What are Additional Capabilities Modules  in Epicor ERP ? with Example

Business Architecture

Epicor ICE

Epicor ICE is the business architecture that underpins the Epicor enterprise business software and offers a true service-based Microsoft .Net architecture with SQL Server Optimization. This agile technology enables business process and builds on an already complete and robust framework. The toolset is helping our customers to both use and enhance Epicor applications at a business level — rather than a technology level — with minimum overhead.

Enterprise Experience

Epicor ICE is the business architecture that underpins the Epicor enterprise business software and offers a true service-based Microsoft .Net architecture with SQL Server Optimization. This agile technology enables business process and builds on an already complete and robust framework. The toolset is helping our customers to both use and enhance Epicor applications at a business level — rather than a technology level — with minimum overhead.

Web Access Framework 

Rather than rewriting application forms to support mobile devices and the web, we’ve developed the Web Access Framework — a unique technology that stores all client business logic as tagged XML metadata. This permits Epicor applications to run as smart clients or web clients or on mobile devices — all from the same source code. This framework also ensures that user customizations and personalization remain intact — whatever the UI. Web forms can be accessed from many different browsers, and for added flexibility, web forms can be accessed using most popular browsers— including Microsoft Internet Explorer®, Microsoft Edge®, Mozilla® Firefox®, or Apple Safari.

Epicor Mobile Framework

The Epicor Mobile Framework (EMF) was developed at Epicor as a new user experience to meet the needs of a wide range of applications across the Epicor portfolio. It offers a flexible and responsive platform that supports modern HTML5compliant browsers. EMF is responsive, as forms can be displayed in full size on a browser, but they can also be resized for mobile use.

Workflow and Task Management

The workflow facilities available within Epicor enable you to quickly begin managing and automating even the most complex business processes — including working toward ISO certification. Epicor Workflow Management is comprised of four major components — Task Management, Workbench and Tracker Views, and Business Process Management (BPM). The Epicor Task Management system allows you to connect your people with processes and the ERP system itself. As business processes become more complex and dynamic, it’s important for any enterprise application to recognize situations and help drive people toward the right efforts and the right decisions.

Electronic Commerce Platform

Businesses looking to improve customer service, reduce lead times through new business efficiency, and deliver new opportunities to sales will often invest in eCommerce solutions. Epicor Commerce Connect (ECC) was designed to solve the challenges of manufacturers and their unique needs as they integrate an eCommerce solution. ECC is built on the Magento platform — a leader in eCommerce — with a comprehensive ecosystem and tooling in constant development to enable businesses to stay current with latest commerce trends. Epicor Commerce Connect is also fully integrated with Epicor ERP and offers the synchronization required by most commerce sites while boasting additional capabilities needed by manufacturers — including full integration with Epicor ERP product configuration capabilities. Finally, ECC easily extends to new data elements and provides a platform for eCommerce business growth.

Business Intelligence and Analytics

Business Intelligence and Analytics for the Epicor ERP system help you answer four essential questions — what happened, why did it happen, what is happening now, and what will happen next? Dashboards, trackers, and data visualization tools built into the core ERP platform help you get a better understanding of what is happening in your company right now. Additional modules also provide you with deeper trending, diagnostic, and predictive analytics to bring the future into focus.

Epicor Data Discovery 

Epicor Data Discovery (EDD) is a data visualization tool for the Epicor ERP system. With EDD, staff can use their natural visual abilities to quickly spot areas of interest in real-time production data that they might have otherwise missed by just looking at rows and columns of numbers. In the Data Discovery view, users can set filters and drag and drop measures and dimensions to produce rich visualizations — a process similar to manipulating a pivot table in a spreadsheet. They can then focus on a data point or area and drill down into the underlying ERP transactional detail. They can also combine views to create BI dashboards with shared filters and shared dimensions. Driven by real-time BAQs in the Epicor ERP system, EDD complements Epicor Data Analytics (EDA) by visualizing short-term, up to-the-second enterprise data, whereas EDA provides for longer-term data exploration running in a data warehouse.

