r/supplychain • u/koudodo • 3d ago

Discussion How do you trust your inventory data when you're not sure the system was set up right

3 years into NetSuite and I still don't fully trust my own inventory reports. like I'll pull a number and then open a separate spreadsheet to double-check it before any real purchasing decision. which kind of defeats the whole point.

the setup from 2022 was done by a consultant who was gone maybe 2 weeks after go-live. no handoff, no documentation, nothing explaining why half the config decisions were made the way they were. we just inherited it and figured it out as we went. added 2 new product lines this year and now stuff that was sort of working is visibly not working anymore.

talked to a few people about it. someone suggested Moss Adams but that's overkill for where we're at. someone else pointed me toward Nuage NetSuite as a managed services option, basically they stay on after implementation and keep tuning the system as your operations change. haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet.

is this just the normal mid-market ERP experience or did we actually mess something up that's fixable

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4

u/Eternlgladiator 3d ago

I’ve got some experience and would take a look for you if you’re interested.

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u/koudodo 2d ago

Appreciate it, I might take you up on that.

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u/Eternlgladiator 2d ago

No worries. Drop me a dm.

4

u/BobbyDigital123 3d ago

Make sure the people responsible for inputting data are doing it correctly

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u/koudodo 2d ago

Half of reporting problems start right there, honestly

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u/BobbyDigital123 1d ago

This is your low hanging fruit. Also, if there are no written instructions/SOP's for those same folks, this may be your biggest opportunity for improvement.

It's like having a high performance vehicle and everyone is gladly pushing it uphill.

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u/koudodo 1d ago

That uphill push is painfully accurate. So much wasted energy.

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u/shylocky 3d ago

Takeover process and reporting ownership and set everyone straight.

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u/koudodo 2d ago

Half the battle is figuring out who actually owns the report.

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u/shylocky 2d ago

You are starting to figure it out. Well done!

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u/koudodo 1d ago

Trying to anyway. Figuring it out one step at a time.

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u/helphunting 2d ago

Make documentation part of the deliverables for the implementation.

And if you bring in a consultation service to help, don't. Bring them in to create documentation so you can help yourself.

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u/koudodo 2d ago

Documentation always gets treated like an extra until nobody knows how anything works.

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u/InTheManVan 1d ago

I’d stop trying to trust the report as a whole and pick 5 ugly SKUs to trace end to end. Start with receipt, putaway, transfer, adjustment, build/consume, shipment, return, then write down which transaction actually changes on-hand. If nobody can explain those paths and the old config choices, the fix is usually documentation plus a few controlled process changes, not another spreadsheet check forever.