Sponsored by NetSuite
Adam Turner
As AI reshapes the way Australian businesses scale, establishing a single, unified data source is emerging as an essential first step to ensure AI initiatives deliver on their full potential.
Many mid-market leaders have already recognised that messy, disparate systems deny them the clarity required to underpin real-time, intelligent decision-making. This challenge is reflected in the Department of Industry, Science and Resources’ AI Adoption Tracker, which reveals that only 40 per cent of Australian SMEs are currently using AI.
Starting out on a kitchen bench in Sydney’s northern beaches, Australian natural sports nutrition company True Protein has grown to almost 100 employees. As business boomed, it accumulated a “chaotic” patchwork of apps, spreadsheets and disconnected systems, says chief operating officer and chief financial officer Lachie Cornwell.
Siloed systems made it difficult to establish a clear view of operations, Cornwell says. This made confident decision-making challenging, often relying on gut feelings rather than hard facts.
“As we expanded to multiple warehouses and sales channels, the old systems just couldn’t keep up, which led to process inefficiencies that would slow us down,” he says.
“We needed a central source of truth that moved us from ‘gut feel’ to operational precision by unifying our data. This allows our teams to make better autonomous decisions based on reliable data and ensures the ‘true experience’ is seamless for every customer, every time.”
Similarly, Australian family-owned surf and coastal lifestyle brand Okanui began with a single sewing machine and is, today, focused on global expansion. According to chief executive officer Simon Kasprowicz, reliance on a rigid and inflexible ERP system caused a range of inventory management challenges, which sometimes resulted in major customer service issues.
“Inaccurate inventory impacts everything: buying, availability, forecasting and ultimately customer relationships,” says Kasprowicz. “Customers would order something that the system incorrectly said was in stock, so we’d sometimes offer free products or discounts to make up for mistakes — it was stressful for the team and disheartening for morale.
“It was also impossible to even think about something like AI in that environment. Our data was disconnected and inconsistent, so feeding low-quality data into AI or analytics just wasn’t feasible.”
These data-related growing pains are common among Australian SMEs, coming to a head as they look to unlock the benefits of AI, says Professor Ryan Williams, director of the Australian Centre for Business Growth at Adelaide University.
“Data is the fuel for any AI engine, where the old adage ‘garbage in, garbage out’ is more profound than ever,” Williams says, who believes a unified system and sophisticated operations become even more important as businesses scale beyond $20 million in turnover.
“This is often where first ERP systems are deployed to unlock the benefits promised by process automation and intelligent micro-decisioning. AI-enabled ERP systems are likely to offer additional advantages in organisations at this size and beyond.”
Adopting NetSuite’s unified, AI-driven cloud ERP system delivered a significant boost in terms of both operational efficiency and employee morale, says True Protein’s Cornwell.
“AI and automation have really come into play now that we have a unified platform for making faster, more informed decisions,” Cornwell says. “Now, everything is dynamic — we have real-time visibility into inventory flow, from production to our new robotic fulfilment system and all the way to the customer. It solves for everything – accuracy, speed and above all a better experience for our customers and team.
“NetSuite’s embedded AI has also helped streamline workflows, especially in finance and operations where we can now query data in real-time, spot issues early and address them before they become problems as we grow.”
Meanwhile, NetSuite’s integration, scalability and customisability have delivered immediate operational benefits while also opening up future opportunities, says Okanui’s Kasprowicz.
“Faster reporting ensures month-end is quicker, which frees up our team to focus on more strategic tasks instead of just gathering data,” he says. “Looking ahead, one of the biggest opportunities we see is using AI to help with product forecasting.
“NetSuite has a wealth of data — from sales to inventory to customer preferences — and embedded AI to analyse trends, predict demand and automatically reorder products will be a game changer.”
As Australian SMEs tackle the challenges of scaling, productivity gains are coming not from adding more tools, but from unifying how the business operates, says Scott Wiltshire, vice president and general manager Australia and New Zealand, Oracle NetSuite.
“A single, unified data source gives businesses a solid foundation for reliable, real-time information across the board,” Wiltshire says. “This is crucial for effective AI because reliable AI outcomes depend on reliable data inputs.”
True Protein’s Cornwell agrees and says business leaders need to focus on getting the data foundation right.
“Get your data in order, leverage AI in workflows to automate the mundane tasks that nobody gets joy out of, then move on to more sophisticated use cases,” says Cornwell.
Find out more at NetSuite.com.au