Epicor Data Analytics

Powered by Phocas, Epicor Data Analytics (EDA) helps companies turn their data stored in the Epicor ERP system into actionable insights. EDA is an easy-to-use service in the cloud that takes a unique, intuitive approach to lead you on a journey of discovery through large cubed data sets contained in your data warehouse. With deeper insights, companies can grow by reducing cost, identifying new opportunities, supporting specific programs, and speeding up decision making. EDA provides customizable and interactive dashboards to make it easy to analyze the data inside your business systems. The dashboards contain visual KPIs, graphs, charts, and tables, so you can quickly review important information about your business performance and make informed strategic decisions. Once you have spotted an area of interest in the visual metrics, the EDA grid is where you conduct most of your analysis, and unlike a spreadsheet, you can ​“drill down” into the data with a simple click to reveal additional levels of detail — all the way down to the ERP transactions — and find your answers.

Cloud Deployment

For those who would prefer not to have their Epicor solution housed on their own premise, Epicor provides a secure, reliable, and cost-effective cloud-based solution that combines all of the hardware, software, storage, and system management services you need to run your ERP solution.

Compliance Overview

Effective Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) initiatives help companies and their employees stay compliant, and ensure that employees at all levels of the organization are aware of the associated risks of non-compliance. 

Epicor GRC is delivered through a combination of embedded capabilities, modules and related services. Compliance is at the heart of the design of our software and Epicor takes every effort to ensure that any new functionality is consistent with published international standards and best practices. These include published standards in corporate and financial governance such as international accounting standards (IAS), international financial reporting standards (IFRS), and other generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) while also incorporating support for international trade standards such as restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS), Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Epicor GRC is designed to tackle these very requirements through a combination of capabilities covering: Enterprise Performance Management, Security Management, Business Process Management, Financial Governance, Global Trade Compliance, Environmental and Energy Management.

Enterprise Performance Management

Many of the requirements for effective GRC programs involve accelerated disclosure of information to external entities. This requires companies to have better visibility of changes than they had in the past. Epicor GRC incorporates the ability to infuse business insight through Epicor enterprise performance management (EPM) – a solution that supports overall risk management objectives by keeping users abreast of changes in the business.

Security Management

Epicor GRC provides comprehensive user and group security to restrict data and application accessibility as needed. Security can be granted at user and group levels for all security objects including forms, fields, reports, menus, and method calls. Data tier security is also available for both tables and columns. There is also an option to use Windows® Authentication to support a Windows single sign-on and password policy. 

Business Process Management

As the global regulatory environment grows ever more challenging for companies, it is becoming increasingly important to have embedded controls in your enterprise application so that your users can be more productive. Epicor GRC helps you move away from the management of day-to-day compliance by leveraging technology and optimizing operational efficiency. Epicor Business Process Management (BPM) in combination with Epicor Service Connect, allows you to identify risky processes to your organization and to effectively mitigate risk through business-defined workflows.

Financial Governance

The current business environment is simultaneously complex and increasingly regulated, which can challenge even the largest businesses to remain competitive in today’s global markets. This fact is perhaps most important when it comes to financial control – which encompasses all aspects of the financial health of the organization. Epicor GRC helps control this risk – effectively enabling users to handle regulatory compliance and ultimately driving business performance by providing cross-organizational financial visibility and control over financial reporting, planning and forecasting processes.

Global Trade Compliance

In order to conduct business globally, you need enterprise business software that enables compliance with local laws, satisfies international security measures and meets the myriad of local and regional documentation requirements. Epicor applications provide a comprehensive platform for managing these trade compliance necessities.

