Epicor Empowers ANZ Distributors to Unleash Innovation and Transform Business Models for Growth

Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, today announced it is expanding its product portfolio in ANZ with its distribution software solution, Epicor® Prophet 21®. Featuring industry-specific functionality, the enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution enables distributors to anticipate and deliver on shifting customer demands. Prophet 21 helps streamline operations, and enables distributors to optimize their business to compete in today’s digital-centric world.

Epicor Prophet 21 helps distributors overcome the challenges and market disruptions created by the emergence of large overseas-based online distributors by making it easy to evolve and quickly adapt to new competitive pressures.

“For Australian distributors, the key question is how to counter the threat from large global players such as Amazon and stay relevant in an era that’s increasingly defined by digital disruption,” said Greg O’Loan, regional vice president, ANZ, Epicor Software.

“In this new competitive landscape, customer expectations for a convenient, streamlined, and technology-powered experience means business models are evolving fast. To gain competitive advantage, distributors will need to initiate streamlined customer-centric transactional capabilities in every channel, and digitalize their operations to generate greater efficiencies.”

Reimagine customer engagement

“Prophet 21 helps us put the needs of customers first and execute highly focused initiatives and services that set us apart from competitors,” said Craig Ogilvie, IT manager, Electrical Australia’s leading electrical wholesaler, P&R Electrical,

Prophet 21 enables distributors to embrace digital transformation and take full advantage of cloud-ready technologies to respond to customers in new ways:

• Extend market reach with eCommerce—Epicor Commerce eCommerce for Prophet 21 makes it easy to manage multiple branded websites and catalogs and initiate digital workflows that deliver a convenient and streamlined purchasing experience
• Exceed customer expectations—respond fast to escalating customer demands for quality and traceability, as well as the speed of delivery, leveraging powerful integrations to streamline and connect offline and online processes
• Drive revenue—generate competitive advantages with differentiated services that build deep and enduring customer relationships. Efficiently orchestrate value-add services like kitting, assembly, service, repair, staged deliveries, maintenance, calibration and more
• Capture opportunities—streamline day-to-day processes and improve customer service with automated CRM tools that make it easy to anticipate customer needs, identify and retain at-risk customers, manage and track issues, and future-proof sales pipelines

“It takes incredible execution capabilities to serve customers efficiently in every channel. With customer expectations for speed and convenience on the up, Australian distributors will need to digitally-enable and integrate every aspect of their operations. They need to do so in order to deliver ‘Amazon-like’ experiences and respond quickly to changing customer demands, or they won’t be able to stay competitive,” said O’Loan.

Increase operational efficiency

Prophet 21 makes it easy for wholesale distributors to leverage digital and connected technologies to improve and integrate core business functions, and optimize these for growth.

In addition to allowing distributors to initiate cost-effective online self-service offerings for customers, Prophet 21 makes it possible to automate previously manual processes, achieve enhanced data visibility and flows, and enable integrated end-to-end processes.

• Order management—whether orders are entered remotely via a mobile device or online by the customer, information is directly entered into Prophet 21 for fast processing without double handling
• Inventory management—multiple dynamic inventory replenishment methods help wholesale distributors reduce carrying costs, minimize excess or obsolete inventory, improve cash flow, and improve customer service levels
• Warehouse management—warehouse management tools provide deep control of all activities, including receiving, cross-docking, put-away, picking, inventory adjustments, cycle counts, and more. Add the Wireless Warehouse Managing Solution (WWMS) to further streamline warehouse processes, using wireless handheld devices that send detailed picking information direct to Prophet 21 for up-to-the-minute accuracy
• Purchasing—centralize purchasing processes across one or multiple warehouses to optimize buying power and inventory levels. Use Prophet 21 to define a variety of purchasing scenarios, including substitutions, discontinued items, dropships, and specials. In addition, evaluate true landed costs against margins, track the status and due dates of purchase orders
• Financials—a real-time general ledger provides up-to-the-minute financial statements, giving users a better view of their company’s financial situation as the business is transacted. This means managers don’t have to wait for end-of-month reports before acting to grow the business

“To compete more effectively, distributors need to find new ways to work smarter and more efficiently as they adapt to changing industry demands. Based on a cloud-platform, Prophet 21 delivers best-in-class capabilities that dramatically improve productivity and internal efficiencies. For example, achieving greater automation in warehousing and distribution centers, and tighter control of inventories, will ultimately increase working capital and reduce costs,” commented O’Loan.

Designed specifically for wholesale distributors, Prophet 21 is the leading choice for growing distributors across a wide variety of industries including electrical, industrial, plumbing, irrigation, and HVAC.

• “At Jaybro, we regard Prophet 21 as our chief enabler for growth. Easy to deploy and use, the solution has enabled us to initiate new efficient processes and tap into modern online technologies that allow us to compete with confidence. As a consequence, we are able to meet customer needs and expectations at every touchpoint.”
• - Craig Higgins, Finance Director, Jaybro