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How DoorDash scaled without a costly ERP overhaul

How DoorDash scaled without a costly ERP overhaul

Presented by NetSuite Most companies racing from startup to an industry leader face a choice: limp along with scrappy early systems or endure a costly platform migration. DoorDash did neither. The local-commerce giant scaled from its 2013 founding through IPO and global expansion — acquiring the Helsiniki-based technology company Wolt in 2022 and UK-based Deliveroo in 2025 — while keeping its original Oracle NetSuite business system. Today, it serves over 50 million consumers in more than 40 countries.* Chief Accounting Officer Gordon Lee says the secret is building a scalable ecosystem that allows teams to use tools that work best for them. Choosing flexibility over uniformity When DoorDash selected NetSuite as its corporate financial control center, it wasn't looking for a system to enforce uniformity. It sought a scalable platform that could connect all its systems, from ERP, CRM, HR, sourcing, and more. "Our philosophy has been to create a platform that allows our customers and business partners to use whatever tools work best for them," Lee says. "When we're managing growth, the majority of the conversation is about managing expectations — what people expect when you grow from A to B." The migration question Two years after its founding, DoorDash surpassed one million deliveries and expanded into Canada. As the company scaled, Lee faced growing pressure from vendors insisting that rapid growth required a new enterprise platform. He ran the numbers. The move to another platform could cost millions and consume months of his team's focus. Instead, DoorDash stayed with NetSuite, which continued to scale alongside the company’s growth. Built on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, NetSuite delivers the performance and reliability of an enterprise platform without the cost or disruption of migration. Lee concluded: "Why do I bother to move? I already have the scalability I need from NetSuite." Today, DoorDash’s NetSuite backend provides enterprise-grade security while its familiar front end provides the team flexibility, creating a stable, modern foundation for sustained, high-velocity growth. Expanding the menu without the technical indigestion That flexibility soon proved invaluable. The ability to add new applications quickly — without long, costly integrations — became a major advantage during hypergrowth. For example, as DoorDash expanded from restaurant delivery into grocery, convenience, and retail, Lee turned to NetSuite’s inventory modules to handle the distinct demands of those new categories. “The flexibility to have and not have, and turn the switch on and off, is easy because it’s all integrated,” he explains. Today, DoorDash’s technology stack spans multiple systems — all integrating seamlessly with NetSuite as the financial hub. “They do it, and you’re done,” Lee says. Embedding expertise to scale smarter, not bigger For Lee, true partnerships turn vendors into part of the team — and that’s exactly how he describes NetSuite Advanced Customer Support (ACS). "They are here with us every week. They know all my schematics, they know all my data infrastructure, they know all my database structure within NetSuite. Essentially, they are an extension of my team," Lee explains. Close collaboration benefits both parties. DoorDash keeps NetSuite attuned to the realities of hypergrowth and gets instant feedback on technology capability and scalability. In turn, NetSuite stays close to a marquee customer. Interaction is ongoing — and frank, according to Lee. “We work directly with NetSuite ACS and often ask, 'Can NetSuite do this?’ If they can prove it can, we stay with NetSuite." Another benefit is the ability to extend DoorDash's expertise without expanding headcount. "If someone says to me, 'Gordon, you're just an accountant. How do you know about systems? I say, I don't. I have a network guy with us, an expert.’ That's the kind of partner I want to surround myself with, so that I can grow beyond what I am.” By embedding expertise within our partnerships, DoorDash scales with precision and control. Lee says the model applies to other companies preparing for IPOs or global expansion. He adds that sustainable growth depends as much on shared understanding as on technology itself. Too often, finance and IT “look at the same requirement but see completely different things,” Lee says, describing what he calls the “blue versus purple” problem. “The accountant doesn’t understand the configuration of the system,” he explains. “The IT guy doesn’t understand what the accountant was trying to tell them.” NetSuite bridges that gap. With a unified data model and built-in best practices across finance, operations, and more, it keeps teams aligned and information consistent. That close collaboration, Lee notes, is what keeps rollouts smooth, data clean, and growth sustainable at any stage. AI strategy: Trust only internal data, get data ducks in a row Lee plans to test the NetSuite AI Connector Service — which supports Model Context Protocol (MCP) and lets customers connect their own AI to NetSuite — to see how faster access to accurate data can drive growth. By implementing an internal instance, Lee is less worried about disruptive errors from LLMs trained on public data sources. "Think about a generative AI chatbot. When you ask a question, it can reflect many perspectives,” he explains. On the other hand, a chatbot trained on private enterprise systems benefits from “a clean data infrastructure.” Lee is taking a methodical approach: first get data pristine, then train AI on domain-specific terminology, and finally see how internal AI can both find the right information and automate downstream accounting processes to save resources and accelerate growth. Betting long-term on its original financial core From early growth to major acquisitions that helped expand its footprint across the globe, DoorDash has relied on NetSuite as a consistent foundation for innovation and scale. Lee credits NetSuite’s flexible architecture and close partnership with helping enable DoorDash as it continued to scale and cement itself as a leader in local commerce globally. His mantra is simple: “Focus on growth instead of churning through vendors.” * Based on the combined numbers for DoorDash, Wolt, and Deliveroo, measured as of September 2025. Sponsored articles are content produced by a company that is either paying for the post or has a business relationship with VentureBeat, and they’re always clearly marked. For more information, contact sales@venturebeat.com .

