Founded in 1973, Syndigo is the industry’s first Active Content Engine, which connects omnichannel capabilities across the entire content lifecycle to help master data for online retailers. The company serves over 50,000 global users across more than 12,000 global brands. They have offices in 14 countries, with headquarters in Chicago, as well as offices in Mexico, London, São Paulo and more. Syndigo’s mindset is focused on growth and acquiring companies with the knowledge and expertise to help them build upon their existing platform. With this growth mindset, Syndigo has acquired 12 companies since opening their doors with plans to continue this trajectory in the future.
Prior to NetSuite, the company managed several business processes in Excel, as well as several heavily customized ERP systems that they kept inheriting from their long list of acquisitions. As the company continued to grow, they quickly realized they needed a single cloud ERP solution that would provide an
easy user interface and accommodate their global footprint. NetSuite emerged as the ERP that would best support their rapid growth fueled by a swift Merger & Acquisition (M&A) strategy.
Once Syndigo implemented NetSuite, the company immediately saw a return on their investment, specifically with NetSuite’s Billing and Advanced Revenue Management (ARM) modules. Key business processes that were once managed in Excel, now were consolidated into a single system and Syndigo can perform business-critical tasks such as revenue forecasting, billing automation and expense allocations. This was a huge step in the right direction and dramatically increased efficiency within the company.
As Syndigo continued to acquire companies and grow, they searched for a partner to help guide them through the post-M&A integration process within their NetSuite environment. It was crucial for Syndigo to find a strategic partner that would learn the ins and outs of their NetSuite environment and help orchestrate these integration projects as quickly as possible in order for the company to realize the benefits of such acquisitions. Additionally, Syndigo wanted to rely on a partner that would suggest process improvements along the way. The company hoped to find a partner that was hands-on, instead of transactional.
How Charted helped
Syndigo found Charted, formerly SquareWorks Consulting, through a referral given its strong reputation in the software and technology industry and knew that both organizations would be a great match. Charted worked directly with the company to gain a better understanding of their NetSuite environment and establish a NetSuite M&A strategy while considering several process improvements along the way. With the Charted project manager, functional consultants, and technical architects, both companies agreed to a comprehensive, yet streamlined and agile plan to seamlessly integrate their acquisitions within a timely manner and provide ongoing NetSuite Premium Support.
The Charted team listened and helped us analyze our processes in a different way. They suggested process improvements and worked together with us to evaluate the pros and cons regardless of our decision.
Sagit HalpernChief Financial Officer
Projects at-a-glance
- Review of M&A strategic plan for NetSuite
- Personalized assessment of NetSuite environment
- Project planning and project management
- M&A change management
- Data migration & testing
- Integration of acquired companies
- Go-live and ongoing NetSuite Premium Support
Project planning and project management
Charted started the process by leading several sessions in order to understand Syndigo’s NetSuite environment. With each engagement, the Charted team also educated themselves on the acquired company’s processes to determine misalignment that would require additional solutioning. While Syndigo was leveraging NetSuite to manage their business, they were open to hearing best practices on how to best utilize NetSuite. Syndigo does not have an internal team to help with NetSuite integrations of this size, so it was beneficial to have a partner who could provide strong project management.
“One thing that differentiates Charted is true project management. The team is honest and that’s what we needed, especially since we don’t have those resources internally.”
Sagit Halpern,Chief Financial Officer
The Charted team exceeded Syndigo’s expectations in terms of responsiveness, timeline, and efficiency with a turnaround time of 8 to 12 weeks per acquisition from start to finish. This was a huge win for Syndigo, especially since the company’s goal is to integrate each acquisition as soon as possible so they can eliminate redundant processes and make informed business decisions with consolidated financial data.
“It really helps to work with the same partner that’s consistent and already understands our system so we can turn them around very fast. The Charted team seamlessly integrates everything in 12 weeks or less, which is a huge benefit for us.”
Sagit Halpern,Chief Financial Officer
Data migration & testing
Prior to each project kickoff, Charted provided Syndigo with actions they could start internally right away to make the data migration process as efficient as possible. This gave the project immediate momentum and prepped the team for discussions to define a strategy to ensure data in the acquired company’s system would fit properly into Syndigo’s instance of NetSuite. Charted utilized a data migration solution design to clearly outline how each data element would be migrated. Sign-off of this deliverable allowed Syndigo and Charted the confidence required to move forward with the data migration strategy.
The Charted team helped us problem solve through many different considerations prior to bringing it all together in one system. They really worked with us to understand our current NetSuite environment and how the acquired data would contribute to our overall business processes.
Sagit HalpernChief Financial Officer
Most of the companies Syndigo has acquired are small software companies leveraging Excel, or sometimes pen and paper, to manage contracts and deferred revenue. This leaves room for error, compromises any level of security or user permissions, and does not support complex workflows. It was critical for Syndigo to move this data into NetSuite’s Billing and ARM module. In most instances the acquired company also utilized a different revenue recognition method than Syndigo, adding complexity to the data migration process. Charted partnered with Syndigo to not only migrate the acquired contracts but also switch the revenue recognition method to ensure a seamless integration.
Integration
Many of the acquired companies utilized third party apps outside their ERP to run business operations. Syndigo did not want to maintain these integrations and utilized Charted to help transition those solutions to native NetSuite. This was necessary to keep business processes consistent and also reduce the amount of administration needed to support the back office.
“With every project, we know there will always be bumps in the road, even if we’ve done it a million times. With the help of Charted we overcome these challenges and end up with a seamlessly integrated NetSuite environment after each project.”
Sagit Halpern,Chief Financial Officer
Go-live and ongoing NetSuite support
Syndigo reached new heights after each integration from a product standpoint, as well as an increase in revenue. After each project, Syndigo was able to analyze consolidated data across several products they sell in one system. Syndigo also increased visibility into every aspect of their business in NetSuite without leveraging Excel or other systems to manage the acquired company’s data. Charted project management proved to be effective regarding responsiveness, timeline and efficiency, especially with a turnaround time of 8 to 12 weeks per engagement. As the company continues to expand their global footprint, they plan to partner with Charted on future M&A’s.
“With the help of the Charted team, they gave us the confidence to know that with every project we partner with them on, it will be done seamlessly and efficiently.”
Sagit Halpern,Chief Financial Officer
Syndigo not only partners with Charted to receive support and guidance through their M&A projects, but they also partner with Charted to receive ongoing support through their NetSuite Premium Support Plans. For more information about Charted NetSuite Optimization projects, including M&A’s, click here.
