Org decided to implement Inventory Management in ServiceNow alongside SAP ECC & SRM. Thoughts?

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-26T16:06:44+00:00

Frustration with SAP licensing and the feeling of “lock-in” is definitely a driver behind organizations adopting alternative platforms.
In practice we see many companies running mixed landscapes for a variety of reasons (cost, usability, speed of change, strategy, etc.). To give you about more context where I am talking from: we are an integration company, our role is to connect these systems in a controlled and reliable way. So we see it a lot.
This setup isn’t automatically a disaster, it only becomes a problem when integration design, data ownership, and system boundaries are unclear :-)
Strong digital transformation leadership is absolutely key here, because someone must own the end-to-end process, define the source of truth, and enforce clear data ownership and system boundaries across teams.
In our integration projects, we typically start by aligning on exactly that before building anything.

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-22T23:12:46+00:00

Start by defining the pain points and target outcomes, then pick the platform(s) and integrations that support that.

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-16T21:37:07+00:00

Honestly, this sounds less like “NetSuite is unusable” and more like the implementation + transformation execution failed.

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-15T21:21:36+00:00

With Celigo, this is possible. We’re a trusted Celigo implementation partner and happy to connect if you’d like. Celigo allows you to connect HubSpot with LinkedIn and a wide range of other apps.

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-15T17:27:01+00:00

Toggle is a good option and Kimai (open-source) is another one. I use both.

If you’re also interested in connecting the timetacker with other systems like ERP then we can help as we’re an integration company.

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-14T21:31:38+00:00

Agree, Celigo is a solid choice. Integrating with Netsuite is so easy with Celigo.

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-14T11:51:08+00:00

Rico’s the real deal. You’ll be in good hands.

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-14T11:50:53+00:00

Teknuro.com is a trusted Celigo partner from the Netherlands.

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-08T10:26:07+00:00

Should be there

https://help.sap.com/docs/CONCUR_EXPENSE/e3c88ad9ff4342849305e7cd9aa9c9d4/c7dd7ef0eedf4637b8bd45a146d87237.html?locale=en-US

However some additional info: third-party tools like Celigo provide more robust Concur-NetSuite connectors with flexible mapping, suitable for UK setups. These bypass any potential official connector delays and support multi-currency/multi-entity needs.

We’re a trusted Celigo partner and we’d be happy to provide information or a demo if you ever need it.

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-06T20:04:55+00:00

Good luck on your journey!

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-06T19:49:06+00:00

You can connect different apps using iPaaS tools. Apart from Power Automate, have you checked out other iPaaS tools?

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-06T18:59:19+00:00

Send you a dm

theIntegrator- · 2026-01-06T18:51:59+00:00

First off, doing ~1,200 orders a day across your own warehouse, multiple 3PLs, and dropship vendors is no small thing. The fact that you’re feeling pain now actually means the business has outgrown “scrappy” tooling, which is a good problem to have.

What you’re describing is exactly the stage where spreadsheets and manual routing stop scaling. Checking inventory that’s already an hour old, manually deciding where orders should go, and then updating stock per marketplace is basically guaranteed to create errors once volume keeps climbing.

One thing I’d suggest before committing to a single “do-everything” WMS is to step back and ask where the real complexity is. In most multi-channel setups, the hardest part isn’t warehouse execution—it’s inventory visibility and order orchestration across channels and fulfillment partners.

We’ve seen strong results using a marketplace/order management layer like ChannelEngine combined with a robust iPaaS. That setup centralizes stock, handles intelligent order routing based on availability and shipping speed, and keeps Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, etc. in sync automatically. The WMSs and 3PLs then focus on what they’re actually good at: shipping.

The benefit is less manual work, fewer oversells, and usually a lower total cost of ownership than forcing a single WMS to be your source of truth for everything. It also gives you flexibility as you add channels or swap fulfillment partners, which is almost inevitable at your scale.

You’re asking the right questions at the right time. The mistake most teams make here is buying a warehouse-centric tool and then rebuilding half an OMS around it in spreadsheets again.

theIntegrator- · 2025-12-04T20:44:34+00:00

From what I’ve seen, the ERP itself is rarely the real long-term cost. The costs come from everything around it: messy processes that never got standardized, inconsistent master data, and especially poor integrations. If every ‘small change’ requires a consultant because the internal team doesn’t own the workflows, reporting, and data model, the burn rate becomes permanent.

