NetSuite Vs Epicor: Which ERP is best?

NetSuite vs Epicor. These ERP solutions are two of the leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions in the market, offering a broad range of capabilities for managing and streamlining business processes. Here's a high-level introduction to each, followed by a comparison:

NetSuite, owned by Oracle, is a comprehensive, cloud-based ERP solution designed for businesses of all sizes and industries. It combines customer relationship management (CRM), financials, human resources, supply chain, and ecommerce capabilities into a single integrated platform. It's particularly popular among mid-sized businesses and large enterprises for its scalability, flexibility, and extensive customization options.

Epicor Software Corporation provides industry-specific business software designed around the needs of manufacturing, distribution, retail, and service industry organizations. Epicor offers both on-premises and cloud-based deployment options, providing flexibility based on the organization's specific needs.

Functionality & Modules

Epicor Functionality & Modules

1. Functionality: Epicor ERP provides services for managing finance, supply chain, manufacturing operations, and customer relations. Its primary audience is the manufacturing industry, but it is flexible enough to serve other sectors.

2. Modules:

   • Financial Management: Automates core financial processes and provides real-time financial visibility.

   • Supply Chain Management (SCM): Streamlines all supply chain processes and provides tools for managing supplier and customer relationships.

   • Production Management: Covers everything from production planning and scheduling to execution and analysis.

   • Planning and Scheduling: Provides an end-to-end solution to manage and coordinate all aspects of production scheduling.

   • Service and Maintenance: Helps manage service orders, maintenance, and scheduling of service calls.

   • Human Capital Management (HCM): Offers a wide range of HR functions such as employee self-service, recruitment, onboarding, etc.

   • Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Manages customer interactions and provides tools for improving customer satisfaction.

Download the Epicor Guide

NetSuite Functionality & Modules

1. Functionality: NetSuite ERP is a cloud-based solution that offers services across various verticals such as finance, eCommerce, CRM, and Professional Services Automation (PSA). It is designed to serve businesses of all sizes and industries.

2. Modules:

   • Financial Management: Offers comprehensive, real-time financial visibility with integrated financial planning and complex regulatory compliance management.

   • Order Management: Allows quick and efficient management of sales and purchase orders.

   • Production Management: Provides real-time visibility into the production process.

   • Supply Chain Management: Offers features for managing inventory, logistics, and suppliers.

   • Warehouse and Fulfillment: Streamlines warehouse operations with the ability to define bin and storage locations, serialized inventory, lot numbers, etc.

   • Procurement: Enhances visibility into the procurement process, from sourcing to purchasing to receiving.

   • Human Capital Management: Provides a suite of tools for managing and developing human resources.

   • Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Offers customer lifecycle management and CRM capabilities that integrate with the rest of the business.

   • Ecommerce: NetSuite's ecommerce module stands out as it provides solutions for both B2B and B2C businesses, allowing them to manage their online stores with ease.

Download the full NetSuite Guide

Epicor and NetSuite both offer a range of modules that cover common business processes. While Epicor is strong in the manufacturing industry and provides a robust set of tools for managing production, supply chains, and financials, NetSuite stands out with its cloud-based solution that covers a wider range of business verticals, including ecommerce.

NetSuite's broader appeal might be advantageous for businesses that want a single, integrated solution to manage diverse business processes. In contrast, Epicor's focus on manufacturing might make it a better choice for businesses in that industry that require specialized tools.

User Interface

Epicor and NetSuite are two leading ERP systems, each with its own unique user interface (UI). Here's a comparison of the two:

Epicor User Interface

Epicor ERP offers a modern, customizable, and user-friendly interface:

• Customization: Epicor allows users to personalize their workspace according to their role or preferences. Dashboards can be customized to display the most relevant data and reports.

• Navigation: Epicor uses a ribbon-style interface, similar to Microsoft Office applications, making it familiar and intuitive for many users. Navigation through modules is straightforward, with a collapsible menu panel.

• Active Home Page: The active home page presents real-time data that is role-specific, presenting information in an easily digestible format. This is particularly useful for decision-makers who require quick access to performance metrics.

• Context-Sensitive Help: The UI offers quick access to context-sensitive help and tutorials, which can help new users get up to speed more quickly.

NetSuite User Interface

NetSuite also offers a user-friendly and intuitive interface with a focus on ease-of-use:

• Dashboard Customization: NetSuite's dashboard can be fully customized according to each user's role, providing access to key performance indicators (KPIs), reports, and other data necessary for their job.

• Navigation: NetSuite's UI is clean and intuitive, with a top-level menu that allows easy navigation between different parts of the application. Users can navigate the system via the global search, recent records, or customizable shortcuts.

• Reporting: NetSuite's reporting features are easy to use, allowing users to create, customize, and run reports directly from the UI.

• User Preferences: Users can set their preferences for things like language, time zone, and color theme, making the software more adaptable to individual needs.

Both Epicor and NetSuite offer modern, user-friendly interfaces that aim to streamline tasks and improve user productivity. They both offer significant customization, intuitive navigation, role-based home pages/dashboards, and easy-to-use reporting.

Epicor's interface may feel more familiar to those used to Microsoft Office applications due to its ribbon-style interface. On the other hand, NetSuite's cloud-based nature offers some additional flexibility and adaptability in terms of user preferences and access from multiple devices. The global search feature in NetSuite also stands out as it aids in easy navigation across the vast features of the ERP system.

