From complex supply chains to fluctuating prices and customer demand, distributors need to adapt fast to changing labor markets and emerging technology. It’s not just about staying afloat; it’s about thriving and finding innovative ways to boost productivity, exceed customer expectations, and control costs. By leveraging advanced solutions and smart workflows, you can achieve greater efficiency and agility, helping you stay one step ahead of the competition.
Working with a partner who understands your industry from the inside out is a great first step, paving the way for these six benefits to your business:
1. Enhanced Efficiency
Real measurable value shows up in may places—for your suppliers, your customers, and your company—leading to a rise in new business, higher revenue through competitive differentiation, and stronger margins.
How does this happen? Our AI-powered distribution solutions gives you complete visibility into your entire supply chain—using smart workflows to help drive efficiency, from inbound to customer deliveries:
- Process orders and respond quickly to market demand.
- Gain a competitive edge through increased output at lower cost.
- Stay on top of all your moving parts with solutions designed by distributors for distributors.
- AI algorithms automatically identify and correct inconsistencies, errors, and duplicates within datasets. By cleansing data, distributors help ensure accuracy and reliability, leading to better decision-making.
- AI models analyze historical data, market trends, and external factors to predict future demand. Distributors can optimize inventory levels, reduce stockouts, and enhance supply chain efficiency.
- AI-driven recommendation engines analyze customer behavior, preferences, and purchase history.
2. Improved Inventory Management
Knowing what you have, where you have it, and when to order more is a delicate balancing act. AI-driven demand forecasting and inventory optimization can help:
- Using machine learning, Epicor solutions deliver highly accurate demand predictions by analyzing historical data, seasonality, and market trends.
- These capabilities empower you to simulate and predict thousands of demand scenarios, enabling data-driven inventory strategies that optimize stock levels across multiple locations—minimizing carrying costs while reducing excess inventory.
- Epicor IP&O delivers cloud-based inventory policy decision support and the ability to share, collaborate, and track the impact of your inventory planning policy:
- Model service level versus inventory cost tradeoffs
- Calculate supplier lead times and track supplier performance
3. Solutions Tailored for Your Business
Item Advisor, a new solution launching in late spring 2025, leverages cutting-edge AI to optimize the Prophet 21 order process—delivering intelligent, data-driven recommendations tailored to your needs.
- By analyzing buying patterns and contextual data in real time, this next-generation capability enhances the purchasing experience while maximizing cross-sell and upsell opportunities—driving your revenue growth and enhancing operational efficiency.
4. Greater Customer Satisfaction
Going above and beyond customer expectations is essential for businesses seeking to standing out in the distribution marketplace. Epicor Field Service Management (FSM) has an intuitive interface that puts speed, efficiency, and enhanced communication at your fingertips:
- Schedule work well in advance, assigning the right resource to the right job.
- Manage service activities across multiple locations, as well as all equipment for a customer with blanket contracts.
- Enhance field service efficiency by providing technicians with real-time access to job details, customer information, and service history with the mobile app—empowering your workforce to deliver exceptional service on the go.
5. Targeted, Data-Driven Decision-Making
Increasing costs, changing consumer habits, and intensifying competition are just a few of the many challenges distributors face. When you combine these issues with declining margins and a tighter squeeze in operating cash, it’s vital to have solid corporate financial planning. This means better budgeting, better financial modeling, and streamlined data analysis and performance reporting. We’re ready to help you turn insights into action with AI-powered solutions from Epicor Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A).
- Go beyond monitoring business drivers and key performance indicators.
- Accurately report on past and current performance.
- Set trigger actions to manage business and financial affairs as they unfold in real time.
6. Enhanced Scalability and Flexibility
It’s one thing to understand the supply chain management needs of your organization, but executing at peak performance requires embedding critical processes within an adaptable, nimble enterprise solution. You’ll see the difference in so many areas across the supply chain, including:
- With Epicor Commerce—a cloud-based eCommerce solution—your business can increase sales, reach new customers, and shorten sales.
- Whether you have one location or dozens, Prophet 21 distribution software centralizes the purchasing process so you can optimize buying power and maintain consistent inventory.
- Bring a new level of accuracy to all warehouse processes with our Warehouse Management System, including receiving, cross-docking, put-away, adjustments, picking, cycle counting, and inventory operations.
From tile to fasteners, paper & packaging to plumbing, electrical to industrial, we make sure your shipments are smooth and your deliveries are prompt. In the warehouse bay or on arrival day, you’ll have the solutions you need to let your customers know where their orders are now and where they’re going next.
Easier doesn’t hide from challenges. Easier takes the pressure off.
Group Vice President, Product Development
Dave Getty leads the distribution, building supply, Grow data platform (Grow, KYKLO, Epicor FP&A, Epicor IP&O, and more), and e-commerce development teams. His focus is on setting the long-term strategic vision for the technology of Epicor platforms, as well as overseeing complex, AI-powered technical initiatives that drive results for customers. Looking forward, he also oversees the transformation and re-platforming of Epicor assets to help ensure they have a long and relevant lifecycle.
Read More by
Dave Getty
.png)
