outgrown QuickBooks, and we had tried Peachtree, MAS 200, and lots of other [software], but NetSuite was a good fit for us,” he says. “Dealing with Excel and other applications was just too much work. I travel a lot, and with NetSuite I can log on and see what’s going on, and that helps me make better decisions.” Diggs, 39, admits that his CFO Layne McClanahan, handled the bulk of the work, single-handedly implementing the program with just a few hiccups along the way.
“Randy started with Excel,” says McClanahan, explaining the switch. “Before that it was just a big cheap tablet, just writing it down.” What sold Mo Better Meats on NetSuite? McClanahan sums it up: “One, is that the volume Randy is doing can’t be handled efficiently with canned software. Two, he is geographically located in many areas and [NetSuite] gives us the ability to get everyone in one place at the same time. And Randy can run it whether he is in his house in Dallas or in Seattle.”
“We initially ran into some problems because of the way we operate,” says Diggs. “So they helped us personalize the software to fit our business needs.” NetSuite provides hosted solutions to its clients, but it limits the number of inventory warehouse locations to 50, according to Scott Thomas, senior account manager at NetSuite, who worked with Diggs on implementation. Mo Better Meat, which designates each of its delivery trucks as a warehouse, “maxed out on inventory locations” because the company owns more than 50 trucks. NetSuite simply customized the application by using a different category class that required less detailed information and better fit the company’s needs.
“At the end of 2005, we will have at least 100 locations,” adds McClanahan. Will NetSuite be enough to meet the needs of this fast-growing company? Not a problem, McClanahan says, “When we first got into this, we were able to work around a lot of things. We have as many classes as we need.” Implementing NetSuite cost the company between $25,000 and $30,000, plus $99 per user per month, with one free seat for the certified public accountant. The company purchased 12 user licenses.
The application also integrates with Mo Better Meats’ latest venture—online ordering. Providing seamless interaction between several processes was important for Mo Better Meat, particularly since the company wanted to launch an e-commerce Website that allows customers to access its store 24 hours a day. According to Diggs, 90% of first-order customers become regular clients, getting a variety of meat and grocery products delivered to their doors. Now, customers can simply log on and order. Orders are processed via PayPal, a popular online payment system used by e-commerce vendors. “We started online ordering because there were a lot of people out of town who wanted our service, and these were places we had not gone yet,” says Diggs.
The company is well on its way to posting $12 million in revenues for 2005, says Diggs. It’s a huge return on his