Naver, the largest South Korean buyer of Nvidia chips, is pitching its AI cloud services as an alternative for countries reluctant to use US or Chinese services (Song Jung-a/Financial Times)

Naver, the largest South Korean buyer of Nvidia chips, is pitching its AI cloud services as an alternative for countries reluctant to use US or Chinese services (Song Jung-a/Financial Times)

Song Jung-a / Financial Times : Naver, the largest South Korean buyer of Nvidia chips, is pitching its AI cloud services as an alternative for countries reluctant to use US or Chinese services —  Naver targets countries reluctant to use American and Chinese cloud systems out of security concerns

Google Chrome 150 Will Be Last Version to Support macOS Monterey

Google Chrome 150 Will Be Last Version to Support macOS Monterey

Google has confirmed that its Chrome 150 browser update coming later this year will be the last version to support macOS Monterey. Going forward, Chrome 150 and later versions will no longer support macOS 12, which Apple released in October 2021. In a platform status update , Google says that on Macs running Monterey, Chrome 150 will continue to work, but the browser will display a warning infobar and will not update any further. For new installations of Chrome 151+, macOS 13 or newer will be required. Google has not announced an exact release date for Chrome 150. But based on the current stable channel being at version 143 and that Google typically releases major new Chrome versions roughly every four weeks, Chrome 150 is likely to be rolled out sometime around mid-2026. To stay up-to-date with the latest browsing standards and to maintain online security, users on Monterey should update their macOS version, or choose another third-party browser like Firefox that is still receiving updates for their version of macOS. Tag: Google Chrome This article, " Google Chrome 150 Will Be Last Version to Support macOS Monterey " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums

