FEATURE: ERP
Delivering a better customer experience is
something that all industries are struggling
with, and the application of innovative new
technologies can make a difference.
How do you cater for
different verticals?
Epicor ERP was built to solve problems not
just for manufacturers in general but has
specific strengths and capabilities that
better enable make-to-order (design-to-
order, engineer-to-order, configure-to-order)
manufacturers. Most manufacturers today
– prompted by customer behaviour and
enabled by the latest technologies – have
been slowly decreasing the amount of
‘make-to-stock’ items that they make, and
are instead starting to manufacture smaller
quantities of items that are customised for
each customer.
As a consequence, we are starting to see
the need for ERP software that can manage
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various modes of manufacturing in sub-
verticals that are more likely to produce
make-to-order products like fabricated
metals, industrial machinery and electronics.
This is where Epicor stands apart in terms of
features and capabilities it offers.
When an enterprise is
looking to deploy an ERP
solution what are the factors
they need to consider?
One of the biggest considerations to think
of today is whether or not to deploy in
the cloud. We are seeing more and more
companies that, as they are looking to
deploy an ERP solution, are considering the
value that a cloud implementation can bring
– there is no need to worry about hardware
and maintenance as it is all included as part
of the cloud value proposition.
In looking at the cloud, companies also
need to consider plans for scale – including
WE ARE STARTING TO SEE THE
NEED FOR ERP SOFTWARE THAT
CAN MANAGE VARIOUS MODES OF
MANUFACTURING IN SUB-VERTICALS.
finally, it’s the user experience – delivering
a great experience to your employees that
use our new, modern Epicor ERP solution is
important to retaining your workforce.
What questions should an
enterprise looking to deploy an
ERP system ask of vendors that
supply such solutions?
• Is your solution delivered in the cloud or
on-premises or both?
• What is the difference in the on-premises
version versus the cloud solution?
• How safe is my data in the cloud?
• How can I get my workforce trained and
excited to use this solution?
• Can your analytics provide our executives
with dashboard views into what is going
on with the business?
• Can you share with me some success
stories of other companies who are
similar to me that have achieved their
goals using your solution?
ALI HYDER, GROUP CEO OF
FOCUS SOFTNET
where they plan to expand in terms of global
support – because it is essential to have a
partner that can support the growth.
What are the main benefits
an enterprise should profit
from following an ERP
implementation?
Most of our customers see almost
immediate productivity gains from users
being able to find and produce relevant
information more quickly. There might also
be improvements in the time it takes to
process/schedule orders as they come in.
Terri Hiskey, Vice President of
Product Marketing for Manufacturing
at Epicor Software
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Better visibility can help with better decision-
making, so when it comes to pricing, if
users have a better idea of the cost of
various parts, then companies can price
end products with maximised margin. And
Ali Hyder, Group CEO of Focus Softnet
Can you tell us about the latest
developments in ERP solutions?
Most of the ERPs are gearing towards
integrated Robotic Process Automation and
AI features. Robotic Process Automation
promises and also delivers huge efficiency
and ROI factor to the ERP application
especially on the most routine data entry jobs,
which takes hundreds of manhours at almost
5% to 10% of the cost and works more
efficiently than the most efficient users.
www.intelligentcio.com