Brennan Industries is using Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex to develop custom applications that run inside NetSuite, including a sales screen that captures CRM information while employees answer customer inquiries about pricing and delivery.
The hydraulic components manufacturer’s approach puts AI into software development, then deploys the resulting functionality as SuiteScript within its existing ERP environment. That gives the company a way to simplify everyday tasks without requiring an AI agent to perform every recurring operation.
CIO Ryan King described the work in a diginomica interview published November 2, following a conversation at SuiteWorld 2026.
Capturing customer history during the sales call
King’s production example addresses a familiar operational gap: employees could answer questions and place orders, but recording the surrounding customer conversation required additional navigation. Those interaction details often went unrecorded.
The new screen combines pricing and delivery inquiries with background updates to NetSuite CRM. King said he built it in an afternoon, giving the business customer interaction history and information for follow-up.
For a manufacturer and supplier of hydraulic, pneumatic, and instrumentation components, the connection between customer service and operational information is direct. A caller asking about a part needs an answer that sales staff can retrieve during the conversation. Capturing the interaction within that same task can make CRM documentation part of the work itself.
How the applications run inside NetSuite
SuiteScript provides the technical foundation for this approach. Oracle describes it as a JavaScript-based API for extending NetSuite, with access to supported forms, records, and customization objects.
According to Oracle’s SuiteScript documentation, developers can use it to create custom interfaces, run searches, validate inputs, and trigger processing when records change. Scripts can be deployed through the SuiteCloud Development Framework or uploaded and configured through NetSuite’s interface.
These capabilities help explain how a focused employee screen can connect to broader ERP processes. The interface can expose the fields and actions needed for a particular task while code handles supported record operations behind it.
King’s rationale for deploying repeatable tasks in NetSuite includes controlling ongoing AI token consumption. The interview provides no quantified cost comparison or independently measured productivity results.
ERP knowledge remains part of development
King emphasized that directing the coding tools still requires detailed knowledge of NetSuite processes.
Oracle’s current development resources reflect that requirement. Its SuiteCloud plug-in supports both Codex and Claude Code, with guidance covering SuiteScript, security, permissions, documentation, and modernization. Separate development skills provide references for records and fields, deployment permissions, and secure coding. The interview does not establish whether Brennan used those particular resources.
For ERP teams considering similar projects, the distinction between generating a working screen and maintaining a dependable application matters. Faster development still leaves decisions about which records a script can change, how inputs are checked, who can use it, and how future changes will be tested. Those responsibilities remain with the organization deploying the customization.
Sources
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