What’s in NetSuite Release 2023.2?

While summer is in full swing, Oracle NetSuite users (and unfortunately it seems the UK weather) are looking eagerly towards Autumn and the second NetSuite Release of the year – the 2023.2 update. The first 2023.2 Release Notes are out and you can find them on your homepage portlet or via Help>What’s New>Release Notes, but if you’re not yet ready to read the 44 pages yourself, then keep reading to find out more about the most exciting refreshed and new features in the NetSuite cloud ERP solution.

Let’s dig into NetSuite Release 2023.2…

One huge benefit delivered by NetSuite is that the system is updated twice a year, another is that updates are free and there are no hidden costs, which can be found with a number of other solutions that aren’t true cloud. The ‘cloud’ version of such software still requires hosting and updates have to be pushed through by a partner or the business in question. Nevertheless, we recommend that businesses should always use the Pre-Release version and sandbox environment to test functionality before the new release is implemented.

What’s more, as part of the 2023.2 Release, NetSuite is launching NetSuite Guided Learning for users. These will be step-by-step guides embedded directly into NetSuite to help businesses accelerate adoption.

Also, I recommend that you head back to the BrightBridge blog next week as we have a step-by-step guide to managing a NetSuite Release coming, from one of our customers.

So… what’s in the NetSuite Release 2023.2 for the sectors BrightBridge specialises in?

NetSuite Warehouse Management and Distribution Updates – key for our Retail, Wholesale Distribution and Manufacturing Customers

Updates to Wave Creation

With Release 2023.2 you will be able to activate the ‘Provide wave status selection for unreleased orders’ rule to assign the wave ‘Pending Release’ or ‘Released’ status. After you release waves through the NetSuite UI, you can continue picking the orders through the app.

Also, you can set up custom wave criteria templates via the ‘New’ and ‘Edit’ options on the Wave Criteria page – click to access the Wave Search facility and select your order, item, or shipping filters.

Smart Count Enhancements

There’s nothing huge here but Smart Count is a well-used SuiteApp so it’s worth mentioning that the ‘Counted By’ field in on the Smart Count Review page will list all the users who have performed item counts. Also, when approving item counts, the SuiteApp will create inventory adjustments even if the Adjustment Location field on an inventory adjustment record is blank and from 2023.2 you won’t have to set the next inventory count date on an item record any more when creating a custom saved search.

Updates to Some Mobile Processes

There are a few little enhancements to the warehouse management mobile processes, including:

• You’ll be able to search for purchase orders to receive using the Manufacturer’s Part Number (MPN) of an item.
• You’ll be able to tally scan different item inbound shipment types continuously on the Enter Quantity page – set up this option on the ‘Enable Tally Scan?’ rule
• You’ll be able to activate the ‘Enable Restock Option For Returns?’ system rule in the Advanced Receiving feature, which means you can return items to your inventory when you manually create item receipts for returned items on the app. If you don’t want to restock, the write-off account (which you select in your accounting preferences) will be automatically updated.
• You’ll be able to enter an item by scanning its HIBC bar code for the supported Inventory processes.
• You’ll be able to choose the Transfer All option to update lot or serialised items for the Bin Transfer process.

Enhancing Pick Reversal on the Mobile App

Reverse logistics strategies are more important than ever due to the increase in customer returns, as our sales manage recently wrote about in Logistics Manager magazine, so these seemingly small updates will be valuable. You will be able to reverse pick up to ten pick task lines at a time for components of work orders that have not been partially or fully built in the NetSuite Release 2023.2. You will be able to reverse both specific lot numbers and over-picked components safe in the knowledge that the original quantity of the work order will not change or increase, and NetSuite WMS will update the status and bin details of the associated work order.

Furthermore, the update means that during the reversal process you no longer have to select the same bin as the one a reversed item came from – activate the ‘Choose bins for reversed pick task items?’ to locate it in a new bin.

Ship Central Enhancements

Ship Central is a mobile app launched in the 2022.2 Release that eliminates unnecessary steps in the preparation and shipping process and helps organizations track packages faster, determine the best carrier based on delivery date or location type, print shipping labels, and create documentation. In many respects it’s similar to the bespoke carrier integration solution that the BrightBridge team developed for customers like Crafter’s Companion 18 months before, and are still using today.

