NetSuite, Inc., the industry’s leading provider of cloud-based financials / ERP and omnichannel commerce software suites, today announced that Wipfli LLP (Wipfli), a Milwaukee-based consultancy ranked #12 on the 2015 Accounting Today VAR 100 list, has joined the NetSuite Solution Provider Program to launch its cloud practice responding to strong demand from its clients in manufacturing and other industries for a unified suite including ERP, customer relationship management (CRM) and omnichannel commerce. With more than 1,500 employees and 34 offices worldwide, Wipfli will now be able to provide strategic technology assessments, implementation, product optimization and ongoing multi-year managed services for NetSuite’s cloud business management suite to midmarket companies in the manufacturing, ecommerce, and distribution industries.
Founded in 1930 with more than 44,000 clients to date, Wipfli is unique among accounting and audit firms in offering a robust technology consulting practice, comprising roughly one-third of the business. The company evaluated other prospective partnerships before choosing to partner with NetSuite and broaden its technology portfolio beyond Microsoft Dynamics GP, AX, NAV and CRM applications. As a NetSuite Solution Provider, Wipfli is positioned to meet growing demand in manufacturing and other verticals for the business efficiency, visibility, flexibility and scalability possible with adoption of a cloud-based business management suite.
“With NetSuite’s integrated cloud business management suite and Wipfli’s strong manufacturing expertise, together, we can add significant value to the market,” said Mark Stevens, Partner with Wipfli’s Manufacturing and Distribution Consulting and Technology Integration Group.
With a dedicated manufacturing practice that carried out 1,600 consulting engagements in 2014, Wipfli sees abundant opportunities among midmarket manufacturers who are concerned about the overhead of on-premise IT systems and looking for the agility, efficiency, and business insights cloud solutions provide. Besides core manufacturing capabilities, Wipfli will utilize its extensive website development expertise for NetSuite SuiteCommerce implementations that can help manufacturers streamline B2B transactions and build or strengthen a direct-to-consumer sales channel.
Wipfli plans to leverage its extensive global development practice of approximately 120 developers in Bangalore and Pune, India, for NetSuite customizations and development of manufacturing-specific add-on applications. The company plans to join the NetSuite SuiteCloud Developer Network (SDN) within the year.
“Manufacturers have come out of the recession and are reinventing themselves around faster lead times, increasing capacity and reducing costs to customers,” Stevens said. “They’re looking at technology solutions to make themselves more efficient. They recognize that large investments in server rooms and IT staff are not their core competency, and that the cloud is becoming a primary consideration.”
“Wipfli has a long and distinguished history of providing a diverse range of value-added expertise and services,” said Craig West, Vice President of Channel Sales at NetSuite. “We look forward to a fruitful partnership that will bring NetSuite cloud solutions to forward-thinking companies in manufacturing and other industries.”