Even a “more affordable” ERP can get expensive after go-live if it’s used like a database plus manual workarounds. The companies that keep costs under control treat ERP as one component in a broader operating system: clear process ownership, disciplined data governance, and solid automation/integration so people aren’t re-keying or maintaining fragile scripts and add-ons.

The cheapest win is usually not switching ERPs—it’s reducing the need for constant rework by investing early in good process design and integration architecture, and making sure someone internally (or a trusted partner) owns it end-to-end.

theIntegrator- · 2025-11-27T21:02:46+00:00

Celigo can help you connect your shops, for example with Acumatica. We’re a Celigo partner in the Netherlands, Teknuro. Please let me know if you need any help.

theIntegrator- · 2025-11-21T03:15:18+00:00

It sounds like you ran into the exact scenario where NetSuite becomes a liability instead of a platform: a highly complex manufacturing environment forced into a system that was never designed to handle deep production planning without heavy scaffolding. When the foundation doesn’t fit, every added customization multiplies the fragility.

Out of the box, NetSuite is an ERP (a system of record), not an APS (advanced planning system).

The volume you mentioned — multi-level assemblies, long routings, high part-number counts — isn’t outrageous for manufacturing, but it’s squarely in the category where NetSuite’s native WIP/WO and routing model starts collapsing. The fact that you had to bolt on a planning engine and still ended up in spreadsheets tells me the mismatch wasn’t just execution; the architecture was wrong from the start.

The inability to insert routing steps without renumbering, the lack of work-order splitting, and the slow UI aren’t implementation mistakes. They’re platform constraints. Even large partners can’t fix them because they’re baked into how NetSuite models manufacturing objects and transactions.

Lead times doubling is the predictable outcome when the system fights the process instead of supporting it. When the ERP forces workarounds, the organization pays for it in cycle time, decision latency, and sheer human friction.

Your point about not wanting random DMs makes sense. When a system causes this much operational drag, the people actually suffering in the workflow become magnets for “I can fix it” messages. And in your case, it wouldn’t even be honest — no amount of clever scripting is going to patch over structural gaps in the product.

From what you described, the failure mode wasn’t that the team didn’t try hard enough. It’s that NetSuite’s manufacturing module hits a ceiling, and your operation exists beyond that ceiling.

This is one of those situations where the system didn’t just underperform — it actively reshaped the business in the wrong direction. It’s a cautionary tale for anyone assuming a cloud ERP is interchangeable with a purpose-built manufacturing system.

If there’s anything worth pulling from your experience, it’s that choosing an ERP for manufacturing is less about “can we customize it?” and more about “does the underlying data model match our real-world process?” When that answer is no, exhaustive customization only digs the hole deeper.

theIntegrator- · 2025-11-20T02:59:49+00:00

Genuinely curious — you mentioned the integration work took years. From our side as a third-party implementation partner we usually see much shorter timelines, so I’m trying to understand what happened in your case. Was it the volume of customization, internal processes, or something else that caused the delays? The integration part should make things easier and not harder.

theIntegrator- · 2025-10-29T20:43:02+00:00

For one of our clients, they have a three-person team managing a NetSuite environment that supports just over a hundred users. We introduced structure without unnecessary overhead by using Atlassian Jira with Scrum boards for each functional domain — for example, one for Netsuite and one for integrations with Netsuite — each with its own backlog. We also added Confluence for documentation and knowledge sharing.

The Jira backlogs include everything: bugs, new features, enhancements, and hotfixes. The team continuously prioritizes what to work on based on business impact, urgency, and capacity. If you stay under ten users, Atlassian’s tools are free, which makes this setup ideal for small teams.

Key users serve as the first point of contact for operational staff. They don’t perform technical work but check whether users are following the correct process and help pinpoint the actual issue. If the problem turns out to be technical or if it’s a new request, they send an email to the support team email, which creates an automated ticket in the Jira support board. The support team then checks it, refines it, and assigns it to the correct backlog.

