NetSuite Unveils Next-Generation B2B Customer Center for SuiteCommerce Platform

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- NETSUITE SUITEWORLD 2014 -- NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N), the industry's leading provider of cloud-based financials / ERP and omnichannel commerce software suites, today announced the next-generation B2B Customer Center, built on NetSuite's rapidly evolving SuiteCommerce platform. The new B2B Customer Center enables B2B merchants to deliver a seamless and efficient B2C-like online shopping experience and extends robust functionality for B2B buyers to view order status, details and history, track shipments, reorder goods, approve quotes, make payments, manage account information, request refunds and returns, and more, in a secure, password-protected environment.

NetSuite's next-generation B2B Customer Center delivers a number of significant product advancements including:

• A next-generation self-service customer portal as an engine for B2B commerce growth, creating a win-win for distributors, manufacturers and B2B buyers alike.
• New customization, billing and payments, account and product management capabilities that enable business efficiency by offering tools such as lists for seasonal purchasing.
• NetSuite SuiteCommerce's flexible, extensible platform supports role-based permissions, allowing customers to extend the solution to business-specific use cases.
• Responsive web design capabilities optimize the site for multiple devices, meeting the growing need of both buyers and sellers to access information and complete transactions anywhere and anytime.

The new release of the B2B Customer Center further strengthens NetSuite's position as the world's leading integrated cloud ERP solution to connect every step of a business—from ecommerce to financials, inventory and order management, merchandising, CRM and customer service—to help B2B merchants expand their customer base, improve efficiency and visibility, reduce operational and IT costs, and fuel rapid growth. The new release was unveiled at SuiteWorld 2014 during the opening keynote delivered by NetSuite CEO, Zach Nelson.

B2B ecommerce is one of the hottest business and technology focus areas for distributors and manufacturers. Distributors rank ecommerce as their #1 technology initiative, according to a recent survey by Modern Distribution Management.¹ Rapid adoption is driving double-digit annual growth in B2B ecommerce, which Forrester has estimated at $559 billion in the U.S. alone—more than twice the size of B2C ecommerce.²

NetSuite distribution and manufacturing customers such as VHA Corp, EndoChoice, CMP Corp., Liberty Bottleworks, Tacoma Screw Products, Cleaner's Supply, PAG Leisurewear and others are using NetSuite SuiteCommerce to reach new markets, drive site traffic and improve operational efficiency by eliminating manual steps in phone, email and fax orders, delivering unprecedented quality in customer service. New customizability and features in the B2B Customer Center can enable B2B merchants to deliver an improved experience with enhanced role-based permissions, branded design, streamlined ordering and payments, and greater account visibility. These capabilities eliminate the need for B2B sellers to integrate and manage disparate front- and back-office applications while empowering them to offer a seamless omnichannel experience on a par with the best B2C sites.

"The self-service dealer portal at VHA Corp has been a huge improvement in efficiency and an engine for growth," said John Martinez, Director of Information Systems at VHA in Diamond Bar, Calif., a leading Sprint distributor of Boost and Virgin Mobile prepaid phones to retail stores. "The SuiteCommerce B2B Customer Center enables our retail partners to place orders, track status and pay invoices. We moved half of our B2B transactions online in less than four months and expect increased online transaction rates as dealer system awareness grows."

Available today to customers using NetSuite SuiteCommerce, the B2B Customer Center delivers the following key features and benefits:

New flexibility and customizability. B2B merchants gain greater control over customizing the B2B portal, such as tailoring a customer's experience through role-based permissions and delivering pixel-perfect design that promotes a business's brand and provides the rich and engaging commerce experience that customers expect. Integration with the SuiteCloud Development Platform gives B2B merchants new flexibility to tailor the B2B Customer Center interface and back-end processes and data to their specific needs.

Billing and payments. B2B buyers now have flexible payment options, including paying single invoices or multiple invoices, or making partial payments. Buyers can take advantage of discounts for paying early, while overdue invoices are highlighted to ensure proper payment. Simple drill-through functionality enables buyers to examine transaction details.

Product list management. A simple and intuitive product list feature enables buyers to create custom shopping lists, or wish lists, to expedite recurring purchases. Buyers can purchase individual items from a shopping list or add the entire list of saved items to the checkout cart with a single click.

Account management. Customizable dashboards give buyers a snapshot overview of outstanding and available balances, deposits, credit limits and memos, current terms and more. Buyers can readily print statements, view transaction histories and update key account data.

"B2B ecommerce is a catalyst for growth that enables companies to reach new customers and markets while improving efficiency across the value chain," said Andy Lloyd, General Manager of Commerce Products for NetSuite. "The B2B Customer Center sweetens the deal for sellers and buyers alike with capabilities to streamline the B2B commerce experience and move more business to the faster and more productive online channel."

Today, more than 20,000 companies and subsidiaries depend on NetSuite to run complex, mission-critical business processes globally in the cloud. Since its inception in 1998, NetSuite has established itself as the leading provider of enterprise-class cloud financials/ERP suites for divisions of large enterprises and mid-sized organizations seeking to upgrade their antiquated client/server ERP systems. NetSuite excels at streamlining business operations as demonstrated in a recent Gartner study naming NetSuite as the fastest growing financial management software vendor on a global basis. NetSuite continues its success in delivering the best cloud ERP/financials suites to businesses around the world, enabling them to lower IT costs significantly while increasing productivity, as the global adoption of the cloud is accelerating.

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For more information about NetSuite, please visit www.netsuite.com.

NOTE: NetSuite and the NetSuite logo are service marks of NetSuite Inc. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

1 NetSuite, "The Outlook for Wholesale Distribution in 2013," June 2013.
2 Forrester Research, "U.S. B2B Ecommerce Sales to Reach $559 Billion by the End of 2013," blog post, October 18, 2012.

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SOURCE NetSuite Inc.