Brightpearl vs NetSuite ERP

• Brightpearl tracks order changes and communications very well. It documents all activity in a feed that anyone can see, including status changes, notes made, emails sent, etc.
• Brightpearl makes it incredibly easy to find orders fitting certain criteria through the use of statuses that you can customize. For example, as a multichannel seller, we can easily create statuses for each channel that we sell from, where our orders will (oftentimes automatically) land in. We also deal often with things like back ordered items; we can also create statuses for certain brands, so that when we expect a shipment in from that company, our back order specialist can easily sort through her orders that are waiting on that shipment.
• Brightpearl makes it easy to take orders over the phone. Everything I need is right there on one screen; not often do I find myself needing to deviate to other tabs. The steps I take (from "new order" to finish) are straightforward and understandable, and go in steps that make sense.

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• Integration. From Accounting to ERP to CRM, I don't imagine there is much NetSuite can't handle. For a small to medium sized business, and ever for many large organizations, I believe it is entirely possible to put all of the corporate system 'eggs' into one basket - that is on the NetSuite platform.
• Architecture. The back-end database and inner workings of the NetSuite platform, I would describe as 'different.' Not necessarily better and definitely not worse. However, working in the data is different and maybe not as traditional as when working with a traditional relational database. Because of this, it does take a little bit of getting used to. However, once you are 'used to' it - the ease and simplicity of the back end is a beautiful thing and makes extracting and working with data, again once you cross the learning curve, something to be desired. Took me a few months to get the hang of things, but now, I couldn't imagine a more productive system.
• Performance. While not lighting fast compared to some on-premise tools, the performance of the NetSuite platform is better that adequate and is quite useable on a day-to-day basis.
• Consultants. We have had great success working with implementation specialists and consultants directly at Oracle. They are highly knowledgeable and easy to work with. I would highly recommend the native teams for implementation success.

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• Supports only a small number of marketplaces and in a limited way only. When I signed up with Brightpearl they claimed that you could list directly onto eBay from within Brightpearl but this turned out to be untrue as Brightpearl did not support eBay postage policies (eBay's semi literate way of saying shipping tables).
• Not only can you not list directly onto eBay, you cannot list directly from within Brightpearl to any marketplaces whatsoever. With other software you can list directly to all the marketplaces they integrate with.
• Brightpearl is abysmal at VAT. Brightpearl calculates VAT on Channel Islands and Canary Islands orders even though there is no Vat in either of them. So when you pay HMRC you will be paying them a bit extra unless you check all your orders which makes the software somewhat redundant.
• When I signed up they advertised Brightpearl as the software to automate your online selling. But it didn't really do that. A couple of years later at considerable extra cost they released an add-on app called Brightpearl Automation that does seem to deliver on automation. However other software offers that at no extra cost.
• Brightpearl claims that it integrates with Amazon, but this is only partially true as they have completely ignored the new marketplaces that Amazon have opened. If you list on those marketplaces you have to input the orders manually and Brightpearl will not update the stock, putting you at risk of negative feedback. Other software integrates fully with all Amazon marketplaces.
• Now that I am leaving it was suggested that I might benefit from read-only access so that we could easily double check things like warranty claims. They offered me a year's read-only access for £10,080 which is more than double my yearly contract for full use of the software. Now, if that isn't taking the mickey, I don't know what is!!!

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• NetSuite does have great customization capabilities, however, this can also make it difficult to track and maintain custom workflows and scripts as business needs change, especially with different subsidiaries having different process requirements. Essentially, the more you customize the system, the more you need to maintain documentation for reference.
• NetSuite has a fantastic reporting tool called a "Saved Search." For financial and other similar reports, you must use the NetSuite "Report" feature. This reporting feature is not as flexible as the Saved Search and I have found that certain reports cannot be customized as required using the "Report" feature.
• The Project Management module still has some work to go before it is flexible enough for companies to use NetSuite for their own customized processes. The module is fairly inflexible, and at a previous company we had around 10-15 enhancement requests alone relating to this module.

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• It's really difficult to say. While everything is now in one place, we've spent a ton of time with support and figuring things out on our own.
• We've also had to spend a ton of money with our CPAs fixing our financials every month.
• However, the sales piece has streamlined our process for shipping orders out in a timely basis.

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• Stress levels WAY down since dumping our previous Billing system and installing SuiteBilling. The ease of navigating, viewing data in sensible places, reporting and having more data in one place has made many of my users use words like "amazing" and "what a relief." Don't underestimate worker stress and enjoyment of their tool.
• Fewer vendors and products to manage and to integrate. I oversee 10+ financially-related applications and their vendors. Dealing with the nuances of the contracts, the products and the people with whom I must deal (sales, support, product management) adds a lot of time and complexity. It also reduces the challenge of my SOX-related efforts.
• Auditors and those of us supporting SOX-related efforts LOVE NetSuite, especially compared to other systems. The controls and auditing available are indispensable, whether it's to keep us accountable to ourselves or to the auditors.

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