Environmental and Energy Management

As the world continues to analyze energy availability and the long-term effects of climate change, businesses too are turning their attention to areas of opportunity – reduction of carbon emissions, energy conservation and supply chain sustainability. Companies will look to IT and software solutions to help them find opportunities to be better stewards of the environment and extend the tangible benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) through the extended supply chain. Some of the more notable areas that corporations are placing emphasis on when deciding on a path to good environmental and energy management surround strategic sourcing and procurement, logistics, lean manufacturing, and virtualization.

Composite Applications

Enabled by the Epicor Everywhere Framework, Epicor application Web forms generated from metadata, and their related linked business logic, can be used in composite application development. Each Web form supports publication and subscription, allowing specific business functionality to be ​“mashed-up“ with other line of business developments.

Document Management

Reduce document control costs by enabling users to easily retrieve information related to quotes, parts and jobs from a wide variety of third-party applications. This capability is extremely useful for viewing, markup and hyper linking drawings and other documents on the shop floor, benchmarking production information and maintaining quality documents.

Enterprise Content Management

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) helps your business achieve growth by enabling you to streamline and automate reporting processes, reduce the risk of error, and improve business efficiency. ECM is the technology used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. ECM tools and strategies allow the management of organizations’ unstructured information — wherever that electronic information exists.

Epicor DocStar ECM

Epicor DocStar ECM is an industry-leading solution that’s built for the web and delivers deployment choice. Users can install DocStar ECM on their hardware or use DocStar in the cloud. The same software offers the same user experience and the same great results. DocStar ECM supports all popular browsers and mobile devices to deliver access anytime, anywhere.

Epicor Enterprise Performance Management

Epicor Enterprise Performance Management is an end-to-end solution that removes the barriers to better business insight through a combination of intuitive user experiences, user driven key performance indicators (KPI), and pre-packaged analytics that have real meaning to the business. Epicor EPM leverages the advanced analytic capabilities of the Microsoft platform and incorporates modern web application concepts for unprecedented ease of use and ultimately business results.

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) underpins the Epicor EPM offering and provides a flexible reporting structure for delivery professional reports and analysis to business stakeholders in a format that business users can easily consume. SSRS easily utilizes many types of data and can deliver it in a variety of formats. Because SSRS works with other applications and products in the Microsoft platform, such as Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services™, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft SQL Server Report Builder® is an invaluable tool for improved analysis and decision making in the enterprise.

Epicor Everywhere Framework

The Epicor Everywhere™ Framework is a unique technology that stores all client business logic as tagged XML metadata. This permits Epicor applications to run as desktop applications or Web clients or on mobile devices, all from the same source code. This framework also ensures that user customizations and personalization remain intact, no matter what UX platform is being used.

For example, you can customize your Windows desktop forms to meet your specific business needs and then simply re-generate the form’s metadata and output it as a Web form with all customizations included. ICE delivers a new usability feature whereby a Web user has the option of switching to the Windows desktop application for certain forms, thereby running a hybrid application designed to improve performance and user flexibility. In addition to this key feature, Epicor ICE introduces ​“Group By” and Personalization” functionality for Epicor Web Access forms similar to that found in the Windows client version.

The web technology in Epicor ICE generates ​“pure” HTML – no plug-ins required. Epicor Web forms combine HTML, JavaScript and XML or JSON message formats produced from the desktop application form metadata. For added flexibility Web forms can be accessed from many different browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer®, Mozilla® Firefox® or Apple Safari® and can run on most common operating systems, including Windows, UNIX, Linux, or Mac®.

Epicor ICE

Epicor ICE is the business architecture that underpins the Epicor enterprise business software and offers a true service-based Microsoft .Net architecture with SQL Server Optimization. This agile technology enables business process and builds on an already complete and robust framework. The toolset is helping our customers to both use and enhance Epicor applications at a business level — rather than a technology level — with minimum overhead.

