Epicor® Congratulates Customers Permastore and Xtrac for Wins at The Manufacturer Awa

Epicor Technology Cited as a Key Contributor to Permastore Quadrupling Order Values Over Five Years, with the Same Production and Staff Resources

IRVINE, Calif. and LONDON — November 25, 2010 — Epicor Software Corporation (NASDAQ: EPIC), a leading provider of enterprise business software solutions for the midmarket and divisions of Global 1000 companies, is today extending its congratulations to Epicor customers, Permastore Limited, the leading silo and tank manufacturer with more than 90,000 structures in 110 countries, and Xtrac, a recognised designer and manufacturer of gearboxes, differentials and driveline components used throughout motorsport, who have won the IT in Manufacturing and Advanced Manufacturing awards respectively at The Manufacturer Awards 2010 final, which took place on November 18.

Permastore was awarded for implementing technology that directly affected the efficiency of the business and enabled a four-fold increase in output in the same production facility over a five year period. Xtrac took top honors in the Advanced Manufacturing category and, as well as being overall runner-up, was also shortlisted as a finalist for the Innovation and Design, Leadership and Strategy, and Best Small and Medium Enterprise awards.

“Consistently our customers are looking for competitive advantage and to produce the most innovative and high quality products for their customers, as efficiently as possible," said Matt Muldoon, vice president for product marketing at Epicor. “We’re thrilled to see this recognised by such prestigious awards against very tough competition.”

“We’re absolutely delighted to receive these top awards,” said Xtrac systems administrator, Mike Armstrong. “Our customers demand the very best, and we rely on technology to help us achieve this.”

“This is an amazing recognition of our achievements as a business in investing in new technology across the company to improve processes and efficiency,” said Simon Stevens, Business Systems and Development Manager at Permastore. “We’ve been working with Epicor for six years, and the company’s software has been a key player in our achievements.”

Permstore’s Success Story
An Epicor customer since 2004, Permastore decided in late 2008 that it was time to upgrade to Epicor’s next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, Epicor 9, as its use of Epicor Vantage had reached a point where they felt no more could be achieved from the system in its current form. Originally the deployment team had estimated 2-3 months of the project would be taken up completing the data migration, but this was reduced to a mere 2-3 weeks through the use of Epicor’s Data Management Tool (DMT).

At its heart, Epicor 9 has a business process management (BPM) engine that allows Permastore to define their unique process rules and procedures. Unlike some solutions that require this to be achieved through complex modifications, often at code level, Permastore can quickly and easily ensure that their systems mirror its ‘real world’ processes without relying on external consultants. Specifically, Permastore has already developed a BPM based solution for its process line, allowing production to view and manage work in progress on this key facility.

These changes, along with redesigned configurators, have had a significant impact on the performance of the business, cutting the total cost of ownership of the system as the internal team can implement new processes and features themselves. A reduction in the amount of time spent on database management tasks has also been seen, meaning that the team spends less time on administrative tasks and more on building on the new Epicor platform.

Stevens concludes, “Epicor 9 is a very flexible system. We can connect to factory machines, other software, and work in real-time with it using the DMT and Epicor Service Connect. Upgrades take time, but with careful planning and tools such as the DMT, you can reach go live quicker than you would expect. “

“Permastore is a company that really understands the value of embracing technology in its business and is reaping the rewards of its efforts,” added Muldoon. “Epicor gives companies the freedom to run their business the way they want through business process management and tools such as Service Connect, rather than having to bend their business around the software.”

Founded over ten years ago, The Manufacturers awards programme is well established as a major celebration of the successes of UK manufacturing — winners in previous years include Seven Seas, Unilever, Sheffield Forgemasters, Ginsters and Hozelock. This exciting awards programme is designed to recognise and reward excellence achieved in all sectors of the industry and highlight the diversity and strength of UK manufacturing.