A Small Southeastern Manufacturer Removes Data Silos Between Netsuite and HubSpot

With data sitting inside of Netsuite and HubSpot separately, their teams had to manually collect data between systems.

A Small Southeastern Manufacturer Removes Data Silos Between Netsuite and HubSpot
Client
US Manufacturer (55 employees)
Services
CRM and ERP Integration
Project Timeline
2 months
2023
Platforms
HubSpot, Netsuite

Project Overview

Background

This small Souteastern US Manufacturer had invested in both Netsuite and HubSpot to effectively handle front and back office operations. With the power of both of these systems, the teams realized they were missing out on the context of their projects due to HubSpot and Netsuite not being synced.

This made it challenging and burdensome for both the client and employees to work together. Getting answers to specific questions meant logging into different systems to make sure the most recent information was being used.

Challenge

Different employees were solving this in different ways. Some would copy and paste data between systems when they had the time. Others would pick up the phone and ask their coworkers for information when needed. Some would ask the client the same question their last coworker did.

HubSpot and Netsuite needed to be synced so that all the data and context was available to each employee.

Project Execution

For most sync projects between HubSpot and Netsuite, we'll first look at the possibility of using the native integration on HubSpot. We can use this native integration if the required sync is straightforward. Fortunately this was the case and 3rd party solutions weren't needed.

When complex needs do arise, we'll often look to use platforms like Commercient or Syncari. Custom syncs often don't require all info to sync between systems, and instead depend on specific criteria to be met before syncing. Additionally, certain objects like Orders and Subscriptions can't be synced using the native integration. A limitation of the native sync (as of this Case Study) is the inability to sync dropdowns (picklists).

To complete this project, we took the following approach:

  1. A quick audit of HubSpot and Netsuite to ensure that objects were properly configured and able to be synced successfully
  2. A mapping document was created to see which objects and fields needed to be synced
  3. Criteria was defined to confirm that a two way sync was ok. Initial sync conditions for source of truth were determined.
  4. Solution was developed and deployed after backup of both systems
  5. Results were confirmed and users were trained on the new data available and functionality

End users were involved in each step. This was to ensure that the expected functionality, mapping definitions, etc. were accurate in the integration. Additionally, adopting is better when end users are bough into the development and change process.

Project results

When all was done, 5 objects from each system were bi-directionally synced. One was uni-directionally synced.

  • Companies <> Companies
  • Contacts <> Contacts
  • Inventory Items (Netsuite) <> Products (HubSpot)
  • Opportunities (Netsuite)<> Deals (Deals)
  • Invoices (Netsuite)> Invoices (HubSpot)

The impact of the engagement was:

Reduction in Operational Costs

With data synced between Netsuite and HubSpot, team members didn't have look in multiple systems, waste time copying and pasting or calling for help. This manual work was eliminated and the team became much more efficient. With hours back in the week, more projects could be worked on and more clients served per employee.

Improved Data Management

The once chaotic data environment was organized and connected, bringing clarity and structure.

Better Marketing and Sales Decision Making

Lack of visibility into data across both systems prevented Marketing and Sales from understanding where the customer was at. This caused repetitive questions to the customer during handoff and frustrated both parties. After having Netsuite data visible in HubSpot and vice-versa, this issue was resolved. The Marketing and Sales team

Happier Customers

Clients were impressed with how informed their interactions were with their CSM and other team members after the integration. Since all info was available, meetings and questions were efficient and impactful. No more guesswork and "I'll circle back on that one".

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