Epicor Delivers RFID Support

Epicor Software Corporation (NASDAQ: EPIC), a leading provider of integrated enterprise software solutions for midmarket companies, today announced support for radio frequency identification (RFID) as part of its fully-integrated end-to-end Epicor for Distribution solution. With support for both inbound and outbound RFID, Epicor for Distribution helps midmarket companies meet todays commercial expectations for distribution and logistics networks.

According to Beth Enslow, vice president enterprise research for Aberdeen Group, two of the greatest challenges prompting midmarket companies to improve fulfillment processes are pressure to shorten fulfillment time and improve order accuracy and customer-driven logistics requirements/mandates[1]. Use of fulfillment excellence strategies and tools such as RFID will help midmarket companies respond to these challenges, said Enslow.

Meeting the Demands of Todays Distributors

Going beyond what is required for commercial compliance, support for Inbound RFID has also been introduced to Epicor for Distribution. The Inbound RFID capabilities allow for receiving purchase orders against an Advanced Ship Notifications (ASN) by reading RFID tags. Epicor for Distribution adds new screens that enable RFID device configuration and receiving, adding a new level of efficiency into the receiving process by not requiring a line of sight for scanning and by utilizing readable-writable tags.

The Outbound RFID functionality in Epicor for Distribution enables RFID tags to be written from the solutions Warehouse Management (WMS) and Data Collection Suite (DCS) modules during sales order shipping or packout. The Electronic Product Code (EPC) data that is written to RFID tags is stored in the Epicor system and is accessible for tracking purposes. EPC data will be available for carton and pallet level shipping labels, and will also be included on Outbound ASNs.

More and more, RFID has emerged as an intriguing option to complement warehouse management systems (WMS) because of the greater visibility, efficiency and information access it can provide to a warehouse or distribution center, said Rod Winger, director of product marketing for Epicor Manufacturing and Supply Chain Solutions. Epicor for Distribution leverages the benefits of this rising technology as part of an end-to-end integrated solution that will enable todays midmarket companies to realize the benefits of RFID across the entire organization.

Driving Efficiency in the Supply Chain

Epicor for Distribution now also includes enhancements to Inventory Management including auto-close month-end processing, lot/serial costing and a broader range of global and industry-specific item coding standards.

The RFID capability is available immediately in Epicor for Distribution and Epicor Enterprise 7.3.6. This release also includes optional inter-organization functionality in the Financials Suite and greater configurability of security. The purpose of the inter-organization processing is to account for transactions between organizations and behalf of other organizations, enabling multi-unit companies to produce a balance sheet and income statement for each organization. The new functionality also supports inter-organization tax requirements and use of multiple tax codes within an organization.