NetSuite Introduces New PRM Functionality

NetSuite has married two of its applications to provide additional features for clients that use itsproduct to collaborate with partners.

PRM+ integrates the company’s partner relationship management, order management and commission management apps, incorporating enhanced functionality. It allows companies outside the extranet to view projected sales commissions, and it provides better visibility into the order pipeline.

Back Office Backbone

NetSuite has been offering PRM tools since2003, Mini Peiris, NetSuite’s senior CRM productmanager told CRM Buyer, with features thatallow partners to access leads, track opportunities,find product pricing promotions, and check client support cases.

The latest iteration integrates more of the back office into the collaborationprocess, she explained. For instance, access to real-time inventory information lets partners enter new orders via their portal or convertopportunities into quotes and orders.

This growing focus on the back office sets the application apart from other PRM offerings, NetSuite claims.

“NetSuite is on a mission to correct the misguidedcourse of customer relationship management that otherCRM vendors have charted and too many companies havefollowed — they’ve built and sold PRM as a silo separatefrom core CRM and back-office operations,” said CEO ZachNelson. “NetSuite is setting thecorrect course with PRM, CRM and the back office,facilitating a seamless business process.”

Salesforce.com is another on-demand vendor thatrecently rolled out a PRM application. Called”Partnerforce,” the application supports distribution ofsales and marketing information across multipledistribution channels, recruiting and retention ofpartners, sales support, and performance measurementof partners and their customers.

The Compensation Key

Another way NetSuite seeks to differentiate itsoffering from Partnerforce and other competing offerings is throughtight integration with compensation and commissionmanagement.

The new application “gives companies greatervisibility into the revenue stream as they are able tosee what compensation or commission has beenapproved,” Peiris said.

For instance, every time a new order is entered, projected compensation is updated as a key performance indicator (KPI) on the dashboard. Also, the partner commission feature can be used as a stand-aloneapplication or in conjunction with employeecommissions for direct sales, which means thatcommission can be calculated and paid to both internalemployees and partners on the same sales transaction,if needed.

PRM+ is available now in NetSuite and NetSuite CRM+.Partner commission is available in the IncentiveCompensation module for US$299 per month; AdvancedPartner Center access is available for $49 per monthper partner.