Customer Case Study – Colorex

Smart Scalability with NetSuite.

New Zealand is proud of its ‘Number 8’ mentality. As a nation full of dedicated tradespeople and DIYers, Kiwis need a trade store they can trust. That’s where Colorex have earned their name.

For over 16 years, Colorex has supplied specialised products for the painting, plastering and construction trades from their Petone-based store. Their mission: to provide a vast range of innovative products to customers in the greater Wellington area and beyond, alongside stellar service that exceeds customer expectations every time.

Hayden Whiteman, Digital Marketing & I.T. Manager at Colorex, says that this strong “focus on customer service is what makes them stand out” among their competitors. Colorex’s goal is to be “the place to buy,” Hayden says – but their previous business management software was failing to keep up with their needs.

Key Customer Wins

Faster processing and checking of order information
Improved visibility across team to up-to-date data
Better service – quicker response and higher accuracy to customer queries
Cloud-based system obliterates in-house server upkeep costs and offers lockdown-proof access
Increased data collection allows better decision making

The system is cloud-based

“Before we invested in NetSuite, we knew that one of the big benefits of the system is that it’s cloud-based. It seemed like the perfect fit for us – and it is.”

Why Colorex chose NetSuite ERP

Colorex had outgrown its current software setup. Their now-retired system wasn’t versatile, or smart enough, to handle their current operations. The server-based system had worked well when it was introduced around 2010, but in the decade that followed, increased demands and a need to remove blocks to Colorex’s growth meant the slow, inflexible solution was beginning to test their patience.

Staff struggled to provide the level of service the company prides itself on, as limited customisation left their record-keeping system slow and inflexible. And to add insult to injury, they found themselves ignored by their provider when asking for additional services.

This “dinosaur of a system” meant Colorex staff still had to rely on antiquated paper-based records for any out of the ordinary requests – sapping valuable time, effort and efficiency and putting unnecessary strain on their prized customer service. The added burden of on-site server maintenance, and hardware warranties running out, meant the time to move to a scalable cloud-based system was a no-brainer.

The Colorex team researched possible options, including Microsoft 365, but the names NetSuite and Liberate I.T. repeatedly came up in conversation with trusted friends and similar companies.

“A lot of excited talk about customisation made us take the plunge,” Hayden says.

Key Benefits of NetSuite

NetSuite solved a massive pain point that was hindering Colorex’s ability to provide the customer service the business prides itself on: managing backorders. NetSuite’s native backorder tracking capability enables the Colorex team to effortlessly access up-to-date data needed to keep their customers informed quickly and accurately.

Similarly, the time needed for data entry tasks such as the loading of supplier price updates and promotional pricing has been slashed, giving staff more time to focus on service.

Another benefit has been NetSuite’s capacity to manage complex customer pricing such as price tiers and contract rates.

“A special pricing module was something we knew we wanted from the start,” Hayden says, as Colorex has a lot of custom pricing – from promotional to contract. Now their reps can easily load special pricing and export important data as NetSuite is a “breeze to use.”

The extent of data NetSuite provides, and just how powerful that data is for business intelligence, was a pleasant surprise for the Colorex team. Hayden explains that Colorex is now able to better visualise their business performance by turning data gleaned from NetSuite into reports and graphs.

Now management can easily access actionable information and make data-driven decisions about how and where to direct resources. “That data would have been almost impossible to get in the old system,” says Hayden.

Lockdown-proof cloud access

Increased efficiency as a cloud-based system allows all team members to see up-to-date data – invaluable during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Flexibility and scalability

NetSuite offers Colorex the control to seamlessly upgrade and customise its system to meet its specific needs.

Data at your fingertips

NetSuite has enabled Colorex’s management to make data-driven decisions – no more relying on ‘gut feelings’.

Partnering with Liberate I.T.

“We know the move to NetSuite was a future-proofing step that we won’t look back on.”

Colorex’s journey with NetSuite flowed smoothly from initial talks with sales to implementation on a strict four-month deadline, says Hayden.

“Liberate were clear about what NetSuite can and can’t do,” and enabled Colorex to go live with the new system on time and under budget.

Even with a “few very minor hiccups,” such as complications with wonky data just before launch, Liberate are “great problem solvers who quickly figured it out for us,” says Hayden.

So if you’re thinking of working with Liberate I.T. – “just do it!”

The possibilities for improvement are endless.

We know that we can get more systems talking to NetSuite and make the work a bit easier. The possibilities for improvement are endless.

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