Entartes Blog

NetSuite SuiteCommerce vs. Advanced: Choose the Best Platform

Written by Maher Chamma | Nov 14, 2024 11:36:19 AM

As e-commerce continues to reshape the retail landscape, choosing the right platform can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving. NetSuite SuiteCommerce stands out as a transformative solution, expertly bridging the gap between your ERP system and your online business needs. Are you ready to unlock the full potential of your e-commerce strategy? 

To thrive in the competitive e-commerce landscape, your platform needs to do more than just function—it must innovate. Whether your objective is to strengthen brand loyalty, captivate your audience, or educate customers, having an advanced suite of features is crucial. While NetSuite SuiteCommerce covers all essential tools, the NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced plan offers enhanced capabilities, including the ability to offer in-depth customizable features tailored to your business. 

Choosing between these two plans doesn't have to be overwhelming. We’ve broken down the core similarities and differences to clarify your options, helping you select the solution that perfectly fits your e-commerce vision. 

Join us as we explore these powerful solutions and find the right fit for your business's future! 

What is NetSuite SuiteCommerce? 

SuiteCommerce is a robust offering used to manage end-to-end e-commerce operations. From order processing, inventory, and payments, to effortless checkouts, this solution ensures to meet the growing demands of your online store. Implementing NetSuite SuiteCommerce helps businesses of all sizes while eliminating data silos, and manual intervention, and boosting overall customer experience. 

One of the standout features of SuiteCommerce is its ability to deliver fast and flexible web stores, designed to provide an exceptional omnichannel shopping experience. This means that customers can engage with your brand across various platforms—whether online, via mobile, or in-store—without any disruption. The user-friendly interface ensures that customers have a consistent and enjoyable shopping experience, regardless of how they choose to interact with your business. 

What You’ll Get with NetSuite SuiteCommerce: 

  1. Automatic updates ensure your online store stays current with the latest trends and features.  
  2. Pre-built creative themes 
  3. Its budget-friendly nature makes it an attractive choice for businesses seeking affordable options. 
  4. Seamless integration with pre-build SuiteCommerce and third-party apps 
  5. Superior flexibility, scalability and highly customizable 

What is NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced? 

SuiteCommerce Advanced (SCA) is a comprehensive e-commerce platform that seamlessly integrates with NetSuite's powerful ERP system. This synergy allows e-commerce businesses to streamline various critical operations, such as inventory and order management, ensuring that products are readily available and orders are processed efficiently. With SCA, companies can also enhance customer support and financial operations, providing a cohesive experience that drives customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

At its core, Netsuite SuiteCommerce Advanced is the same product as NetSuite SuiteCommerce.  The main difference is that the source code is unlocked, giving you the ability to tailor and customize core business logic not otherwise available in the standard SuiteCommerce product. While this may sound attractive, keep in mind that this often causes more development overhead as responsibility for management and maintenance of the application relies on you and your team.


What You’ll Get with SuiteCommerce Advanced

  1. Source code accessibility for full control over design and development. 
  2. Responsibility for managing and deploying app and version updates. 

NetSuite SuiteCommerce and SuiteCommerce Advanced: Similarities 

Before going ahead to see the differences, let's discuss what's common in both solutions. 

#1.  Business Analytics 

Data is essential for making informed decisions, and both NetSuite SuiteCommerce and SuiteCommerce Advanced provide robust analytics capabilities. These solutions provide powerful insights and analytics tools, including configurable dashboards, detailed reports, and Google Tag Manager. Together, these elements enhance your business intelligence and expand your analytical insights. 

#2. Customer Account 

Both plans allow you to utilize comprehensive customer account management functionality enabling your team to deliver tailored services effectively. Whether you need to oversee customer purchase history, locations, drop-ship options, wholesale distribution data, customer-specific details, personalized catalogs, remaining balances, stock levels, or invoices, both plans provide the flexibility to meet your needs. 

