Epicor announces Grow portfolio to weave AI into ERP

ERP vendor Epicor is introducing integrated artificial intelligence (AI) and business intelligence (BI) capabilities it calls the Grow portfolio.

Grow will reimagine how AI-powered ERP software can and should serve the supply chain industries and their workers, delivering more than 200 adaptive industry use cases, it said at its Insights 2024 user conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

“We know the keys to realizing the full power of AI revolve around two important things: applying AI to a well-defined, practical business issue, and leveraging high quality data,” said Epicor chief product and technology officer Vaibhav Vohra, in a statement. “Our new Epicor Grow portfolio delivers on both fronts, putting workers at the center of the intelligence ecosystem. We’re delivering deep AI integration across real-world industry workflows — unlike ‘one size fits all’ industry-agnostic ERPs – to surface actionable insights and drive efficiencies. And we’re empowering users with a rich, industry-centric data platform and no-code tools to create purpose-built data pipelines to help solve specific challenges.”

The platform includes six core components and uses multiple types of AI, such as generative, machine learning, natural language processing, predictive analytics and others, to deliver results.

• Epicor Prism is a generative AI service embedded across the Epicor Industry ERP Cloud platforms and tuned to the Epicor data structure; users engage with it in the context of their native Epicor ERP platform.
• Epicor Grow AI applications include multiple capabilities such as inventory forecasting, AI generated sales orders from emails, personalized product suggestions based on order history, predictive maintenance recommendations for fleets, and more, within the context of familiar Epicor products.
• Epicor Grow Inventory Forecasting provides predictive analytics and model “what-if” scenarios to better manage inventories with purpose-built, machine-learning-driven, embedded forecasting engines coming from Epicor’s acquisition of Smart Software.
• Epicor Grow FP&A offers embedded financial planning and analysis to enable easy, accurate, and thorough financial reporting.
• Epicor Grow BI provides no-code technology to create visuals, metrics, and dashboards, and to pair data blueprints with other BI tools for maximum flexibility. Epicor recently expanded data center availability for Epicor Grow BI in AWS UK to support international organizations.
• Epicor Grow Data Platform is a full-stack, no-code data platform that allows enterprises to manage all of their data in one place.

Grow Inventory Forecasting, Grow BI, and Grow FP&A are generally available. Prism, Grow AI, and Grow Data Platform are currently offered through a controlled release; they will be generally available in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Epicor’s move to provide generative AI capabilities will be important for client retention, said one analyst.

“Epicor is putting its R&D efforts into AI and data management. It is great to see overall,” said Mickey North Rizza, group vice president, enterprise software at analyst firm IDC, noting that research shows that 25% of organizations plan to replace their current application provider if generative AI won’t be included in its offering.

“IDC finds organizations are embracing the digital business world, but they need assistance from their technology resources,” she said. “With AI, organizations are able to change business processes such that they are optimized across the data and reduce overall steps and time to get to insights and ultimately decisions. This new visibility enables employees to engage easier and better with the technology, enabling faster time to decisions, and improving the value of the response with more information.”