Epicor® ERP Customization vs. Standard Features: What’s Best for Your Business?
Epicor® ERP Customization vs. Standard Features: What’s Best for Your Business?
Blog Article
Epicor® ERP is a powerful enterprise resource planning solution designed to streamline business processes, improve efficiency, and enhance decision-making. However, businesses often face a crucial decision when implementing Epicor® ERP: should they rely on standard features or opt for customization to meet their specific needs?
At Epicforce Tech, we understand that every business operates differently. While Epicor® ERP's standard features provide a strong foundation, customization allows businesses to tailor the system to their unique workflows. In this guide, we’ll explore the advantages and limitations of both standard features and customization, helping businesses determine the best approach for their ERP strategy.
Understanding Standard Features in Epicor® ERP
What Are Standard Features?
Epicor® ERP comes with a wide range of out-of-the-box functionalities designed to meet the general needs of businesses across industries. These features include:
- Financial management – general ledger, accounts payable/receivable, budgeting, and financial reporting
- Supply chain management – procurement, inventory control, and supplier management
- Manufacturing and production – bill of materials (BOM), scheduling, and quality management
- Customer relationship management (CRM) – sales tracking, customer management, and marketing automation
- Business intelligence and reporting – dashboards, analytics, and performance tracking
- Human capital management – payroll, employee records, and workforce planning
Benefits of Using Standard Features
- Faster implementation – since standard features require little to no modifications, businesses can deploy Epicor® ERP more quickly.
- Lower costs – avoiding customization reduces development and maintenance costs.
- Regular updates and support – standard features receive regular updates, bug fixes, and official support from Epicor®.
- Best practices built-in – pre-configured modules follow industry best practices, helping businesses standardize processes.
- Easier upgrades – standard configurations are easier to upgrade without breaking system functionality.
Limitations of Standard Features
- May not fully align with unique business workflows.
- Can require manual workarounds for specific operational needs.
- Might lack industry-specific functionalities that some businesses require.
Understanding Epicor® ERP Customization
What is Customization in Epicor® ERP?
Customization refers to modifying, extending, or enhancing Epicor® ERP functionalities to better fit a business’s unique needs. Customizations can include:
- UI modifications – adjusting screens, dashboards, and menus for a more user-friendly interface.
- Custom reports and dashboards – creating tailored SSRS or Crystal Reports to visualize specific business data.
- Business process automation – implementing custom workflows, triggers, and automation to reduce manual tasks.
- Custom fields and tables – adding additional data fields not available in the standard configuration.
- Third-party integrations – connecting Epicor® with CRM, eCommerce, or financial platforms.
Benefits of Customizing Epicor® ERP
- Tailored to business needs – customization ensures Epicor® aligns perfectly with a company’s operations.
- Improves efficiency – automating repetitive processes helps reduce manual data entry and errors.
- Better user experience – users get an interface and workflows designed around their tasks, improving productivity.
- Competitive advantage – unique features and workflows help businesses differentiate from competitors.
- Scalability – customization can support growth and expansion by adding functionalities that evolve with business needs.
Limitations of Customization
- Higher costs – developing and maintaining custom features requires additional resources and expertise.
- Longer implementation time – customization may extend deployment time due to design, testing, and integration efforts.
- Potential upgrade challenges – custom changes can lead to compatibility issues when upgrading to newer Epicor® versions.
- Ongoing maintenance – businesses must continuously support and update customizations to prevent performance issues.
Key Considerations: Should You Choose Customization or Stick to Standard Features?
When to Use Standard Features
- Your business follows common industry practices that standard features support.
- You want a cost-effective and quick implementation with minimal disruptions.
- Your team prefers Epicor®'s built-in support and regular updates.
- You aim to reduce complexity and ensure easy future upgrades.
When to Choose Customization
- Your workflows require unique processes that standard features do not support.
- You need specialized reporting and analytics beyond what’s available out of the box.
- You want to integrate third-party tools such as CRM, financial, or eCommerce systems.
- You aim to automate complex tasks, reducing manual work and improving efficiency.
- You need a scalable ERP system that adapts as your business grows.
Hybrid Approach: Combining Standard Features with Selective Customization
Many businesses benefit from a balanced approach by using Epicor®'s standard features for core functionalities and applying customization only where necessary.
Best Practices for a Hybrid Approach
- Start with standard features first – implement Epicor® as-is to understand its full capabilities before making changes.
- Prioritize customization needs – identify critical areas where customization adds value and avoid unnecessary modifications.
- Use configurations before customization – Epicor® allows workflow configurations, custom dashboards, and rule-based automation without deep customization.
- Ensure future upgrade compatibility – design customizations with Epicor® upgrade paths in mind to prevent technical challenges.
- Document all customizations – keeping detailed records helps with troubleshooting and upgrades.
Conclusion
Choosing between Epicor® ERP standard features and customization depends on your business requirements, budget, and long-term goals. While standard features offer simplicity, cost-efficiency, and easy upgrades, customization provides flexibility, automation, and tailored solutions.
At Epicforce Tech, we help businesses determine the right mix of standard features and customizations to ensure their Epicor® ERP system is efficient, scalable, and aligned with their operations. Report this page