Global Business Management

Epicor Global Business Management helps to ensure that no matter how distributed your organization becomes, you can maximize efficiency and drive business results. To support the needs of today’s increasingly distributed business, Epicor offers robust global business functionality. You can perform transactional functions between systems and entities — including intercompany transactions such as intercompany orders, transfer orders, and shipments between plants and warehouses. Epicor facilitates these scenarios within a single application that is flexible enough to grow with you as you expand your business. Epicor Global Business Management offers organizations the essential tools needed to create and maintain a single version of the truth.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance

Effective Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) initiatives help companies and their employees stay compliant and ensure that employees and partners at all levels of the organization are aware of the associated risks of noncompliance. GRC can touch every person and every function in an organization in some way. Whether GRC becomes an intolerable burden that increases company overhead or an enabler of efficiency and success depends upon its actual, day-to-day impact on the employees’ work and whether that impact is enabling or debilitating.

Corporate Governance

Organizations are under increased pressure to file accurate financial results in a timely manner. Epicor GRC can help organizations meet these shortened deadlines in a variety of ways — from consolidating financial information, to providing drill-down and drill-across access from financial reports, to transactional detail. Ultimately, when companies adequately report, plan, budget, forecast, and periodically review and update budgets and forecasts, they exhibit a more mature level of internal control. Integrated enterprise software applications go a long way in helping organizations document their internal controls, remove manual processes, and achieve greater visibility to their financial data.

Risk Management

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems control the majority of corporate information that could potentially be at risk from piracy, fraud, and sabotage concerns. The only way to truly manage and mitigate risk across the organization is to have a fully integrated, end-to-end solution providing a single, verifiable set of financial and operational metrics. Epicor GRC provides an integrated enterprise solution with built-in, application level risk mitigation tools and Business Process Management (BPM) to audit trails and secure workflow automation — key elements of data integrity and security. It also incorporates the ability to infuse business insight through Epicor Business Intelligence and Analytics, as well as allows organizations to embrace data governance and data protection strategies, help control risk, and handle regulatory compliance.

Security Management

Epicor GRC provides comprehensive user and group security to restrict data and application accessibility as needed. Security can be granted at user and group levels for all security objects including forms, fields, reports, menus, and method calls. There is also an option to use Microsoft® Windows® Authentication to support a Windows single sign-on and password policy. 

Business Process Management 

Epicor BPM in combination with Epicor Service Connect — supports the ability to identify and mitigate risks to your organization through business-defined workflow by identifying and improving processes to make your business more efficient, more disciplined, and better able to adapt to change. Together, they provide a framework for building GRC process-driven integration points that give companies seamless integration capabilities with other applications and businesses. BPM also automates delivery of information to employees in your organization that are responsible for managing and monitoring internal controls.

Global Trade Compliance

In order to conduct business globally, you need enterprise business software that enables compliance with local laws, satisfies international security measures, and meets the myriad local and regional documentation requirements. Epicor Global Trade Compliance applications provide a comprehensive platform for managing these trade compliance necessities/ 

Electronic Compliance Reporting Tool

Reporting legislation is constantly evolving, and many tax authorities around the world are now starting to require comprehensive data submissions on a regular basis. Companies are increasingly expected to provide tax authorities with real-time visibility into all transactions — on top of existing requirements for regular submissions. A growing number of countries either have adopted or are planning to adopt tax reporting — such as Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF‑T) — and others are introducing new e‑invoicing requirements.

Environmental and Energy Management

As the world continues to analyze energy availability, businesses are also turning their attention to areas of opportunity — reduction of carbon emissions, energy conservation, and supply chain sustainability. Companies will look to IT and software solutions to help them find opportunities to extend the tangible benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) through the extended supply chain. Some of the more notable areas that corporations are emphasizing when deciding on a path to good environmental and energy management include strategic sourcing and procurement, logistics, application of lean principles, and virtualization.

Human Capital Management

Epicor Human Capital Management (HCM) comprehensively automates HR functions from recruitment to retirement in a single software system, enabling you to track, manage, and analyze all data for your employees. Through automated workflow, you can improve your efficiency. With powerful reporting and analytical tools, you gain greater visibility into your company’s workforce for better strategic planning. With seamless integration to your Epicor enterprise resource planning (ERP), you gain a more complete view of your employees.

