Epicor Announces Business Process Management Solution to Automate and Streamline Lumber & Building Materials Dealer Workflow

New Software Helps Dealers Assign, Track and Complete Important Business Processes More Quickly, With Greater Accuracy and With Less Effort

Epicor Software Corporation, a global leader in business software solutions for manufacturing, distribution, retail and services organizations, today announced the Catalyst Business Process Management(TM) (BPM) solution which facilitates workflow and automates processes in the Epicor(R) Catalyst(TM) platform. Catalyst BPM enables Lumber & Building Materials (LBM) dealers to improve staff communication, streamline processes and verify that all critical activities are completed.

The latest module released in the Catalyst framework, Catalyst BPM helps to accelerate and simplify processes so that business can be conducted more quickly. For example, if a salesperson wants to confirm a price for a special-order item, Catalyst BPM enables a quick question or request to a coworker without leaving the sales order screen. The question is logged in the originator’s “sent folder” so that they can track the progress of this request. It is easier for the recipient to respond because the message includes hyperlinks to the item, the order and the customer. One click gets them where they need to be to perform their task or answer the question. Once the question is answered, the recipient marks the task complete — which removes it from the recipient’s and the sender’s queues.

Catalyst BPM also tracks outstanding tasks and issues and helps LBM dealers keep items from “falling through the cracks.” It alerts salespeople and their managers of quotes that have not been sent to customers or when a quote has been pending for too long. When a quote is used to create a sales transaction, Catalyst BPM automatically registers the quote as a “won” transaction. Managers and business owners can run reports on the numbers of “won” versus “lost” business in order to analyze a salesperson’s performance.

“Every salesperson and every departmental manager in our company uses Catalyst BPM to work more efficiently,” said Linda Stern, controller for Mathew Hall Lumber. “Before, we had to print and hand-deliver requests and forms between departments — a task that can be time-consuming in a three-story building. Catalyst BPM eliminates this running around with an electronic messaging system. Now, anytime we are logged into an Epicor Catalyst session, we receive our BPM messages with hyperlinks to easily call up all the documents and information we need to be able to immediately respond to the requests.”

“In today’s tough market, it is imperative that lumber and building materials dealers operate as efficiently and effectively as possible. With less business coming in, every quote and every business opportunity is crucial to success,” said Paul Salsgiver, executive vice president and general manager, retail software for Epicor. “The Catalyst BPM solution represents a significant technology leap forward in helping improve the performance of large lumberyards. It is a powerful technology framework for enabling large lumberyards to get work done in an organized and responsible manner.”

Epicor’s Catalyst platform is a leading comprehensive, next-generation business management software solution for managing large, multi-location LBM businesses. The platform combines rich, industry-specific functionality with point-and-click, drag-and-drop ease of use. Designed to automate and streamline core business functions — quotes, orders, purchasing, back-office accounting and more — the platform can also be extended with a full suite of productivity products designed to boost both efficiency and profits, including professional estimating, dispatch & delivery, document management, Internet solutions, wireless warehouse management, and business analytics tools.