According to its developers, the new release of Epicor Software Corp.’s enterprise resource planning platform has over 300 new features and improved functions touching — touching each of its numerous suites — that increase its reliability and performance, and make it easier to use. Epicor develops business software and has more than 20,000 customers in over 150 countries operating its ERP, point of sale (POS), supply chain management (SCM), and human capital management (HCM) programs.
Noting that the update was developed in co-operation with its customers, Epicor said its focus has been on optimizing performance in real-world computing environments. “Taking a holistic view across key processes has resulted in a streamlined experience for end-users, in addition to considerable improvements in overall system performance, particularly in high volume, complex environments,” the company announced.
The developer explained that the latest release builds upon Epicor 9 ERP, first introduced in 2008, which has been adopted by over 3,000 customers in 63 countries, including manufacturers, distributor, financial service firms, and retail operations.
Some elements of the application were redesigned to match increases business, the developer reported, meaning that transaction speed has been improved by as much as 7.5x.
“Speed. That’s the most notable enhancement for us,” stated Steve Smith, ERP Administrator for Symetrics Industries LLC, a designer and manufacturer of electronic systems for the U.S. Dept. of Defense, Dept. of State, and prime contractors, and one of the first customers to go live with the new release.
“People at our company ask us nearly every day what we’ve done to make Epicor faster,” Smith continued. “They have no idea we just updated the software.” In particular he noted that Epicor’s increase in data audits ensures Symetrics’ employees accurately enter data that represents the work they’re doing. Also, this new version gives us greater flexibility in tailoring its functionality to our own business processes.”
Another improvement is a new Replenishment Workbench functionality, designed to match advances in supply chain and distribution processes, “relative to the stock-to-stock supply between warehouses or bins in a fully directed, managed, and transactional environment.”
“Companies must get ERP right to be positioned to succeed in today’s dynamic and competitive business environment,” observed Paul Farrell, exec. vice president, worldwide research and development, ERP for Epicor. “Getting it ‘right’ requires powerful functionality tempered with ease-of-use, responsiveness and flexibility. Continued performance enhancement and improved overall ease of use ensures Epicor solutions are leveraged to the fullest potential to drive operational efficiency, greater decision making and competitive advantage.”
