OX Tools is a world-leading manufacturer of hand tools, diamond tools, workwear and safety products, currently operating in 8 countries globally. The OX UK subsidiary engaged BrightBridge to design and implement a NetSuite OneWorld solution that would dovetail with the system already operational across the other OX territories around the globe.
OX was founded in Australia and it was this region that first adopted Oracle NetSuite as a holistic business and financial management system in 2011. Since then, almost all other OX regions were added into the global consolidated accounts solution one-by-one, but the complexity of UK operations, and then the Covid-19 pandemic, meant its integration was disrupted.
Access to real-time accounting, stock and sales from anywhere
OX UK was operating with a number of disparate systems, including separate financial, inventory and CRM software and also relied on a handful of other dashboard and business intelligence tools. As the business grew, understanding the data in a meaningful way started to become inefficient and unsustainable. With financials, sales, marketing, stock and warehouse management integrated by BrightBridge into the NetSuite cloud Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) solution, OX UK now has a single source of truth and has confidence in the insights presented. Furthermore, on-premise servers could be removed, meaning the associated costs can be diverted to other areas of the business.
Ensuring convergence across all regions despite unique differences
Not only was the migration project time critical for the UK team, ensuring business-as-usual could be maintained, but also the multifaceted scripts, workflows and customisations previously implemented by other regions had to function correctly in the UK. Furthermore, BrightBridge had to ensure that elements specific to the UK set-up did not adversely affect any other region, such as its unique third-party logistics structure. Effectively this meant some complex unpicking had to be undertaken, irregularities within the 10-year-old NetSuite framework uncovered and solutions found through effective one-team working with all regions.
The solution: a cloud platform facilitating a single business truth
- Oracle NetSuite
- Oracle NetSuite MME OneWorld for Wholesale Distribution – the leading multi-company, multi-currency and regulatory financial platform in the cloud
- Financial ledgers
- Order processing
- CRM
- Purchasing and inventory control
- Warehouse Management Solution (WMS)
- Pack station
- Jitterbit – SaaS integration with solutions for data exchange
- Sales Order Import
- Send Invoices
- Send Credit Notes
Understanding the business, securing buy-in & facilitating cross-departmental visibility
It’s one thing for a NetSuite partner to have solution expertise, but BrightBridge understands that for a project to be successful they must get under the skin of the business, departments and individual roles. By having one primary architect and implementer managing the project, BrightBridge learned how OX UK operates and helped to facilitate company-wide collaboration, which in turn assisted OX to review the company’s structure, best practices and training strategy. A ‘paying lip-service’ situation was avoided thanks to early cross-departmental education. OX immediately benefited from an enhancement in communication across regions and UK departments and NetSuite provided teams with the one-truth reporting visibility, from product, to customer, to departmental activity.