#3. Performance  

An intuitive and interactive user interface enhances audience engagement and increases the likelihood of lead conversions. With SuiteCommerce and SCA, you can leverage content delivery network (CDN) caching and single-page architecture to provide a seamless shopping experience. This leads to improved performance, faster load times, and heightened user engagement 

#4. Purchasing, Payments, and Shipping 

SuiteCommerce and SCA provide you with the flexibility to offer your potential customers a variety of alternatives for order purchasing, payment methods, and shipping. This versatility increases the likelihood of a seamless checkout experience, accommodating different payment methods to suit customer preferences 

#5. Storefront Experience 

With NetSuite SuiteCommerce and SuiteCommerce Advanced, you gain access to responsive themes with pixel-perfect design capabilities. This functionality optimizes your site for any device, making it easier for shoppers to navigate and find the products they want to buy. 

In addition to these advantages, both NetSuite SuiteCommerce and SuiteCommerce Advanced offer capabilities in website management, SEO, and marketing. Despite their many similarities, there are also significant differences to consider. Let’s explore those next. 

Difference Between SuiteCommerce vs SuiteCommerce Advanced 

While gaining a quick overview of both solutions provides valuable insights, it’s not sufficient to determine which option best suits your e-commerce business. Let’s explore the key differences between NetSuite SuiteCommerce and SuiteCommerce Advanced to help you make a well-informed decision that aligns with your unique business needs. 

Features 

SuiteCommerce 

SuiteCommerce Advanced 

Target audience 

It is highly recommended for small to medium-sized businesses, dealing with standard eCommerce requirements. 

It is suitable for large enterprises dealing with complex processes and business specific requirements. 

Customization 

Offers customization options to meet most essential business needs. Requires following NetSuite guidelines using the Extensibility API.

Offer extensive and advanced customization capabilities. Best practice involves following NetSuite guidelines using the Extensibility API and override methods for modifying core business logic.

Flexibility 

Enough flexibility to cater to your business 

Highly flexible to meet ongoing changes to your business.  Can modify core business logic as needed.

Integration 

SuiteCommerce or 3rd Party Extensions available for install. Build your own extensions for further integration needs.

SuiteCommerce or 3rd Party Extensions available for install. Untethered customization options for building your own integrations. 

Maintenance

Easier to maintain, with managed updates provided by NetSuite. May require periodic updates beyond the core updates provided by NetSuite.   

Harder to maintain. Updates are self-managed and must be planned and deployed by a developer or development team.

Implementation

Typically, easier to implement. Beyond standard implementation processes, cost may vary for custom themes and extensions.

Beyond standard implementation processes, cost may vary for custom themes and extensions.

Pricing 

More cost-effective compared to the Advanced plan. 

It requires a higher upfront investment, almost double the price of Standard.  

 

Making the Right Choice: Your E-commerce Future Awaits 

Choosing NetSuite SuiteCommerce or SuiteCommerce Advanced is one of the most important decisions an e-commerce business on NetSuite will ever make. Each platform has unique features meant for different needs, so understanding these in-depth will make a huge difference in your growth and success. Whether you’re a small to medium-sized business seeking a straightforward solution or a large enterprise requiring advanced customization and scalability, identifying the right fit is crucial. 

As we discussed, at the starting point both products start with the same set of features. NetSuite SuiteCommerce still gives you a lot of options for customization, which mainly follows the Netsuite SuiteCommerce Extensibility API. NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced gives you the ability to customize and override core business logic beyond the Extensibility layer. The tradeoff really comes down to maintenance and cost.  One strategy typically followed is to start with NetSuite SuiteCommerce and then migrate to NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced as your business evolves and the need presents itself.

At Entartes, we understand that it can get confusing when navigating your way through the options. From assessing your specific business needs to implementing the perfect solution tailored for you, our team of experts assist you throughout the process. We are committed to making the transition process as seamless as possible, allowing you to focus on what truly matters—your business. 

Schedule a consultation and embark on the journey of empowering your business with the right NetSuite solutions. Together, we can ensure you stay ahead in a rapidly evolving marketplace—because your success is our mission! 

Ready to elevate your e-commerce strategy?

 Connect today!