Helping small- to mid-sized manufacturers, distributors, and retailers gain the functionality of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system without a hefty price tag, Epicor’s ERP is cloud-based, explained Steve Coolidge, senior product manager, business intelligence and reporting. The company is highlighting its ERP solution in booth 7985.

“Hosting an ERP in the cloud makes it more affordable for companies, as they no longer have to maintain servers and manage updates like traditional, site-hosted ERPs,” he said. “That also allows an organization to redeploy their IT staff to manage other tasks that are more beneficial to the business.”

Some of the newest modules within the cloud-based ERP include business intelligence and data analytics functionality. “These help a user to make valuable business decisions based on actual information rather than intuition,” Coolidge continued.

Additionally, Epicor has made the information housed in the ERP more accessible to anyone within an operation (who has permission), even without a computer. 

“We’ve geared it to enable the mobile worker to have an actual, verbal conversation with the ERP—so they can find out mission-critical information without being in front of a computer screen,” he noted. “Instead, they can use their phone to ‘call’ the system and ask a question, such as how much inventory is available for a given product, and get an instant answer.”

That capability is intended to increase both the value of the system and its ease of use, concluded Coolidge. “It’s just another way we help our customers grow.”