You will be able to process packed orders for international shipping through Ship Central with additional preference settings, including ‘Shipment Contents’, ‘Non-delivery Instructions’ and ‘Charge Tax To’.

If carriers support third party billing for your services, you can set the ‘Enable Third Party Billing’ and add any third-party billing accounts to which you want to charge shipping costs for your customers’ orders.

New Labels and Shipping Preferences

You will be able to activate ‘Enable Return Labels’ in the NetSuite 2023.2 Release so a return label is printed using the address details for your organisation, after you process a shipment, as well as void return labels. By synching your ShipEngine account you can set a preference to print your default logo on shipping labels.

And very helpful I know for some of our customers, you will be able to add ‘Shipment Reference #2’ and ‘#3’ from the NetSuite Release 2023.2 and these will appear on printed shipping labels. The carton ID or number will be preconfigured as the first reference on shipping labels.

NetSuite Manufacturing Updates – naturally, for Manufacturers

Costed Bill of Materials SuiteApp

The Costed Bill of Materials SuiteApp is here with the 2023.2 Release, which provides cost calculations not based on planned standard cost, cost re-evaluation, or cost roll-up values for any standard cost assembly item, but by summation of the component costs. You will be able to calculate the total cost of an assembly based on a bill of materials revision, manufacturing routing, and cost templates used as well as estimate the potential costs of manufacturing items for bill of materials. Breakdown assembly items, including bills of materials, operations, and cost types based on selected bill of materials revisions and analyse component material, labour and any other additional costs associated with a component.

What I like in the SuiteApp are the different easy to use subtabs – ‘Material Costs’ (costing method, purchase price, or item default price, ‘Assembled Costs’ (manufacturing operations breakdown) and ‘Fully Exploded Costs’ (material and operation costs by cost types).

Some Manufacturing Mobile Enhancements

You will be able to add a field and update the custom records using the ‘SCM Mobile No Code Solution’ framework – very handy. You will be able to use your mobile device to report scrap for ‘Work in-Progress (WIP) Work Orders’ and in ‘Manufacturing Mobile Preferences’, you will see a new ‘Past Work Order Days to be Shown’ parameter in which you specify the value.

Work Instructions and Traveler SuiteApp

Also new and helpful for manufacturers with multiple operational areas or work centres – the Work Instructions & Traveler SuiteApp will enable you to generate traveler (US spelling as it’s NetSuite!) reports of required work orders, which travel alongside each operation in the work order until complete. A report will comprise details including required components, work order details, and work instructions to perform each step in the operation.

Included in the SuiteApp you’ll also find default template and custom options, and a ‘Work Instructions’ subtab, where you can define instructions for every sequential operation, associate a URL and print the images from the URL in the traveler report; the images and work instructions will be able to be viewed in the Manufacturing Mobile SuiteApp from the NetSuite 2024.1 release – more to look forward to! If you use the Advanced Manufacturing SuiteApp, you’ll be able to import and export CSV document to the Work Instructions & Traveler SuiteApp, ensuring you can retain existing work instructions for corresponding routing associated to an assembly item.

For all businesses – Accounting and Billing NetSuite Updates

Budget Legacy Record and Custom Segments in SuiteAnalytics

You will be able to access a new record type, ‘Budget Legacy’, in SuiteAnalytics which supports custom segments on budgets in SuiteAnalytics datasets – this wasn’t supported previously so a handy extra feature. Click ‘New Dataset’ on the ‘Dataset subtab’ of the ‘Analytics Home page’ and then select the Budget Legacy root record type.

New Commit Plus Overage Feature in SuiteBilling

I can think of one or two customers that we support that will be pleased to hear about the new Commit Plus Overage feature, where they can charge prepayments for a contracted amount of usage at a specified rate. Should the customer use more than the contracted amount, the additional usage is charged at an adjusted rate.

Make Copy Functions in Billing Accounts and Subscriptions

Another two time-saving features in SuiteBilling – click the ‘Make Copy’ button in a billing account record or a subscription record to create a new billing account or subscription record that opens in the create mode. Most fields are sourced and automatically filled from the original record.

If you require assistance with functionality from the NetSuite Release 2023.2, any other update or want to get under the skin of your solution to get the greatest ROI, please get in touch – one of our specialist consultants would love to help your business.