Philip Symons, our Group Financial Officer, shared how Safeman is leveraging NetSuite to drive better visibility, make smarter data-driven decisions, and build scalable infrastructure for long-term growth.
Safeman Australia was recently invited to take the stage at SuiteConnect – Oracle NetSuite’s premier annual conference – where our Group Finance Manager, Philip Symons, shared the story of how Safeman has transformed its financial operations using the NetSuite platform.
WHY SUITECONNECT?
SuiteConnect brings together thousands of business leaders, finance professionals and technology practitioners from across the Asia-Pacific region. Being selected to present is recognition that Safeman’s journey with NetSuite offers real value and insight for other organisations navigating similar growth challenges.
THE SAFEMAN STORY
Over the past decades, Safeman’s national footprint has expanded significantly – with distribution centres across Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and beyond. Managing inventory, financials and customer data across multiple states requires a platform that scales without creating complexity.
Philip walked the audience through how Safeman consolidated its financial reporting and inventory management into a single source of truth using NetSuite. The shift eliminated hours of manual reconciliation each month and gave leadership real-time visibility into stock levels, margins and cashflow across all locations.
SMARTER, DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS
"Before NetSuite, we were making decisions based on reports that were a week old," Philip explained to the audience. "Now our team has dashboards that refresh in real time. We can see exactly where we stand – and act on it."
That shift from reactive to proactive decision-making has had a measurable impact on the business. Safeman’s purchasing team can now anticipate stock shortfalls before they affect customers, and the finance team spends less time compiling data and more time analysing it.
BUILDING FOR LONG-TERM GROWTH
Beyond the immediate operational improvements, Philip’s presentation highlighted how Safeman is using NetSuite as a foundation for long-term scale. With standardised processes, automated workflows and integrated CRM functionality, the business is positioned to continue expanding its national presence without proportionally increasing its administrative overhead.
The response from the SuiteConnect audience was overwhelmingly positive. Several attendees reached out after the session to learn more about Safeman’s implementation approach and the lessons learned along the way.
WHAT’S NEXT
Safeman continues to invest in digital infrastructure that supports its team and its customers. If your organisation is navigating similar challenges – managing multi-site operations, scaling financial processes, or improving supply chain visibility – we’d be happy to share what we’ve learned. Get in touch with our team.