Vetora Bay of Plenty streamlines operations with NetSuite

Verde Group's Project Salsa has successfully implemented NetSuite's enterprise resource planning software for Vetora Bay of Plenty, a group of veterinary clinics in New Zealand.

Penny Boland, Chief Executive Officer of Verde Group, highlighted that although NetSuite is typically designed for medium to large organisations, it is equally suited for businesses handling high transaction volumes and rapidly changing business needs. She said, "We've identified veterinary businesses as a key sector where especially multi-site practices are finding the limitations of accounting packages and add-ons, which often struggle with integrating practice management and other point solutions. NetSuite offers a complete and flexible solution bringing improved visibility and control, along with detailed reporting for stock and performance management."

Vetora Bay of Plenty, which operates four clinics, transitioned away from its legacy software to NetSuite, eliminating time-consuming manual reconciliations and improving workflow, according to General Manager of Corporate Services, Mickey van der Merwe. The deployment of Project Salsa saw NetSuite become operational in just two months, a timeframe she described as "amazing."

Upon joining Vetora in 2019, Van der Merwe identified critical issues with their financial systems. "The system was overstressed because we integrated on a transaction level with an accounting package that couldn't handle the volume," she explained. The old system struggled with basic reporting like GST, often crashing under the strain of over 10,000 monthly transactions, necessitating manual workarounds and reconciliations.

Van der Merwe noted that an enterprise resource planning solution was essential to support efficient operations and future growth. There were few options that could handle the complexity of their operations, with challenges such as selling bundled medications in quantities determined by variables like animal size. She stated, "That means one product coming into stock goes out in multiple ways—and your financial system must cope with that. With NetSuite's flexibility, the constant tweaking necessary for it to align with our evolving business practices is easily possible."

She emphasised the significance of choosing the right implementation and support partner over the software itself, while acknowledging the higher cost of NetSuite compared to accounting software. However, reliability and effectiveness in meeting business requirements were more crucial.

A year after implementing NetSuite, Vetora's oversight has greatly improved, according to van der Merwe. "To give you an idea, a previous stocktake resulted in a write-off of $60,000. The most recent one had a miniscule variance of a few hundred dollars."

Daily accounting and business management tasks have been streamlined, reducing the need for manual processing. "Nobody wants to study accounting only to spend their days on reconciliations," she remarked, adding that NetSuite has allowed them to spot and address processing gaps with detailed line-by-line visibility.

Crucial business performance reporting is now readily accessible, with detailed information available instantly. This success is viewed positively by Verde Group's Project Salsa team, as noted by Boland, "We love working alongside organisations providing such essential services within New Zealand's rural and other communities."

Boland added, "We've gained a keen appreciation for the challenges veterinary practices face in the back office, and from within our broad portfolio of solution offerings, have demonstrated the suitability of NetSuite for this set of tasks and requirements. Vetora is now equipped with a modern, scalable and future-proof cloud solution which helps them focus more on animal health, and less on administration."