ICE Business Architecture

Epicor ICE Business Architecture separates technology framework from business application in order to promote lean and efficient software development that provides agility, scalability and extensibility. This architecture breaks down software processes into a series of granular ​“business services” that are made available on a network. Each service provides functionality that can be adapted to the needs of the enterprise.

Epicor ERP allows businesses to independently access, integrate, and substitute any function or data element in the ERP system. Every ERP capability – more than 1,200 — is represented and available a service that may be used to drive integrations or support various ERP client applications.

The Epicor ICE Business Architecture goes a step further by allowing all Epicor next-generation enterprise applications to be manipulated using Epicor Business Process Management (BPM) engine and Epicor Service Connect. Epicor ICE also features the Epicor Everywhere™ Framework — a unique technology that uses XML metadata to represent all client forms and logic. That metadata is then used to deliver customizations across an enterprise and drive pure HTML client applications to desktop, tablet, and phone devices. 

Mobile

Enabled by the Epicor Everywhere Framework, Epicor application Web forms generated from metadata, and their related linked business logic, can be used in composite application development. Each Web form supports publication and subscription, allowing specific business functionality to be ​“mashed-up“ with other line of business developments.

Planning and Scheduling 

Epicor offers a comprehensive solution for forecasting, material requirements planning (MRP), scheduling, and advanced planning and scheduling to meet the needs of today’s agile businesses.

Forecasting and Master Production Scheduling

Forecasting and Master Production Scheduling (MPS) in Epicor are included with the Material Requirements Planning module and are designed to assist manufacturers and distributors with both day-to-day control and long-range planning and decision making. Forecasting and MPS support businesses that operate multiple, mixed-mode strategies simultaneously.

Multisite Management

Not only are manufacturers and distributors looking for new tools to oversee multiplant operations, but they’re also looking to maximize the use of existing resources. Alternative production methods management helps optimize the production processes for specific parts in each plant, based on the resources available. Another optimization tool includes the transfer of material or semi-finished components to another plant for completion.

Product Data Management

Epicor Product Data Management (PDM) serves as a central knowledge repository for process and product history, and promotes integration and data exchange among all enterprise users who interact with products — including project managers, engineers, salespeople, buyers, and quality assurance representatives.

Epicor offers a solution for manufacturers that manages the powerful information traditionally contained in engineering documents, plant floor routings, change orders, sales orders and quality documentation within a single solution that is easily shared across the enterprise.

Promoting collaboration throughout the value chain, Epicor PDM provides a complete end-to-end solution to manage all aspects of a product’s lifecycle, enabling enterprises to control the enormous amount of electronic documents that they produce.

Bill of Materials

Epicor supports traditional BOM management with single-level part formats that recognizes the materials and components required to build end parts. In addition, Epicor introduces multi-level BOM management that incorporates not only single-level components and material requirements, but also internal and external routing steps for complete end assembly visibility, planning, scheduling, and costing. Epicor introduces visual engineering technology with indented tree structures and drag-and-drop BOM management.

Routings

Detailed routings facilitate planning, scheduling and costing of products more efficiently. Everything needed to produce a product is managed in one central location.Managing changes to routings is simplified. Changes are automatically communicated to the plant floor execution system and operators have online visibility of the latest routing production notes as well as standards and resource requirements 

Engineering Change and Revision Control

Achieve control and consistency in your engineering change and revision process. Engineering Change and Revision Control is designed to enable engineering change management, multiple revision control of products, engineering workflow management, and offers detailed cost analysis of products during the engineering process.

