If your business has done well domestically, you may be ready to expand overseas to attract new customers and gain market exposure. But keep in mind, the playbook that has brought you so much success in Australia may not have the same results overseas.

The truth is, many Australian brands have invested significant time and money expanding into new markets only to discover a critical factor that stymies even the best-laid plans.

As Australian probiotics company, Life-Space Group eyed off global expansion they knew they would need to have all the pieces of the puzzle in place beforehand.

This is the story of their NetSuite ERP transformation that is enabling the next phase of growth of Life-Space Group.

Let's begin with an introduction to NetSuite - an ERP system used by many thousands of businesses to manage back and front office operational functions. The cloud-based platform is comprised of different modules which together create a system that helps businesses manage their accounting, finances, customer relationship management, supply chains, sales, warehousing and eCommerce.

When deploying NetSuite, it's critical to engage a NetSuite partner with the experience and technical capabilities to fit your initiative and address your business needs and goals. With NetSuite implemented, Life-Space Group were finding themselves limited by their existing solution and sought to engage a new partner to better shape the platform around their business needs and growth plans. They enlisted 5-Star NetSuite partners, Annexa to provide all ongoing NetSuite support and services.

Life-Space were not just using the financial aspect of NetSuite, it was central to all day-to-day operations from supply chain, manufacturing and operations through to reporting and data analysis.

Working in partnership with Annexa to enhance their NetSuite instance has ensured Life-Space Group now have the tools and automated processes needed to increase efficiencies while enabling better inventory visibility, fewer errors and faster delivery times.

By utilising real-time data, NetSuite is enabling the finance team to add value, provide insightful analysis and propose changes that improve profitability and control costs. The system also ensures that reporting is delivered efficiently, accurately and on-time. In addition, the operations team now they have access to real-time data to better manage logistics, planning and deliver a better customer experience.

Shares Paul Siu, B-T manager, Life-Space Group, “NetSuite is incredible, it helps us manage not only production and manufacturing, but also finance. We use it to procure material, schedule our tasks from work orders right through to fulfillment of orders and putting our goods in the hands of our customers.

Once growth was a struggle for Life-Space Group, particularly when it came to managing inventory. But supported by NetSuite, the company has been growing at a rapid rate and now operate in international markets, including China.

“Growth wise, NetSuite helped us get to different stages of the business. We've been able to automate, we've been able to have our systems flow naturally with the support of NetSuite. If it was in a manual state, trying to manage all the different aspects of the business, we certainly would not have grown at the rate that we have”, says Asher Norman, Head of Manufacturing at Life-Space Group.

Life-Space Group are finding having a unified business system is also creating a unified team. Staff and management now all work from the same interface, ensuring company-wide visibility. On a day-to-day basis, everybody knows, at any given time, what the rest of the team are doing and what needs to be done.

“If you are an enterprise looking to expand, not just domestically but overseas, NetSuite is a good tool and also a great system to facilitate insightful reporting,” adds Eric Chen, Chief Executive Officer at Life-Space Group.

Learn more about the impact NetSuite has had on daily global operations at Life-Space Group by watching the full video.

Annexa is a  leading NetSuite partner with extensive experience designing and implementing comprehensive and customised business systems, including payroll solutions, financial management, warehouse management and eCommerce solutions.