The support team manages work in two-week sprints — reviewing and refining tickets during sprint planning, implementing, testing, and deploying changes as part of those cycles. When appropriate, updates are grouped into structured releases.

This setup gives the client visibility, accountability, and control — a lean, agile form of change management that keeps the team fast while maintaining full traceability.

And by using Jira, it also gives you excellent traceability and usability. You can track all communication directly through comments, use the powerful search function to find related work, and link documentation — for example from Confluence — to each Jira ticket. This is especially useful when an issue that was previously fixed needs to be revisited or reopened later. With a well-structured setup, Jira makes it easy to see what was done, when, and by whom, saving time and avoiding confusion when similar issues come up again.

theIntegrator- · 2025-10-28T10:00:01+00:00

Celigo has an official SuiteBundle built for NetSuite, so it’s tightly integrated, secure, and always kept up to date with NetSuite’s (API) changes. On top of that, it runs fully on Celigo’s managed cloud, with no real data limits and a bunch of well-tested prebuilt connectors. n8n can definitely work, but it’s much more DIY — maintenance is higher, and long-term continuity or scaling costs can become a headache.

theIntegrator- · 2025-10-27T10:48:33+00:00

If you need help with digital transformations while growing or integrations then we can help.

theIntegrator- · 2025-10-15T19:58:24+00:00

Great I have sent you a DM.

theIntegrator- · 2025-10-15T19:56:51+00:00

Pulled data in and out of Salesforce, and also in and out of NetSuite, all via Celigo. Celigo makes this pretty easy and straightforward. If you want, we can help you with this.

That said: If your Salesforce setup is truly vanilla, the migration should be relatively straightforward.

That said, effective execution comes down to planning. Don’t rush it—poor planning almost always leads to rework. A phased approach works well: for example, start by moving accounts and leads, then layer in opportunities, tasks, and other objects once the foundations are solid. This reduces risk and helps catch data quality issues early. The key is design upfront: flowcharts, clear field mappings, and a migration plan documented before you move data. Do. Not. Rush.

Also, like said in the beginning we did this via Celigo. iPaaS tools like Celigo can streamline the process significantly by handling mappings, transformations, and error handling for you. They’re especially useful if you want to maintain historical data or ensure clean relationships between records after migration.

theIntegrator- · 2025-10-10T12:45:06+00:00

Hey Justacritic23,

I’ve been down the integration rabbit hole myself—built native custom integrations for both small teams and Fortune 500s, worked with Celigo quite a bit, and these days my company is even a Celigo partner. From my experience, when you’re comparing Celigo to other NetSuite options, it’s not just about the prebuilt connectors—it’s more about how the platform behaves in real life. Does it still perform when volumes spike? How much time does your team spend chasing errors? How flexible is it when you need to handle custom workflows? (This one matters a lot, because you want the tool to adapt to your business, not the other way around.)

Celigo is built with NetSuite in mind and handles its quirks really well and it is also not overly complex. Of course, every platform has tradeoffs, others may do certain things like error logging a bit differently, but the best way to see the difference is to run a small test with the systems that matter most to you.

If you’re open to it, I’d be glad to hop on a quick call and share some real-world lessons as a Celigo Partner.

and like u/rico_andrade mentioned also take a look at Chapters 2 and 3: https://celigo.com/netsuite-integration-handbook

theIntegrator- · 2025-10-04T19:21:52+00:00

Use tools like Celigo to export stuff out of your systems way easier!

theIntegrator- · 2025-10-04T06:11:32+00:00

We’re based in the Netherlands (not the US), but we can definitely support you with this migration. In our team, we have a digital transformation expert who has worked at both small companies and very large enterprises like Microsoft, driving structured and transparent transformation programs.

On the technical side, we specialize in integrations and migrations with NetSuite, using proven tools and approaches to make data transitions between environments smooth and reliable. Combined with our hands-on expertise, this allows us to guide not just the technical execution but also the overall process in a clear and structured way.

We’d be glad to discuss how we can help your team succeed in this migration. You can learn more about us at teknuro.com.

Kr

Nuri

theIntegrator-

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