Industry Fit

Epicor Industry Fit 

Epicor has a strong footprint in the following industries:

• Manufacturing: Epicor's roots are in the manufacturing industry, and its ERP solution is designed with features like real-time analytics, production management, and advanced MES. This makes it well-suited for businesses in the manufacturing sector, including both discrete and process manufacturing.

• Distribution: Epicor offers a complete suite of capabilities designed to help wholesale distributors drive sales, improve customer service, and reduce operation costs.

• Services: With modules like human capital management, financial management, and CRM, Epicor can also be a good fit for service industries, such as professional services and non-profit organizations.

• Retail: Epicor's retail solutions manage the entire retail process, from POS and store systems to merchandising and eCommerce.

NetSuite Industry Fit

NetSuite has been adopted by a broad range of industries, including:

• Wholesale Distribution: NetSuite's comprehensive features such as inventory management, order management, and supply chain management are especially beneficial for wholesale distribution businesses.

• Manufacturing: NetSuite supports both discrete and process manufacturing businesses with functionalities like product data management, production planning, work order management, and quality assurance.

• Software and Technology: As a cloud-based ERP, NetSuite is particularly popular in the tech industry, offering a scalable solution that can support rapid growth and global expansion.

• Professional Services: NetSuite’s ERP offers advanced services automation, project management, resource management, and timesheet and expense management.

• Nonprofit: NetSuite's Nonprofit SuiteSuccess offers a unified platform with capabilities that include fund accounting, grant management, and donor management, all critical to nonprofit organizations.

• Retail and Ecommerce: With its strong ecommerce capabilities, NetSuite is an excellent choice for retail businesses that operate both physical and online stores.

Epicor and NetSuite both serve a wide range of industries, but they have their respective strengths. Epicor is particularly strong in the manufacturing industry with a deep set of features designed to support manufacturing processes. It's also a good fit for distribution, services, and retail sectors.

NetSuite, on the other hand, has a broader appeal due to its flexible, cloud-based nature. It serves well in manufacturing and distribution, like Epicor, but shines particularly in software and technology, professional services, nonprofit, and retail and ecommerce sectors.

Implementation

Epicor ERP Implementation Process

1. Planning and Analysis: Understand the business needs and outline the goals for the ERP system. Map out the current business processes, identify areas for improvement, and determine how Epicor can meet these needs.

2. Design and Configuration: Based on the analysis, configure the Epicor system to suit the business requirements. This includes setting up the appropriate modules, designing user interfaces, and configuring workflows.

3. Data Migration: Migrate data from the existing systems to the new Epicor ERP. This requires careful planning to ensure that all data is correctly transferred and integrated.

4. Testing: Run tests to ensure that the system is working as expected. This should include functional testing, user acceptance testing, and system integration testing.

5. Training: Train end users on how to use the Epicor system. This could involve creating user manuals, conducting training sessions, and providing ongoing support.

6. Deployment: Once testing is complete and users are trained, the system can be deployed. This typically involves a phased approach, starting with a pilot group before rolling out to the entire organization.

7. Review and Optimization: After deployment, continually review the system's performance and make any necessary adjustments. This could involve optimizing workflows, updating configurations, or adding new features.

NetSuite ERP Implementation Process

1. Planning: Similar to Epicor, the first step in implementing NetSuite involves understanding the business requirements and outlining the goals of the ERP system.

2. Configuration and Customization: Configure the NetSuite system to meet the needs of the business. Because NetSuite is a cloud-based system, this might involve more customization than an on-premises solution like Epicor.

3. Data Migration: Migrate data from the current systems to the new NetSuite ERP. Because NetSuite is cloud-based, data migration might be a bit different than with Epicor, but the overall process is similar.

4. Integration: Integrate NetSuite with other systems used by the organization. This might involve more work than with Epicor, as NetSuite is often part of a larger ecosystem of cloud-based tools.

5. Testing: Similar to Epicor, run tests to ensure that the system is working as expected.

6. Training: Train end users on how to use the NetSuite system. Because NetSuite is cloud-based, training might focus more on how to use the system remotely and securely.

7. Deployment: Deploy the system, likely in a phased approach similar to Epicor.

8. Ongoing Support and Optimization: Review the system's performance and make any necessary changes. This might involve more ongoing support than with Epicor, as cloud-based systems are often updated more frequently.

Overall, the implementation process for Epicor and NetSuite is similar, with key steps including planning, configuration, data migration, testing, training, deployment, and review. However, there might be differences based on whether the system is on-premises (Epicor) or cloud-based (NetSuite).

For instance, with NetSuite, there might be more focus on integration with other cloud-based tools and data security for remote access. Epicor, on the other hand, may have more emphasis on aligning the ERP system with on-site business processes and workflows.

Cost

Epicor Cost

Epicor provides flexible deployment models, including on-premises, hosted, and cloud-based. The total cost of ownership can vary widely depending on which model you choose:

• On-Premises: This would typically involve a significant upfront investment for software licenses, as well as ongoing costs for maintenance, upgrades, and hardware.

• Hosted or Cloud-Based: This model usually involves a subscription fee, which is often charged per user per month. The subscription fee would typically cover the cost of the software, hardware, maintenance, and upgrades.

Additional costs to consider for Epicor could include implementation services, training, and any necessary software customization.

NetSuite Cost

NetSuite is a cloud-based solution, which typically involves a subscription model:

• Subscription Fee: NetSuite usually charges a base license fee plus a per-user fee, billed annually. The base license fee depends on the modules you choose to include in your package.

• Additional Costs: There could be additional costs for implementation, training, customization, and advanced modules. NetSuite also offers a tiered pricing model based on the size of the company (expressed in terms of annual revenue).