How a Supplements Manufacturer Cut Its Close to 15 Days and Achieved 98% Inventory Cost Accuracy with NetSuite Optimization

From Spreadsheet Chaos to Scalable Control

When this mid-market supplements manufacturer first engaged Suite Solutions Group, they already had NetSuite in place.

The NetSuite implementation had gone live about a year and a half earlier. Transactions were processing. Financial reports were being generated. Inventory moved through the system.

On paper, everything looked ok… until we got under the hood.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Behind the scenes, the finance team was stuck in reactive mode. Reporting extended beyond 30 days. Inventory costing lacked consistency. Critical reconciliations lived in spreadsheets. Leadership did not fully trust the numbers coming out of NetSuite.

The ERP was live. It just was not optimized.

Lifting the Hood on NetSuite Manufacturing and Accounting

At a glance, the NetSuite dashboard looked functional. Purchase orders were created. Work orders were processed. Financial statements were produced.

But when we performed a deeper NetSuite optimization review, structural gaps became clear.

• Inconsistent NetSuite landed cost allocation for freight, duties, and tariffs
• Labor and machine overhead not properly absorbed into NetSuite inventory costing
• NetSuite fixed asset module not activated
• NetSuite amortization schedules maintained manually in Excel
• Reconciliations stored outside the ERP
• No formal month-end close process in NetSuite

When Manufacturing Growth Exposes ERP Gaps

• Financial reporting extended beyond 30 days
• Inventory roll forwards required manual adjustments
• COGS fluctuated after reporting
• Margins were not fully burdened
• Landed costs not consistently capitalized
• Labor and machine costs not fully absorbed

Step One: ERP Cleanup Services

• Reconciled six months of balance sheet accounts
• Validated NetSuite inventory valuation and cost layers
• Cleaned up unsupported journal entries
• Rebuilt reconciliations inside NetSuite
• Established a formal NetSuite month-end close process

Step Two: NetSuite Inventory Costing Optimization

• Implemented NetSuite landed cost allocation
• Embedded labor and machine overhead into BOMs
• Standardized costing across SKUs
• Aligned production data with financial reporting

Step Three: Reducing Month-End Close in NetSuite

• Implemented NetSuite amortization schedules
• Activated NetSuite fixed asset module
• Embedded reconciliation documentation in NetSuite
• Centralized support with file attachments
• Established a structured close calendar
• Eliminated 8+ manual reconciliations

Modernizing Payroll and AP

• Implemented NetSuite payroll integration with Rippling
• Implemented NetSuite AP automation with Ramp
• Reduced manual journal entries
• Improved approval workflows and controls

Results

• Reduced month-end close from 30+ days to 15 days
• Achieved 98% NetSuite inventory costing accuracy
• Eliminated 8+ manual reconciliations
• Integrated payroll and AP into NetSuite
• Established a structured and repeatable close process

Takeaway

NetSuite implementation is only the starting point. Without proper NetSuite optimization, manufacturing configuration, and accounting process alignment, ERP performance is limited.

This supplements manufacturer did not replace their ERP. They optimized it.