CASE STUDY
Novus Media.
A journey through improved system architecture, and the consolidation of all systems to a single platform.
Location
Minneapolis, United States
Industries
Advertising and Digital Marketing Agencies
Specialization
Print Media, Digital Media, Services & Software.
Novus Media Overview
Novus Media is the #1 print buyer in North America with $300+ million in annual revenue, serving some of the largest brands for print media campaigns. Strategically headquartered in Minneapolis, their main print media hub for customers is in the United States, with OOH coverage in Canada. Prior to their NetSuite journey, Novus was operating with two accounting systems with a host of proprietary and third-party software, connected by a variety of different technologies. Consistency in system design, an overall strong architecture, and a lack of ability to reconcile on a single platform were the biggest challenges to their ability to grow.
Challenges - Novus Media
Addressing Financial Reconciliation Challenges
Novus Media faced significant reconciliation issues, with spend data and their accounting system operating in isolation. This disconnect resulted in delayed AR invoicing, AP processing, and financial close cycles—sometimes extending to a month. The lack of synchronization caused discrepancies between AP billing and AR payments, prompting Novus to aim for a more streamlined process where vendor payments were aligned with customer payments for media.
Overcoming Scalability Constraints
With over 5 million transaction lines per quarter to manage, Novus struggled with scalability and the need for process automation. Their existing system couldn’t handle the increasing volume of vendor bills, leading to reliance on offshore operations. As the business grew, operational costs and inefficiencies rose proportionally, underscoring the need for a more scalable and automated solution.
Resolving System Fragmentation
Novus Media’s architecture consisted of 15 disparate systems, interconnected by various technologies that lacked scalability and reliability. This fragmented setup caused frequent errors, data inconsistencies, and ambiguities across their operations. To ensure accurate and cohesive data management, a unified system became imperative.
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ERP Solution - Novus Media
Financial Reconciliation and Efficiency
Appficiency addressed Novus Media’s financial reconciliation challenges by implementing Netsuite, a robust ERP solution. Within three months of implementation, financial close cycles were reduced from 25 days to just five business days. AR invoicing was accelerated by 45%, and the longstanding disparity between AR and AP was resolved through the enforcement of a “pay when paid” policy for vendor bills, ensuring better cash flow alignment.
Process Automation and Accuracy
Automation played a key role in transforming operational efficiency. Business rules now govern the workflow, eliminating the need for manual line-by-line reconciliation. Instead, the ERP system automatically reconciles the majority of transactions, allowing the team to focus only on exceptions and discrepancies. This shift drastically reduced manual workloads and improved overall accuracy.
Scalability and Transaction Volume Management
To address scalability, Appficiency integrated Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to automate vendor bill processing. Digital vendor bills are now automatically reconciled according to predefined business rules, reducing human intervention to exception handling. As a result, Novus Media processes over five million transaction lines per quarter with a lean team of fewer than 15 staff members, demonstrating significant cost and operational efficiency improvements.
By consolidating operations into a single system of record, Appficiency enabled Novus Media to overcome its challenges and achieve a streamlined, scalable, and accurate financial and operational framework.
Outcome - Novus Media
Outcome
Novus Media experienced transformative results post-implementation. Financial close became faster and more efficient, with a dramatic reduction in processing time. The automation of vendor bills and transaction reconciliation allowed the business to handle over five million transaction lines per quarter with a lean team of under 15 people. Manual workloads were minimized, and operational accuracy significantly improved. With a scalable and streamlined framework in place, Novus Media achieved both operational and financial efficiency, paving the way for sustained growth.
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