Epicor Service Connect Provides Automated Workflow, Enhanced Collaboration and Agility for Improved Business Performance
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Service-Oriented Architecture Enables Business Agility
Harnessing the openness of XML Web services, Service Connect uses industry-wide standards and technology enabling businesses to deploy solutions now, confident that their investment will remain intact in the future. The service-oriented architecture (SOA) of Epicor solutions enables Service Connect to transform or combine application processes to streamline processing within the application framework. Business components, represented as Web services outside of the application, can easily be accessed within Service Connect to eliminate non-value added steps or add value to any business process.
Better Business Processes through Collaboration
Designed to support both internal and external connectivity to Epicor solutions as well as to external applications or processes, Service Connect provides a straightforward solution for graphically mapping process flows and orchestrating transactions, and eliminating non-value added steps to streamline virtually any process.
For example, processing sales orders typically involves multiple steps including numerous availability inquiries, reviews, and inventory release decisions, all serving to extend order lead times. Service Connect enables users to eliminate many of these steps by creating orchestrations for routing processes to automated tasks, such as order-submit direct-to-pick for specific inventory items or priority order fulfillment for a company's best customers, in turn improving order-to-delivery performance.
By enabling solution users to automate tasks and processes within the application, Service Connect also helps to promote lean principles, continuous performance initiatives and Six Sigma quality. "As midmarket companies look to grow the bottom-line and expand market share, support for business agility in everyday processes is essential," said James Norwood, vice president of product marketing for Epicor. "Epicor Service Connect clearly demonstrates the business value of service-orientation within enterprise application software, by providing a straightforward workflow orchestration tool that improves collaboration, velocity of information, and ultimately value chain performance."
SureFire Sees the Light with Service Connect
Epicor customer SureFire LLC(R) ( www.surefire.com), manufacturer of the world's finest flashlights and weapon mounted lights used by SWAT teams, military special operations units and emergency professionals, expects great increases in productivity through the use of Service Connect.
SureFire will leverage Service Connect to provide the interface between its Web site store front and Epicor Vantage 8.0, the industry's first manufacturing solution based on a 100-percent SOA and optimized for high performance and collaboration across the globally expanding supply chain.
Service Connect will verify that orders from the Web site store front are downloaded to Vantage, validated and rapidly acknowledged back to the Web site store front in near-real time. It will also coordinate exception handling, shipment notifications and verification of inventory availability levels.
"Based on our exposure to Service Connect, we feel it has the capability to perform the operations which we had originally envisioned and also perform tasks which will result in significant productivity increases going forward," said Vuong Hoang, senior information systems engineer at SureFire.
Availability
Epicor Service Connect is available immediately as a standard component of Epicor Vantage and Epicor iScala. Availability for Epicor Enterprise solutions is expected to follow early in 2006.
About Epicor Software Corporation
Epicor is a global 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. Founded in 1984, Epicor serves over 20,000 customers in more than 140 countries, providing solutions in over 30 languages. Epicor leverages innovative technologies like Web services in developing end-to-end, industry-specific solutions for retail, manufacturing, distribution, enterprise service automation, hospitality and pharmaceutical that enable companies to immediately drive efficiency throughout business operations and build competitive advantage. With the scalability and flexibility to support long-term growth, Epicor's solutions are complemented by a full range of services, providing a single point of accountability to promote rapid return on investment and low total cost of ownership. Epicor's worldwide headquarters are located in Irvine, California with offices and affiliates around the world. For more information, visit www.epicor.com.
Epicor and Vantage are registered trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation. Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. The product and service offerings depicted in this document are produced by Epicor Software Corporation. This document includes descriptions of product functionality that is not presently available. This document also includes many "forward-looking statements" regarding anticipated product functionality, targeted release dates, availability of technology and certain company initiatives that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. Such forward-looking statements, which are not historical fact, involve risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, the company's ability to rapidly develop and introduce new products, reliance on third party products; reliance on emerging technologies and markets; the timely availability and market acceptance of new products and upgrades, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and the discovery of undetected software errors and other factors discussed in the company's Quarterly report on Form 10-Q, for the period ending September 30, 2005, at pages 43-51. As a result of these factors the business or prospects expected by the company as part of this paper may not occur. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: Lisa Preuss of Epicor Software Corporation, +1-949-585-4535,
Email Contact; or Erin Lutz of Lutz PR, +1-949-293-1055,
Email Contact, for Epicor Software Corporation