Every purchase is more than an order. It’s a customer testing whether the brand they’ve chosen can deliver on its promise. That promise rests on basics that sound simple – stock availability, pricing accuracy, reliable fulfilment – yet are often where things unravel. If a product isn’t where it’s meant to be or a campaign doesn’t align with actual stock levels, that promise falls flat. The way stock is managed, the way campaigns are timed, and the way fulfilment is handled all become part of brand reputation. Which means, every operational detail is also a marketing moment.
At a recent Marketing Association NZ Sunrise Session in Auckland, Annexa’s Matthew Owens, Partridge CEO Nicola Owbridge and Zyber’s David Visser joined moderator Tania Large from Oracle NetSuite to unpack how connected data can help marketing leaders protect the promises they make at the front end by delivering on them at the back end.
You can watch the full panel or read our session recap below.
The shopfront sets the promise
As David from Zyber explained, the storefront is where the customer journey begins. Every click is won or lost here. It’s also where inaccurate stock, pricing or fulfilment details can instantly break trust. A beautifully designed site counts for little if what customers see online doesn’t match what’s actually available.
That’s why connected data can’t stay hidden in the back office. It shapes the customer experience from the very first touchpoint. Or as David put it, “you want to make sure that what customers are seeing online is actually available to sell.” Accuracy at this stage sets the foundation for everything that follows – fulfilment, service, repeat purchase.
The back end delivers it
Annexa’s Matthew extended that logic to the operational backbone, noting that “if you get this part right, the boring admin at the back end really becomes your competitive advantage.” The unseen processes that keep systems aligned and data accurate are what turn operational excellence into reputational strength. Because, it is only when systems are connected that processes run seamlessly and the brand promise can be upheld at every step.
The transformation of Partridge with NetSuite and Annexa
For Partridge, a luxury jeweller with more than 160 years of heritage, customer trust is central to every interaction. As the sole Rolex agent in New Zealand and a retailer expanding through new stores, digital channels and refreshed branding, the need for consistency and reliability has only grown.
Fragmented systems were making that harder to achieve. Marketing teams couldn’t always connect campaigns with in-store sales outcomes, pricing and stock data weren’t unified and separate fulfilment systems created operational risk.
Annexa worked with Partridge to consolidate finance, retail operations and eCommerce into one NetSuite environment, fully integrated with Magento 2 and RedAnt POS. The benefits of this solution reach every corner of the business. Finance gains a clear view of performance, operations can scale without system roadblocks and marketing has access to accurate, more connected data that supports stronger decision-making.
Nicola Owbridge, CEO of Partridge, described the impact: “Having all the data in one place and having that trust in the data means that from a marketing function or when you’re looking at your brand, you can make really good decisions and you can have that proof point about what’s working. We can look at how campaigns influence purchasing behaviours within a particular store or how a product is working with particular client types.”
Beyond Partridge’s transformation, the panel explored broader themes that apply to all retailers, the panel shared insights on AI, leadership, business impact and the signs it’s time to modernise.
AI as the next layer
Connected systems align departments but they also create the foundation AI needs to work at all. As Matthew explained, ERP provides a single, reliable source of data across finance, inventory and operations. Without that backbone, AI has very little to build on. With it, new and emerging AI tools can be put to work automating routine tasks, detecting anomalies and surfacing insights that drive better decisions.
The evolving role of the CMO
Marketing leaders are no longer focused only on brand and campaigns. Just as the CFO role expanded to drive transformation across the business, the CMO role is now extending into operations, customer experience and cross-team alignment. With connected data, CMOs gain the visibility they need to influence not both demand generation and the end-to-end customer journey.
Whole-of-business impact
Connected systems create value well beyond the marketing function. Finance teams gain clarity on margins, operations teams can scale with confidence and sales and service teams work from the same facts. When every department operates from one version of the truth, the entire organisation becomes more consistent, agile and customer-ready.
Signs it’s time to switch
The panel also highlighted practical signals that indicate when a business has outgrown its current systems. Campaigns running against unavailable products, reporting delays that erode confidence and manual file exports that leave channels out of date are all warning signs. Add in the complexity of new stores or regions and it soon becomes clear that disconnected systems can no longer support the growing business.
To learn more about how Annexa helps retailers unify finance, operations and marketing in NetSuite, reach out to our team.