EPICOR Strengths: versatility, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness
The functional scope, technologies used, and its high quality allow Epicor’s Kinetic system to successfully compete against the largest, most reputable ERP solutions on the market. On the other hand, license purchase and implementation costs are significantly lower in this comparison, and the time taken by the implementation is much shorter. This is why Kinetic ERP is the ‘sweet spot’ of enterprise resource management for many companies.
True, Kinetic ERP is not as sophisticated as the most advanced products from SAP or Oracle. Still, relatively often, we come across these very systems and compete for customers against them. Epicor’s solution can offer ‘must-have’ functionalities for large organizations, which many mid-range systems do not have.
For instance, consider the quality control module – an integral part of the Kinetic package. It allows for building quality control forms, parameterizing various related activities, setting up checkpoints at various places, and collecting data. At the same time, the module is integrated with all related processes, e.g. quality control of inbound materials and those stored in the warehouses, as well as manufacturing quality control.
Most ‘simple ERP solutions’ do not have such a built-in solution. It is possible to access such features, but this usually requires purchasing an additional package or solution that needs to be implemented and integrated.
Another example is complaints management. Epicor’s Kinetic ERP users get a bundled Case Management module, which allows them to create a customized complaints workflow. This way, every case that a customer approaches the company with can be handled in a specific way. Or take the module responsible for maintaining production machinery – a solution typical of big-scale systems.
At the same time, there is no need to implement all the functionalities at once, especially the most advanced ones. For example, the system supports various production processes – make-to-stock, make-to-configuration, and make-to-order. It allows handling subcontracting processes or project-based production. You don’t have to use it all at once. First, you can run one simple but end-to-end process – quote to cash, from quotation to the customer paying the invoice. Later, as the needs grow and the requirements change, this process can be modified, or another one can be activated.
Very importantly, in this case, it does not take a lot of time at all. At the same time, it doesn’t require a considerable number of consultants, which would raise the costs. A small, ambitious company can implement basic processes relatively inexpensively and add more functions as it grows. Eventually, it will be possible to reach very advanced methods characteristic of the largest corporations in the world.
The time and cost of implementation in this case favor Kinetic ERP. A prototype Epicor system, if the organization is not into a very specialized business, can be ready in 2–3 months. Implementing the biggest systems is much more complicated. Each module, due to its level of complexity, requires a consultant. That’s also why this translates into a several-fold extended prototyping period of 9 or more months. In the case of Kinetic ERP, all the functionalities needed by a medium-sized company are ready for implementation. And we are not talking about small businesses here. Even for mature companies with dedicated sales or quality control departments, all these functions are taken care of in an advanced way. In addition, the cost of the license is much lower. Kinetic ERP is simply less expensive.
What is the conclusion of it all? Epicor offers an ERP system that combines the advantages of the biggest systems with the purchase and implementation costs typical of mid-range solutions. It’s a powerful, advanced system for companies that have been using Excel or budget solutions so far, as well as those that feel constrained by the more advanced enterprise resource management systems currently in use and are eyeing the higher-end options but don’t want to incur high costs.
Kinetic ERP can reflect the structure of huge organizations and cover all key functionalities. It’s worth emphasizing here that it’s not about general coverage of these functionalities just to tick off items on the list of requirements. Epicor avoids shortcuts, usually the downsides of small, low-cost, simple business systems. At the same time, it doesn’t involve all the burden of handling the complex implementation and subsequent maintenance of an extensive ERP system.
The model organization that can benefit most from choosing Epicor has about 150 employees, with only a few or a dozen working in the offices and dealing with massive amounts of data and documentation daily. These companies have grown out of small business but are not yet large multinational organizations. Ultimately, however, Epicor is a system for rapidly growing, ambitious organizations that set the bar high for themselves and for the solutions they employ – regardless of structure, industry, or number of staff.
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