Apple Tops 2025 Smartphone Market With 20% Share, 10% Growth

Apple Tops 2025 Smartphone Market With 20% Share, 10% Growth

Apple emerged as the global smartphone market leader in 2025, capturing a 20% market share with 10% year-over-year shipment growth – the highest among the top five brands, according to data released today by Counterpoint Research . Global smartphone shipments grew 2% year-over-year in 2025, marking the second consecutive year of growth. Counterpoint said the market was driven by more consumers taking advantage of financing options to upgrade to premium devices, as well as increasing adoption of 5G devices in emerging markets. Samsung ranked second behind Apple with a 19% market share and modest 5% shipment growth, while Xiaomi retained third place with 13% share. "Apple's growth in 2025 was driven by its expanding presence and rising demand across emerging and mid-size markets, supported by a stronger product mix," said Counterpoint senior analyst Varun Mishra. "The iPhone 17 series gained significant traction in Q4 following its successful launch, while the iPhone 16 continued to perform exceptionally well in Japan, India and Southeast Asia." Apple's performance was said to have been amplified by the pandemic-era upgrade cycle reaching an inflection point, with millions of users due for device replacement. In Q4 2025, Apple accounted for one-quarter of global shipments, its highest-ever quarterly share, according to the report. While U.S. tariff concerns prompted manufacturers to front-load shipments in the first half of the year, the impact actually proved milder than anticipated, and the effects on second-half volumes were limited. However, Counterpoint's outlook for 2026 is more conservative. "The global smartphone market is set to soften in 2026 amid DRAM/NAND shortages and rising component costs, as chipmakers prioritize AI data centers over smartphones," said Counterpoint research director Tarun Pathak. The firm has subsequently revised its 2026 forecast downward by 3%, although Apple and Samsung are expected to remain resilient thanks to their stronger supply chain capabilities. Tag: Counterpoint This article, " Apple Tops 2025 Smartphone Market With 20% Share, 10% Growth " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums

Price war: Save $300 on Apple's 1TB 14-inch MacBook Pro with 20-core GPU

Price war: Save $300 on Apple's 1TB 14-inch MacBook Pro with 20-core GPU

Amazon and B&H are competing for your business, with a $300 discount on Apple's upgraded M4 Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro with 1TB of storage . Save $300 on a 1TB M4 Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro with a 20-core GPU. With the $300 discount at Amazon and B&H Photo , you can pick up Apple's upgraded 14-inch MacBook Pro for $2,099 when ordered in Space Black. Save $300 on 14" MacBook Pro Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Apple Opposes India's Plan to Access iOS Source Code

Apple Opposes India's Plan to Access iOS Source Code

Apple and other smartphone manufacturers are resisting an Indian government proposal that would require them to hand over source code for security review, reports Reuters . The proposal is included in a package of 83 security standards that India is considering as legal requirements, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to boost security of user data following increases in online fraud and data breaches in the country. Beyond routine measures like notifying the government of major updates and storing security audit logs, the standards would force manufacturers to hand over source code to government-designated labs to check for vulnerabilities. Apple, Google, Samsung, Xiaomi, and industry group MAIT have all reportedly objected, citing a lack of global precedent and concerns about revealing proprietary details. The standards were originally drafted in 2023 but are only now under government consideration. Tech company executives are expected to meet Tuesday to discuss the matter. IT secretary S. Krishnan told Reuters the government will address legitimate concerns "with an open mind," adding it was "premature to read more" into the proposals. The country's IT ministry also said it "refutes the statement" that it is considering seeking source code from smartphone makers, despite the requirement appearing in the government documents reviewed by Reuters . A ministry spokesperson told the news organization it could not comment further due to ongoing consultation with tech companies on the proposals. Apple in December resisted an Indian government directive that would require all iPhones sold in the country to ship with a preinstalled state-run security app. The government ultimately decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for manufacturers after protests from privacy advocates, political opposition, and industry pushback. Tag: India This article, " Apple Opposes India's Plan to Access iOS Source Code " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums

Despite projections of memory shortages for PCs and phones, producers like Micron will proceed cautiously in adding new capacity, mindful of past downcycles (Dan Gallagher/Wall Street Journal)

Despite projections of memory shortages for PCs and phones, producers like Micron will proceed cautiously in adding new capacity, mindful of past downcycles (Dan Gallagher/Wall Street Journal)

Dan Gallagher / Wall Street Journal : Despite projections of memory shortages for PCs and phones, producers like Micron will proceed cautiously in adding new capacity, mindful of past downcycles —  Sandisk, Western Digital, Seagate and Micron need to keep undershooting demand  —  The world needs a lot more memory chips and hard drives.