Why Ecom Managers Think They Hate NetSuite
And why they're wrong...
If you’ve worked in retail long enough, you’ve either heard, or said, the words "I hate NetSuite." Maybe it was after spending ten minutes trying to find a product. Maybe it was while waiting on a report that used to be a simple Shopify export. Maybe it was just the UI - which, let’s be honest, looks more 2003 than 2025.
But here's the thing: most ecommerce managers don’t actually hate NetSuite. They hate being dropped into a complex system with no training, no context, and no idea how it fits into their workflows.
In this article, we’re unpacking why NetSuite gets such a bad rap from ecom teams, and why it doesn’t deserve it.
Shopify is a Gateway Drug
Shopify is modern, clean, and designed for marketers. NetSuite is... not. It’s built for finance and ops teams, with layers of structure, logic, and menus that look more like early-2000s Windows than anything you'd find in a SaaS marketing stack.
So when ecom teams, that are used to Shopify, log in to NetSuite - they get whiplash. It’s a culture clash. That initial friction is real. And it shapes their opinion before they even get to grips with what NetSuite can actually do.
"It doesn't look slick. It doesn't look user-friendly. But once they understand what you can do with it, they start to warm up to it." - Maxime
The Real Problem? No One Taught Them How to Use It
In most ERP projects, ecommerce teams get brought in too late. Maybe they test a few things before go-live. Maybe they get a two-hour training session. Maybe they inherit the system without any involvement at all.
That means they’re left with a powerful tool, but no mental model for how it fits into their day-to-day. No shortcuts. No confidence. Just unfamiliar territory.
What They're Missing Out On
Once they do get shown what’s possible, things change fast. We’ve seen ecom teams shift from frustration to enthusiasm when they get the right workflows in place.
Here are a few common examples:
Product setup: Let NetSuite handle the heavy lifting (SKUs, barcodes, pricing) so the ecom team can focus on imagery, descriptions, and merchandising.
In one recent project, the product and merchandising teams were responsible for entering all the critical data; SKUs, product titles, prices, barcodes, and weights, into NetSuite. That data was then synced automatically to Shopify, cutting down on manual errors and saving the ecommerce team hours of duplication and checks. It also meant every product had a consistent setup across channels.
Early product visibility: One brand even pushed CAD images of new products into NetSuite before the photography had been completed. Those CAD images then synced into Shopify, giving ecommerce teams a visual reference point long before the photoshoot. It might sound minor, but being able to visually identify which product is which when you’ve got 20 similar black T-shirts? That matters.
Inventory visibility: Multi-channel stock reporting in Shopify is messy. In NetSuite, it’s all in one place. In Shopify, you never have visibility of when stock is coming back in. Being able to see when Stock should be coming back in, lets Ecom teams plan when re-buy products should be republished to drive more back-in-stock subscriptions, creating that HYPE.
Feature performance: Launch something new on the front end? Make that data available on an order and sync it to NetSuite. Now it should be much easier to track the performance of the feature and its ROI.
Pricing control: Plan markdowns centrally in NetSuite, sense-check them, then push them live when ready. It’s impossible to preview markdown prices on Published Products in Shopify, but if you manage your prices in NetSuite you can make sure you’re happy with them before pressing the big red button.
"One of our clients used to have to download a report, pivot it in Excel, then try to make sense of it. Now she logs into NetSuite and sees a dashboard." - Dom
They Don't Hate NetSuite. They Hate Getting Blamed
One of the biggest reasons ecommerce managers feel burned by ERP systems is that they’re often the ones left holding the bag.
They didn’t choose the system. They didn’t set it up. But if the product page goes live with the wrong image, or the Black Friday discount doesn’t trigger, guess who’s answering the call?
Ecom managers don’t want to be responsible for pricing or ops decisions. But they’re often expected to be the failsafe. That’s a stressful place to be, especially in a tool they don’t feel confident in.
What Needs to Change
Involve ecom early. Give them input in the ERP project, not just the end result.
Train them properly. Not just what buttons to press, but what NetSuite can do for them.
Design for their workflows. Build dashboards, reports, and data flows that match how ecom teams actually work.
When you do that, everything shifts. Suddenly, the system that felt alien becomes a source of clarity. It becomes the place they go to find answers, not frustrations.
Final Thought
Ecom managers don’t hate NetSuite. They hate being kept in the dark, left out of the setup, and forced to use a system they never got shown how to use.
But when they’re brought into the process and supported properly, it turns out NetSuite isn’t the enemy, it’s their secret weapon.