Anthony Cerone Senior NetSuite Consultant

My Goal is to Make our Clients’ Lives Easier

November 17, 2023

Welcome to the KES Employee Spotlight Series. Our goal, at Kraft Enterprise Systems, is to introduce you to the members of our team and provide valuable insight into Cloud ERP trends and NetSuite topics, and share our business philosophy — all from a KES employee’s point of view.

Featured Team Member

Anthony Cerone, Senior NetSuite Consultant

1. How would you describe your role as a Senior NetSuite Consultant at KES? And what is your favorite thing about working with KES clients?

As a consultant, I tap into my people pleasing tendencies to ensure that our clients have the best experience with Kraft Enterprise Systems (KES) as an organization and also with their NetSuite environment. I work with clients, getting to know their daily tasks and responsibilities, and work to train them on time saving measures. Better than that, I look for ways that we can enhance their NetSuite instance and provide solutions that enable automation. My goal is to allow our clients to spend their time thinking and analyzing data in NetSuite to solve bigger problems, rather than mechanically clicking buttons to do tasks. I love working with new team members and finding ways to make their days more enjoyable, whether it’s a new shortcut, automating a tedious process, or finding new ways to fix the various issues that arise with growing companies.

2. You are also a Project Manager with KES. How do those responsibilities differ from being a NetSuite Consultant and what value do these advisory services bring to clients?

As a project manager, I get to work with our great consulting team to ensure that we are delivering a successful product to our clients. My job involves leveraging my expertise in NetSuite to help our clients understand what they can achieve with the software. I am responsible for creating and executing project plans that ensure our clients can go live on NetSuite as quickly as possible while also making sure that they have a forward-thinking approach to their NetSuite implementations. Additionally, I work with the consulting team at KES to both teach and learn from various issues that arise during client projects.

“My goal is to allow our clients to spend their time thinking and analyzing data in NetSuite to solve bigger problems, rather than mechanically clicking buttons to do tasks."

3. Can you tell us about your professional background?

I started as a consultant in 2016 and joined KES in 2021. While my main system of expertise is NetSuite, I’ve also worked with other ERP and CRM systems during my career. I’ve worked with organizations of all sizes (from start-ups to billion-dollar companies) and have spanned across multiple industries with a heavy focus on financial service firms and software companies.

Within NetSuite, I’ve been positioned as the team expert in both Fixed Assets and Advanced Revenue Module (ARM). I’ve witnessed and solved many ugly issues related to both these areas of NetSuite. I’ve also helped numerous clients with custom records, workflows, and integration tools (such as ETL and iPaaS) that bring more automation within NetSuite.

4. What is your biggest strength, focus, or passion? What value do you bring to clients?

My biggest strength is having a vision for what improvements our clients can achieve on NetSuite and their IT systems in general. I believe my role as a consultant is to offer ideas on automation, customizations, and process improvements to make their lives easier. I love nothing more than walking away from a client meeting and knowing they were heard, and their lives improved.

"I love nothing more than walking away from a client meeting and knowing our clients were heard, and their lives improved."

5. What are your forward-looking goals in relation to KES and/or clients?

I would love to be a team member at KES for a long time, yearning to expand our current client base and the abilities of our consulting team. I enjoy collaborating with our team because we work well together. We are constantly learning from each other, whether it’s lessons from implementation issues that arise, best practices for a particular industry, or advancements in technology that could benefit our clients. I believe this approach fosters a professional, forward-looking team that continues to get better day-in and day-out.

6. What advice do you have for clients who are hesitant to move to NetSuite?

There is no perfect ERP tool or system that will solve every need. But, what you should look for in new software system is the ability to have flexibility and opportunity for continual improvement. NetSuite checks both of those boxes. NetSuite provides semiannual upgrades, which shows they listen to their customers and are always looking for ways to improve. In my experience as an ERP consultant for the last seven years, NetSuite excels in both broad depth and the ability to add enhancements and customizations to the system without modifying the source code. If there is a potential solution available, it can be solved on the NetSuite platform.

"There is no perfect ERP tool or system that will solve every need. But, what you should look for in new software system is the ability to have flexibility and opportunity for continual improvement."

7. What is the best career advice you received?

The best advice I’ve received is to know the bounds of your knowledge. Answering the question “what don’t I know?” is more important than “what do I know?” It’s a strange shift in thinking, but it forces you to have self-awareness of your abilities and know when to ask for help or seek further guidance. I’ve found that leaders who are open to hearing and learning from others tend to make the best decisions because they are rooted in truth and knowledge rather than on gut feelings. Understanding the depths of your knowledge allows you to go out, seek, and learn more to fill in the gaps in life.

8. What do you like to do outside of work?

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my wife, going to new restaurants in Philadelphia, seeing plays, and working on strength training. I am also a sports enthusiast and have been fortunate to attend two national championships in person – New Jersey Devils winning the 2003 Stanely Cup and my alma mater Villanova Wildcats winning the 2016 NCAA basketball championship. One of my personal bucket list goals is to visit all the MLB ballparks. There are 30 current MLB teams, and I’ve been to 11 stadiums so far.