Rapidly Changing Technology Environment Impacting
the Entire Supply Chain

There’s a lot of buzz around cloud deployment for business systems, and as more voices join the conversation—vendors, industry experts, users, and more—it can be hard to distinguish meaningful information from noise. Distributors have been running businesses in the cloud for more than a decade, but it’s not quite the norm—though, adoption rates are increasing. 

This is largely driven by the need to provide exceptional customer service to remain competitive. Faster access, sales history, and customer relationship management (CRM) data built into cloud-based ERP solutions give distributors what they need to achieve the next level of customer service. There’s no longer a reason to delay this decision. With the rapidly changing technology environment impacting the entire supply chain landscape, it’s a good time to be in the cloud. 

Hosting your ERP in the cloud also means automatic updates and upgrades, which generally include the latest technological tools, advancements, and fixes to the software. This enables distributors to more easily leverage cutting edge technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) to flawlessly manage inventory. Business analytics can be managed with ease to maximize sales opportunities based on customer behavior. Also, by automatically updating, your business receives the latest security patches to safeguard your information, as well as optimized tools to fix bugs. 

Software on the cloud also means that your employees can access critical data and affords them the flexibility to work when and where they need to without a VPN connection. This level of transparency provides a single truth to employees for the business-critical functions that ERP supports. It also results in a better customer experience because your employees, vendors, and partners have access to accurate, real-time data. As an added bonus, the mobility afforded with cloud-based ERP can help you attract tech-savvy top talent to your workforce. 

Total Cost of Ownership
These systems end up being more affordable and easier to implement, integrate, and maintain. Furthermore, cloud deployments continue to outpace the returns from on-premises deployments. 

Moving to the cloud allows companies to reduce their IT burden in order to refocus their resources on higher-value initiatives. Imagine what your overloaded IT department could help accomplish if they’re allowed to focus on strategic initiatives that improve profitability and competitiveness instead of administrative tasks. 

Reliability
Depending on the vendor, cloud-based ERP systems have greater than 99.5 percent uptime. Cloud-based ERP systems also eliminate the hassles associated with maintaining firewalls and logging in through VPN connections. 

Security
The cloud is secure. If it wasn’t, there wouldn’t be so many available applications—or companies using those applications. Cloud solutions come with backup continuity, disaster recovery, and highly available redundant systems to avoid business interruption. 

Customer Satisfaction
Customers have been conditioned to expect the same type of service in the business realm that they can find in their personal lives—instant information and responsive service. Having your ERP system in the cloud allows you to respond to customer requests and react to issues much more quickly. Putting your customers first is pivotal to gaining loyalty, but it can also lead to increased market share. 

Cloud solutions also automate customer-facing processes such as order entry and purchasing. This improves accuracy and quality and results in a better customer experience. Distributors can also grow their customer base by meeting customer demands at their desired levels and responding with up-to-date information—when and how they want to receive it. 

Why move to the cloud now?
Moving your ERP software to the cloud makes a lot of business sense, but it’s not a decision to make lightly. There may be cycles in your business where it’s easier to transition to a cloud solution, but— ultimately—hosting ERP on the cloud is only going to become more popular and practical. 

One of the most important aspects of choosing an ERP vendor—whether you’re taking the leap to the cloud now or in the future—is finding one that will work with your business to identify the solution that works best for you and on your terms. For more than 45 years, Epicor has been providing ERP solutions to distributors that enable them to make strategic decisions and bring value to their organizations. 

Learn everything you need to know about why, when, and how cloud will impact your distribution business in this new best-practice guide, Why It’s A Great Time To Be In the Cloud.