Epicor helps leading UK manufacturer streamline business

Epicor Software Corporation (NASDAQ: EPIC), a leading provider of integrated enterprise software solutions for the midmarket, today announced the success of a recent project with customer Whiteccroft Lighting that has helped the company improve on-time delivery by 20% and halved order processing time leading to substantive benefits to the business.

As a major supplier to the both business and public sectors including extensive work within the NHS, Whitecroft lighting embarked on an 18 month project to re-engineer its business processes to maintain the highest level of customer service it is famous for while improving operational efficiency.

We looked at a number of vendors but Epicor Avant was selected for a number of reasons including its open technology, which provided Whitecroft with the ability to bring its processes together into a cohesive system, explains Divisional Managing Director Nigel Kilby. Beyond technology, Epicors strong understanding of Whitecrofts business processes and the ability of the Avant solution to link real-time material supply with the capacity to determine lead times were also major factors in its selection.

As part of the project, staff from each department were placed on secondment to work with the IT department and Epicor consultants to ensure that the implementation provided the most appropriate solution for the staff and departments that would need to interact with it. As, Trevor Humphreys, who was formerly working in the marketing department and now manages the ERP system explains, Introducing the ERP system has brought major benefits across the board, he enthused. Not only has it improved the speed and response of our manufacturing processes, it has also given everyone visibility of real time information so weve been able to improve customer service at every level.

The new system has also dramatically improved visibility of held stock to allow better reporting and forward planning. As a result, Whitecroft is able to produce new and established products faster, with reduced lead times while ensuring the highest standards of customer support every step of the way.

For 20 years, Epicor has been a recognised leader dedicated to providing integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM) software solutions to midmarket companies around the world. Avant is a manufacturing business performance solution designed specifically for midmarket companies with complex manufacturing environments and is part of a portfolio of software solutions for manufacturing companies that includes Epicor Vantage, Epicor Vista and Epicor Manage 2000.

Whitecroft lighting is a great example of how Avant can help a business re-engineering project deliver tangible benefits, said Matthew Muldoon, Product Strategy Manager, EMEA Epicor By engaging both technical and departmental staff within a project, Whitecroft are now able to both maintain and develop the system as it grows and have created a solid foundation for continued successes.