Epicor ERP for International Manufacturing 

Manufacturers who embrace globalization are after reduced costs and greater business opportunities. Though some are successful in supplying more affordable raw materials and meeting customer demands across multiple continents, others meet disaster, perhaps in the form of a massive recall or major production delays. With the potential rewards of international manufacturing comes a myriad of risks that you need to tackle head on.  

You can’t possibly handle the instabilities and uncertainties of the global market without sophisticated enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, such as Epicor. Epicor has designed its ERP solutions with a variety of global manufacturing industries in mind for over 45 years. With over 1000 worldwide consultants and solutions that include country-specific functionality, Epicor is the ideal vendor for managing your sprawling enterprise. We’ll explain how Epicor can help you beat five of the biggest global manufacturing challenges. 

1. Changing Regulations 

Unfortunately for manufacturers, regulations aren’t exactly stable across the world. To meet varying quality standards, import and export restrictions, energy guidelines and other regulations, businesses require end-to-end tracking, quality management and documentation control. 

That’s why Epicor built compliance at the heart of its solutions. The vendor ensures its latest functionality is in line with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), international accounting standards (IAS), international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and an array of other global corporate and financial regulations. Workflow automation and audit trails protect data integrity and security to help manufacturers maintain stringent policies.  

To maintain detailed compliance documentation, Epicor also allows users to check for Certificates of Compliance upon receiving materials from suppliers or before shipping products to customers. Additionally, quality management tools track every step of the supply chain to ensure products fulfill international mandates. Epicor ERP provides the total visibility and control required to keep up with everchanging regulations. 

2. Exchange Rate Fluctuation 

Some businesses are under the impression that they should conduct trade in their home currency to avoid financial losses and accounting errors. However, using the suppliers’ local currency could end up costing manufacturers less, as overseas suppliers often charge premiums when they make a deal in a different currency. A more cost-effective solution is to leverage ERP to manage multiple currencies. 

Epicor makes it easy to perform transactions across borders, automatically defaulting invoices to the customer or supplier’s base currency and specifying the currency used by the bank for each of your accounts. It also gives you the power to revalue transactions and lock transactions at a specified rate to prevent you from making costly business decisions.  

At Datix, we decided to enhance the power of Epicor’s multicurrency tools by creating Unity X. Unity X takes the risk out of foreign transactions by automatically transferring up-to-date exchange rates from XE Currency Data API into your ERP instance. By instantly gaining accurate foreign exchange values from the leading currency authority, you reduce manual data entry and safeguard your accounts and transactions. 

3. Supplier Reliability 

Putting your trust into suppliers outside your business—and outside your country—can be nerve-racking, to say the least. To maintain high standards for your products, you also need quality, on-time raw materials and equipment. Epicor is there to help you monitor the reliability and stability of all organizations throughout your supply chain.  

With Epicor, you can track supplier history and evaluate their performance to select optimal providers for each of your products and components. Epicor will monitor their lead time and delivery, generating a detailed receipt and graph of their performance history. Your ERP instance also includes tools to help you automatically replenish materials from suppliers and negotiate the best prices for bulk material orders.  

4. Manufacturing Waste 

Multinational operations introduce more areas of potential waste and inefficiency. With sophisticated analytics and management tools, Epicor helps you streamline every part of your supply chain, no matter how many miles separate you from your locations and partners. Automated workflows trigger the next stage of the supply chain in real time, so processes move forward smoothly.  

Epicor also built lean manufacturing into its modules to help you capitalize on every opportunity to reduce time and money. The manufacturing execution system (MES) monitors machines and analyzes production at all hours, giving you total visibility into your shop floor. With MES insights, you can reduce scrap and optimally plan your production lines. Additionally, Epicor’s Kanban workflows give users the power to plan pull production and direct replenishment in line with their distinct business needs. This helps manufacturers order parts and components to fulfill demand while reducing surplus inventory and wasted materials.  

5. Big Data 

Between your multiple sites and smart machines, your organization is generating a massive quantity of data, but what is happening to all this information? If it isn’t easily accessible or creating actionable insights, then it isn’t driving value to your enterprise.  

Epicor ERP ensures your data isn’t going to waste. Each Epicor application includes built-in dashboards that organize reports, graphs, analytics, trackers and more in one place. Individual users can personalize their home pages to display the most critical information to manage their daily activities and make smart business decisions.  

The multi-company menu also gives users real-time insight and robust analytics across international sites. Records and transactions are automatically updated across each location to ensure your users never miss a beat. To keep data secure, Epicor enables managers to define access rights and global records. Making big data easily interpretable and available across locations transforms your widespread sites into one cohesive enterprise.  

Wrap Up 

Nobody can run international operations from QuickBooks or disjointed systems. Global manufacturing supply chains come with challenges that only a sophisticated ERP system can solve. Epicor joins integral modules and features into one cohesive solution that can streamline your supply chain from quote to delivery. By powering process automation and visibility throughout enterprises of all sizes, Epicor helps you combat the difficulties that come with international business management. 

At Datix, we have over 20 years of experience in delivering ERP solutions to manufacturers and distributors all over the world. We understand the unique challenges of various industries. As an Epicor Gold Partner, you can trust us to execute ERP implementations, integrations and upgrades from start to finish. Furthermore, our Unity integration solution can seamlessly connect your ERP platform with front-office systems such as CRM, eCommerce and Marketing Automation software. This scalable solution makes your business even more adaptable to new changes and automates operations from the shop floor to the top floor. 

Don’t let inefficiencies and roadblocks in your supply chain prevent you from becoming a global industry leader. Reach out to our expert software consultants today to learn more about our powerful solutions and services!  

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