According to Morgan Stanley, by early 2024, the buzzword “operational efficiency” was mentioned in US earnings calls more than ever. It’s a great word, and an even better practice. Businesses that practice efficiency run leaner, are more agile, and are therefore more profitable.

Practicing operational efficiency feels like a no-brainer—it’s a strong secret sauce for success.

But what exactly is operational efficiency, and how can it impact reporting and finance?

What Is Operational Efficiency?

Operational efficiency, boiled down to basics, is how well your organization is using its resources (time, money, materials, and people) to deliver quality outputs.

It’s not to be confused with productivity:

• Efficiency is working smarter (high-quality work with fewer wasted resources).
• Productivity is often just working faster (producing a lot, potentially with a lot of waste).

While high productivity is good, high operational efficiency is much better for long-term growth and sustainability.

Why Operational Efficiency is Crucial for Finance

The importance of operational efficiency can be summarized as “do more while wasting less.” The benefits are significant:

• Lower Costs and Higher Profitability: Efficient processes directly reduce waste and boost the bottom line.
• Agility and Growth: More profitability means you can invest in new innovations and technology, fostering agility for expansion.
• Better Quality Control: Refined processes, such as improved inventory management, lead to better outputs and a stronger reputation.
• Empowered Teams: When workflows are simplified, teams are empowered to make solid, data-driven decisions, leading to higher engagement.

Technology and Finance Operational Efficiency

A lot of your work toward building efficiency, especially when it comes to tasks for your finance team, starts with technology and process automation.

CEOs believe about 40% of time spent on routine activities is inefficient. To combat this, look for tools that can automate your most manual processes.

You can also drive operational efficiency by monitoring and analyzing performance through data analytics. This will clarify where you need to act and how.

• Predictive Analytics: Provides early visibility into potential issues, helping you be more proactive and less reactive.
• Real-Time Dashboards: Gives you the right information at the right time to uncover performance trends and find places for process optimization and cost reduction.

Excel for Operational Efficiency: Real-World Examples

So what does this have to do with Excel? We believe that achieving operational efficiency starts with enhancing the tools you use every day through no-code integration.

Here are two real-world examples showing how NetSuite Excel integration solves major efficiency bottlenecks:

Case 1: Automating Financial Reporting (MacKenzie-Childs)

• The Inefficient Problem: Reporting on omnichannel sales data from NetSuite was an intensely manual process that took up to 20 hours per week to complete in Excel templates.
• The ExtendInsights Solution: They integrated their NetSuite data directly into Excel. Numbers now flow into templates automatically and can be refreshed on demand.
• Result: MacKenzie-Childs was able to free up over 1000 hours per year for deeper analysis, maximizing finance operational efficiency.

Case 2: Simplifying Data Updates and Validation (ClearStar)

• The Inefficient Problem: ClearStar’s finance team was manually updating custom field values in NetSuite—a process that took up to a week for large batch updates.
• The ExtendInsights Solution: Using the upsert capabilities, ClearStar can quickly update the necessary fields in Excel and write the data back to NetSuite without using a CSV file.
• Result: Processes that were previously taking up to a week are now down to about 20 minutes. The upsert process also includes instant validation, so errors are corrected immediately, eliminating the risk of data upload failure.

Boost Your Operational Efficiency Now

If achieving operational efficiency is all about enhancing your productivity and improving profitability, then NetSuite Excel integration is a fundamental piece of your technology strategy.

Ready to see how fast your finance team can work? Get completely free, no obligation access to ExtendInsights for two weeks and see how Excel and NetSuite integration boosts your operational efficiency. Get started here.