Sage 300 to NetSuite Migration for a Mid-Market Distributor
Melbourne distribution business with 14 years on Sage 300 migrated to NetSuite. Eight SDK customisations assessed: three retired as standard NetSuite features, five rebuilt. Nine years of inventory and financial history migrated. Seven Crystal Reports replaced with real-time NetSuite dashboards.
Distribution business: 68 staff, wholesale distribution of industrial components
A Melbourne-based wholesale distributor of industrial components supplying manufacturers across Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales. The business had been on Sage 300 for fourteen years, running AR, AP, IC, OE, and PO modules with a custom project costing layer.
Over fourteen years, the Sage 300 environment had accumulated eight SDK customisations. The most significant was a freight cost allocation module built in VB.NET that split freight costs across order lines based on weight and volume. A second significant customisation managed landed cost tracking for imported goods. The remaining six were smaller: field additions, validation rules, and workflow modifications.
The business ran seven Crystal Reports for management purposes: three financial summaries, a product margin report, a supplier on-time delivery report, an inventory turnover report, and a backorder aging report. These were distributed weekly by email as PDFs.
What needed to change
The business had been evaluating migration for three years. The SDK customisations were the primary blocker: each time the conversation progressed, the complexity and cost of the SDK rebuild came back higher than expected. The business was not prepared to lose the freight cost allocation logic, which had taken years to refine.
The landed cost tracking customisation was equally important. The business imported approximately 40% of its inventory from Asia. The SDK customisation applied landed costs (freight, duty, and insurance) to individual inventory items at the time of goods receipt. Rebuilding this logic accurately was non-negotiable.
A secondary concern was the Crystal Reports. Seven reports had been in use for years. Some were distributed to the board. The finance team was clear that these needed to work on day one. Static PDF reports emailed weekly were acceptable to the business; what was not acceptable was losing visibility for six months while reports were rebuilt as a post-migration phase.
The IT manager had also expressed concern about the NetSuite data model for inventory. Sage 300 handles multi-location inventory at the bin level, and the business used bin-level tracking for approximately 3,000 high-velocity SKUs. They wanted confirmation this would survive the migration cleanly.
What we built
Migrated to NetSuite with nine years of inventory and financial history. Eight SDK customisations assessed: three retired as standard NetSuite features. Freight cost allocation and landed cost tracking rebuilt as NetSuite SuiteScript customisations. Seven Crystal Reports replaced with live NetSuite dashboards. Bin-level inventory for 3,000 SKUs migrated clean.
Sage 300 Data Extraction & Migration
Full SQL extraction from Sage 300: chart of accounts, 2,400 customer accounts, 680 supplier records, inventory catalogue with 11,200 SKUs including bin-level locations for 3,000 items, nine years of transaction history, and open AP/AR. Python ETL pipeline with PostgreSQL staging. Three test migrations run before production cutover.
SDK Customisation Assessment
All eight SDK customisations assessed. The field additions, validation rules, and two of the workflow modifications were confirmed as standard NetSuite features requiring no rebuild. The freight cost allocation module, landed cost tracking customisation, and one workflow modification were confirmed as requiring SuiteScript builds. This reduced the rebuild scope from eight to three.
SuiteScript Customisation Build
Three SuiteScript customisations built: freight cost allocation (splitting freight across order lines by weight/volume, matching the Sage 300 logic including the client's specific allocation rules), landed cost tracking (applying freight, duty, and insurance to inventory items at goods receipt), and the custom purchase order approval workflow.
Crystal Reports Replacement
All seven Crystal Reports rebuilt as NetSuite Saved Searches and Reports: three financial summaries, product margin report, supplier on-time delivery report, inventory turnover report, and backorder aging report. All seven live in NetSuite before go-live. Finance team retrained and distributing from NetSuite rather than emailing PDFs.
How it works
Sage 300 Environment Audit
Connected to Sage 300 SQL database. All eight SDK customisations catalogued. Seven Crystal Reports reviewed and confirmed as in active use. All integration points mapped. Bin-level inventory structure confirmed with warehouse manager. Full scope document produced.
SDK Assessment & NetSuite Feature Mapping
Each SDK customisation mapped against NetSuite standard features. Three confirmed as covered by standard NetSuite functionality. The freight cost allocation rules documented in detail with client sign-off before any rebuild code was written.
Data Mapping & ETL Build
Sage 300 to NetSuite data model mapping — the most complex part given the platform differences. Bin-level inventory mapping addressed specifically: confirmed NetSuite bin management handles the same structure. ETL pipeline built. First test migration at week 9.
SuiteScript Build
Three SuiteScript customisations developed. Freight allocation module tested against 500 historical Sage 300 orders to confirm the calculated allocations matched the original SDK results within acceptable tolerance. Landed cost module tested against six months of goods receipts.
Crystal Reports Rebuild
Seven Crystal Reports rebuilt as NetSuite Saved Searches and Reports. Finance team reviewed each one against the original Crystal Report output. All confirmed as matching before go-live.
Integration Rebuild & Cutover
Two integrations (CRM sync and EDI order feed from key supplier) rebuilt on NetSuite REST API. Three-week parallel run. End-of-quarter cutover. Sage 300 kept in read-only mode for 90 days.
Measurable outcomes
The freight cost allocation module was the reason we had been delaying for three years. Every time we got a quote, the rebuild estimate came back at a number that was hard to justify. HELLO PEOPLE validated our actual allocation rules against 500 historical orders and delivered a SuiteScript build that matched them exactly. That was the conversation that got the project approved.
How we delivered it
Sage 300 Audit & SDK Assessment
3 weeksSQL database catalogued. Eight SDK customisations assessed. Seven Crystal Reports reviewed. Bin-level inventory structure confirmed. Full scope document produced.
Data Mapping & ETL Build
6 weeksSage 300 to NetSuite data model mapping. ETL pipeline built including bin-level inventory. First test migration and finance team validation.
SuiteScript Build
8 weeksThree SuiteScript customisations developed. Freight module validated against 500 historical orders. Landed cost module validated against goods receipt history.
Crystal Reports Rebuild & Integrations
5 weeksSeven reports rebuilt in NetSuite. Two integrations rebuilt on NetSuite REST API. All validated before cutover.
Parallel Run & Cutover
3 weeks (+ 1 week buffer)Three-week parallel run. End-of-quarter cutover. Post-cutover support through first management reporting cycle.
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