Epicor Software sets sight on global expansion

There are really big opportunities for us in global markets, says Celia Fleischaker, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer, Epicor Software.

Epicor Software Corporation has a strong presence in the US and Canada with a robust client base but the IT company has identified huge potential in the rest of the world for its enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, a top executive told Khaleej Times.

Founded in 1972, Epicor is a global leader in business software solutions for manufacturing, distribution, retail and services organisations.

"We can continue to grow in the US and Canada markets but we believe there are really big opportunities for us in other markets," Celia Fleischaker, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer, Epicor Software, said.

Earlier this year, Epicor introduced the new version of Epicor ERP that offers key capabilities to support business growth, including a new mobile framework.

Talking about her top priorities for the company, Fleischaker said communication with customers and focus on the brand or brand awareness are key from a marketing perspective.

Responding to a question about Epicor's expertise in cloud services, she said: "We have hundreds of customers on the cloud and at the same time, we also offer choice."

So, in addition to hosted and on-premise deployments, Epicor makes it easy for new customers to take advantage of its ERP solution using cloud technology, which accelerates implementation while offering value-added services to ensure scalability, security and business continuity, she explained.

Tech-savvy millennials
Talking about Epicor's latest research, Fleischaker said organisations must act now to address the human capital dilemma with technology to attract, engage and support the next-gen workforce to fuel growth.

Business leaders in the distribution, service and manufacturing industries are not placing the recruitment of millennials on high priority, despite acknowledging that tech know-how and a skilled workforce are essential elements for growth, according to the study.

While millennials are expected to account for 75 per cent of the global workforce by 2025, business executives are not thinking too much about recruiting millennials.

"Our research reveals many human resource challenges stand in the way of business growth that technology can help address. Organisations must re-think their relationship with digitally-literate workers and retool their organisations to attract, connect and empower this next-generation workforce via cloud, mobile, analytics and other enabling technologies," Fleischaker said.

Only 39 per cent said recruiting millennials was a "fairly significant" or "major" focus for their organisations, revealing a critical disconnect as "technology leadership" and a "skilled workforce" were top growth stimulants identified by those polled - elements that today's highly connected, technologically advanced millennials can well facilitate.

"The relative indifference in recruiting millennials to the workplace is especially surprising. Businesses that recognise and move to leverage millennial talent can gain significant competitive advantage in today's age of digital disruption," she said.

- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com