Epicor has announced that it is making Prophet 21 available in Australia and New Zealand. Epicor Prophet 21 is a specialised ERP solution targeted at Wholesale Distributors. Distributers are threatened by the arrival of large multinational operators such as Amazon. Already efficient they need to be able to compete at a new level. This means that they not only need to continue efficiency gains but also offer something more.
Wholesale Distributors have driven efficiency gains through traditional ERP solutions. However the modern distributor needs to become adept across new routes to market. They may become a retailer, offering a personalised service or a manufacturer, assembling products and offering services alongside the traditional distribution model.
Prophet 21 targets the modern Wholesale distributor
As an ERP developed specifically for the wholesale industry, Prophet 21 meets many of these new requirements and will help companies remain competitive. It contains functionality that a modern wholesale distributor looks for and includes:
- CRM
- eCommerce
- Content Management
- Sales management
- Supply chain management
- Service & Maintenance
- Business Intelligence and Analytics
Early adopter Craig Ogilvie, IT manager, P&R Electrical, is already seeing the benefits. He commented: “Prophet 21 helps us put the needs of customers first and execute highly focused initiatives and services that set us apart from competitors.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Epicor has a strong presence in the Australian and New Zealand markets already for its other products including Epicor ERP. This announcement sees it leverage its local knowledge and roll out a specialist ERP that it believes can also gain some traction. What is missing from the announcement are details of the localisation that the ANZ market requires though. There is assumption that Prophet 21 includes these, but it might help to differentiate should it highlight some of them.
