:
- Leverage industry-specific modules and configurations
NetSuite has capabilities that align perfectly with promotional products workflows when properly configured. Generic consultants often overlook these, opting instead for expensive custom development. - Implement PromoStandards effectively
The promotional products industry has established standards for data exchange that generic NetSuite consultants rarely understand deeply. We’ve seen companies struggle with PromoStandards integration for months because their technical team didn’t understand the nuances of these protocols. - Design workflows that match industry operations
The typical order-to-cash process in the promotional products industry involves unique steps like artwork approvals, virtual proofs, and sample management. Without industry experience, consultants design generic workflows that fight against your natural business processes.
Our Approach: Industry Knowledge Makes the Difference
When industry expertise combines with technical knowledge, the approach to solving challenges becomes fundamentally different. Here’s how Net Lobster’s dual understanding transforms the way we address everyday promotional products industry challenges:
Understanding Complex Requirements: Multi-Vendor PO Challenges
Generating multi-vendor purchase orders is one of the most complex challenges in the promotional products industry. It affects virtually every aspect of the business, from order processing to financial reporting, inventory management, and profitability calculations.
Unlike many consultants who underestimate this complexity, we recognize that this process touches the core of your business operations. Our approach begins with thoroughly understanding your specific requirements and workflows before proposing solutions. We don’t offer a one-size-fits-all approach because we know each promotional products company has unique needs when managing multi-vendor orders.
Streamlining Art Approval Workflows
Artwork approval processes in promotional products companies involve multiple stakeholders, various file formats, and complex versioning requirements. Generic NetSuite consultants often recommend separate systems for this function, creating disconnected workflows and duplicate data entry.
Our industry experience gives us insight into the natural flow of artwork from concept to production. We understand how approval processes must integrate with production timelines, inventory management, and customer communications. This knowledge allows us to design more intuitive solutions that feel natural to your team while maintaining the data integrity NetSuite provides.
Navigating PromoStandards Integration
The promotional products industry has developed specific standards for data exchange that many technical professionals without industry experience struggle to implement effectively. PromoStandards integration requires understanding the technical protocols and the business context of exchanging data.
Our team approaches PromoStandards integration with both perspectives—technical implementation expertise and practical knowledge of how this data needs to flow through your business. This dual understanding helps avoid the common pitfalls that cause many integration projects to exceed budgets or fail to deliver expected results.
The Dual Expertise Advantage
At Net Lobster, we’ve seen firsthand how the combination of industry and technical expertise creates better outcomes for promotional products companies. Jim Nathanson’s 30 years of operational experience in the promotional products industry complement Tony Brown’s comprehensive NetSuite technical expertise, allowing us to see opportunities and solutions that others miss.
This dual perspective means we:
- Speak your industry language, understanding terms like “virtual samples,” “decoration methods,” and “PPAI” without explanation
- Recognize standard industry processes and configure NetSuite to support them efficiently
- Identify opportunities to leverage NetSuite’s capabilities specifically for promotional products workflows
- Create solutions that feel natural to your team because they align with industry practices
Our Problem-Solving Methodology
When approaching any challenge in your NetSuite implementation, our methodology follows a consistent pattern:
- Industry-First Understanding
We begin by understanding the business process from an industry perspective, recognizing the unique aspects of how promotional products companies operate. - Technical Evaluation
With industry context firmly established, we evaluate NetSuite’s capabilities and determine the most efficient approach to meet your specific needs. - Solution Design
We design solutions that balance technical best practices with practical industry workflows, ensuring systems work how your team naturally operates. - Implementation with Context
Throughout implementation, we focus on technical excellence and business usability, creating intuitive solutions for your team. - Knowledge Transfer
We ensure your team understands how to use the solution and why it was designed the way it is, empowering them to maximize its value.
This methodology allows us to create solutions that are not only technically sound but also align with the way promotional products businesses operate.
Finding Your Path Forward
You’re not alone if you’re struggling with a NetSuite implementation that doesn’t seem to understand your business. Many promotional products companies are caught between generic NetSuite expertise and their unique industry requirements.
The path forward starts with asking the right questions:
- Does your NetSuite consultant understand the promotional products industry’s unique workflows?
- Can they speak knowledgeably about PromoStandards and industry-specific requirements?
- Do they recognize common industry challenges without extensive explanation?
- Are they proposing custom development for processes that should be standard in your industry?
The answers to these questions can help you determine whether you’re working with a partner who truly understands your business needs.
Your Next Step
If you want to bridge the gap between NetSuite’s capabilities and your business requirements for promotional products, we invite you to schedule a discovery consultation. Let’s discuss your specific challenges and explore how industry-specific NetSuite solutions can transform your operations.