Epicor for Distribution (Prophet 21)

Advanced Demand Forecasting Module

Advanced Demand Forecasting helps take the guesswork out of ordering the right amount of inventory by leveraging an intuitive system of industry-proven weighted averages, standard reports, graphical views, and user-defined formulas to identify the unique demand pattern of every item you stock. 

Consignment Module

Often, customers want their distributors to not only supply them with goods but manage them, as well. To that end, distributors now offer customers products on consignment, keeping their storerooms fully stocked, but only charging for those items used. Epicor provides the functionality you need to handle consignment contracts.

Distribution Requirements Planning Module

The software includes analytics to support purchasing stock now for long-term future requirements. Customer demand forecasts are generated out one year to determine future needs; purchase quantity is then based on need at the anticipated time of receipt of material. Future Stock Analysis Reports allow distributors to see the changing stock position of an item over the next year, to help in planning for these future needs.

Inventory Management Module

Multiple and dynamic inventory replenishment methods provide you with the flexibility to lower carrying costs, minimize excess or obsolete inventory, improve cash flow, and increase customer service levels. In addition, the solution captures information on inventory changes, allowing for accurate data when making purchasing decisions. Cycle counting features confirm inventory counts, and lot and serial number tracking enables you to track stock. 

Purchasing Module

Buyers can qualify the return on promotions or forward buys, allowing you to increase customer service levels in relation to costs and to focus your efforts on items that are earning you the highest profits. A variety of purchasing scenarios, including vendor substitutions, discontinued items, dropships, and specials, allow you to adjust your processes as your customers’ needs demand while controlling your costs. 

Job Management Module

Job Management allows you to manage all aspects of a job, including bidding and bill of materials (BOM) management, submittal status tracking, managing the release of materials, customer billing, and vendor invoice reconciliation. Processing change orders, handling returns, and paying engineering fees are also core functions of the software.

Work Order Processing Module

Epicor Work Order Processing is a light manufacturing solution that lets you effectively manage the step-by-step conversion of raw materials into finished goods inventory. This conversion includes transforming a basic material or group of materials into a finished product by completing a series of steps that are value-added services performed in-house or provided by outside vendors. 

Order Automation Module

Directly tied to your warehouse, order automation allows you to tell customers what is in stock when new stock is coming in, and even what they ordered in the past. The system will also suggest go-together items to ensure that your customers get everything they need and that you maximize your selling potential. Order automation also enables you to link product information, such as material safety data sheets (MSDS) or product specifications, to item codes and then make those documents immediately available to customers.

Pricing Module

The Epicor optional Strategic Pricing module analyzes your database for customer and order information and then classifies your customers by type and size. It then analyzes past purchase history and recommends pricing items by customer and product. 

Job Management

Job Management enables distributors to manage all aspects of a job, including bidding, bill of material management, submittal tracking, releasing material, customer billing, change orders, returns, and vendor invoice reconciliation.

Powerful Search Features 

Search features that allow you to locate any information you need from any screen using virtually any identifying element. Sophisticated indexing, merging, and phonetic matching quickly displays exact search matches or convenient browse lists to choose from.

Sales Order Management 

Sales order management features that enable counter and telephone sales personnel to perform everything from product look-ups to customer’s available credit with a single keystroke.

Accounts Payable Module

Streamline your accounts payable (AP) processes by directly integrating your inventory receipts and purchase orders. Check processing and payment processes ensure that you don’t lose discounts, and bills are paid on time. Furthermore, you can choose payment types by either vendors or invoices. Rebates are tied directly to order processing for accurate reports so you can maximize the amount of money you earn.

Accounts Receivable Module

Track your customers’ outstanding invoices and set alerts when days or balances exceed the levels you set. Notes and follow-up capabilities provide a history of conversations to aid your collection efforts. Flexible posting methods make it easy to track whether a check is for multiple invoices or to consolidate several accounts under one corporate umbrella.

General Ledger Module

A real-time general ledger provides up-to-the-minute financial statements, giving you a better handle on your company’s financial situation as business is transacted, and allowing you to be proactive instead of reactive. Financial reports can be run daily with drill-down capabilities that allow you to access historical information for faster auditing. The real-time general ledger also eliminates laborious day‑, month‑, and year-end closing processes. Plus, multicurrency functionality makes it easier to do business wherever your business partners are located.

Freight Management Module

With out- and in-bound handling costs, freight and broker charges, and international taxes to consider, calculating the total cost of an item means understanding and properly calculating landed costs. The overseas tracking and landed cost functionality provided Epicor tracks and calculates each of these variables throughout the supply chain — from the manufacturer to your receiving department to your customer’s door — to ensure that you never undercharge for an item, no matter the cost of sourcing the product.

Warehouse Management Module

A powerful range of features manages warehouse activities — including receiving, cross-docking, put-away, picking, inventory adjustments, cycle counts, and much more. Transactions affecting the warehouse are automatically generated and processed without re-keying information — saving time and reducing errors.

CRM

Epicor software facilitates lead generation tools that your sales team can use to manage their pipeline and up-sell to customers. Contact management goes beyond maintaining customer addresses and phone numbers, to tracking customers’ buying habits so you can anticipate their needs. Finally, CRM includes marketing capabilities. These tools allow you to fax and e‑mail from the solution, generate lead generation call lists, and, most importantly, manage call center activity, enabling you to increase your customer base at a minimal cost.

Business Analyzer

Epicor Business Analyzer is a business intelligence (BI) solution that summarizes key performance indicators and provides a snapshot of your organization’s health. The application allows you to develop and quickly customize reports for your business, without having to be a report writing expert. Through the familiar Windows interface, you can easily develop the right charts, graphs, and reports to analyze business trends and drill into the details behind the metrics. You can also create alerts that notify you of important events occurring within your business.

DynaChange Extensibility Tools

Epicor provides the flexibility you need to tailor the application’s appearance and logic to your company’s needs. With the DynaChange Extensibility Tools, you can create user-defined fields, move or hide fields from screens, create customized portals for each employee, and even write your own business logic to conform to your company’s unique processes, all without affecting the application source code. DynaChange Extensibility Tools ensure the system adapts to your needs, not the other way around.

eCommerce (Web-Based Storefront)

Epicor makes it easy to service existing and prospective customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with its Web-based storefront solution for distributors. In addition, a powerful administrative console allows distributors to keep their site fresh and better manage online content. An integrated Web-based storefront makes it possible for you to service customers as near as next door or as far away as the other side of the world, without making the financial investment of opening a branch or hiring more staff. Your customers can also use your secure Web site as their business system to keep track of what they ordered for their individual customers, and download accounting-specific information, including past invoices, into Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheets — a value-added service that will make them loyal customers for years to come. Because your Web site and ERP solution work from a single database, you’ll receive online orders directly into your distribution ERP system without intervention from your staff, saving time and avoiding costly re-keying errors. This not only increases sales and improves customer service, but also frees your customer service staff to focus on more profitable tasks, such as developing new customers.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

Epicor streamlines the transaction process by providing a portal for EDI transactions. All transactions are done in real-time, meaning you get the most accurate information available.