Product Lifecycle Management

Epicor Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) serves as a central knowledge repository for process and product history, and promotes integration and data exchange among all enterprise users who interact with a product. Epicor PLM manages all documentation associated with a product throughout its entire product lifecycle, and includes full integration with more than 12 computer aided design (CAD) systems. Epicor PLM is particularly useful for companies that:

Design what they manufacture

Want visibility into, and standardized methodologies around, work flow

Use CAD systems

Use drawings to produce a quote or an order

Epicor PLM provides an electronic vault where documents can be securely stored and where access and versioning can be tightly controlled. The type of sophisticated document management that PLM offers is critical for those organizations that need excellent audit tracking and control of all documents across the enterprise. PLM also provides advanced document search and retrieval functionality. Increase your productivity by more efficiently managing the product life cycle — from design to end-of-life.

Product Costing

As a manufacturer, you consistently monitor product cost and analyze profitability as a way to pass on cost savings to customers while staying competitive. Epicor offers the flexibility and accuracy that manufacturers need to analyze their product cost on a customer-by-customer, part-by-part, and job-by-job basis.

Product Configuration

Product Configuration enables on-the-fly configuration of highly customizable and dimensional products via a straightforward question and answer evaluation. Product Configuration can be accessed from quote entry, order entry, and job entry. It is Web-enabled, and is also available to disconnected users employing Epicor Mobile Connect. 

Product Management

Epicor Product Management serves as the central hub for your process and product data and history. It provides collaboration and data exchange among enterprise users who interact with your products — including product managers, engineers, salespeople, buyers, and quality assurance representatives. Epicor Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) provides a comprehensive end-to-end solution to manage all aspects of a product’s lifecycle, enabling enterprises to control the enormous number of electronic documents produced. With Epicor Product Management, you can optimize the product lifecycle processes to increase the efficiency of your staff, create better quality products, launch new products in less time at a lower cost, and maximize profits.

Service and Asset Management

Epicor® Service and Asset Management capabilities are designed to help manufacturers and service organizations maintain equipment, optimize customer service, and keep all technicians and customer-support personnel informed. We understand that your business needs to provide quick responses to customer incidents, keep your field operations informed and productive, and process returns quickly. The Epicor Service Management and Field Service Automation solutions provide the visibility and accountability your business needs. Effective enterprise maintenance management solutions for monitoring and managing the deployment, performance, and maintenance of company and customer assets may be the most important tools for preventing operational surprises. Epicor solutions enable manufacturers, distributors, and service organizations to save time and money by optimizing maintenance resources — improving equipment uptime and maintenance and field staff productivity.

Service Management Suite

Epicor Service Management

Epicor Service Management optimizes customer service with timely response to customer requests and puts knowledge in the hands of customer service personnel. Epicor understands that customers want rapid response service. From initial contact with the customer regarding an incident, to in the field operations, to processing returns quickly and efficiently, Epicor Service Management provides the visibility and accountability your business needs.

Contract Management

Epicor Contract Management used in conjunction with Epicor Field Service ensures the timely and accurate execution of service contracts. Additionally, this solution holds the historical activities against the contract to better meet customer expectations.

Field Service

Epicor Field Service is designed for people who install, repair or service offsite or at the plant or depot. You can centralize all processes related to the dispatching of technicians and cost reporting of service calls in the field. This application supports drop shipment of service parts directly to the customer site. The application is set up for a single interface, so a dispatcher can track all stages of each service call with just a few mouse clicks.

Case Management

Case management is an essential part of building better business. Improving the productivity and effectiveness of your support center leads to increased customer satisfaction. Epicor CRM Case Management delivers solutions that help you deliver first-rate service to your customers while controlling costs.

From initial call to resolution and follow-up, Case Management provides a customer focused solution for personalized, high quality service. This comprehensive one-stop solution enables your service team to manage current case load and respond quickly to customers for industry leading customer satisfaction. The case management workbench is equipped with time saving links to customer focused activities (e.g., new quotes, orders, RMA requests, or service calls). In addition, there is a search-driven knowledge-base and case-driven workflow for standardizing case resolution.

Case Management is fully integrated with Field Service, part of Epicor Servi