In the manufacturing space, understanding the planned costs vs actual costs associated with a work order can be a daunting task. While you may have all the required data in the ERP, collecting the right data and analyzing it in a meaningful way is not always easy. To solve this conundrum, NetSuite rolled out the Cost Variance Analysis SuiteApp which aims to provide visibility into cost variances at the component and operation level. The SuiteApp is fairly easy to install and has nominal requirements.
Prerequisites
Enable the following features before installing the SuiteApp. These features can be found by navigation to Setup > Company > Enable features, and tend to be enabled already in most instances:
After enabling all prerequisites, navigate to the SuiteApp Marketplace and search for Cost Variance Analysis. The publisher should be Oracle NetSuite and should look something like this:
Install the SuiteApp, which takes a few minutes. After installation, navigate to Reports > Cost Accounting > Cost Variance Analysis.
The SuiteApp has a simple interface, which includes a search form you populate and submit to run the report. You have the option to enter a specific work order number to view detailed variance analysis. However, you do not have to do this and can instead search for work orders by item, as shown below.
As shown above, NetSuite will populate a list of work orders (or the work order if you specified it on the form) with the following column information:
The results on this page can be downloaded or emailed directly from NetSuite. You will notice you can click on the work order itself, which allows you to drill down and have detailed information about that work order.
The detail page provides insight into the revision used, the routing used, and includes cost breakdowns by Cost Category, Component, and Conversion Costs.
This page too can export or email from NetSuite, allowing you to share analysis results with relevant parties.
Last but not least the SuiteApp, which is developed by NetSuite, is free to install provided you meet the basic requirements outlined above. I recommend installing it and seeing for yourself if it is a good value add to your business.
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