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The Full Story
Who We Are
Today, EpiCenter is an Epicor Reseller & Gold Partner, but we didn’t start out that way. We began as a manufacturing company, using Epicor software to grow our business. We got so good at it, we sold the manufacturing company and started EpiCenter to help other manufacturers just like us. It's that understanding that lets us say Your Business Our World and deliver on the promise.
We understand fears of business disruption and implementation costs. But we also understand how to keep those costs in check, guide employees through change and, most of all, have the new system up and running swiftly. Following the Signature Methodology, EpiCenter analyzes the business from every angle before turning the focus to software. Our manufacturing background gives us the tools to accurately assess people and production needs and translate them seamlessly to the software.
A system that doesn't work for you is no system at all. As EpiCenter makes your business our world, the pieces get connected and efficiency and profitability follows.
Mission
EpiCenter’s mission is to help clients make the best possible decisions by providing the tools and training to understand and operate their businesses. We do this in an open and honest style, building relationships as a trusted advisor.
Vision
EpiCenter’s vision is to best facilitate this transition by providing thorough analysis of the customers’ needs and matching them with comprehensive training and execution strategies to meet those needs.
Critical to the success of a project is the total commitment of our team and the development of mutual goals and objectives.
Value Proposition
Our extensive experience in manufacturing coupled with our Epicor Kinetic ‘best in class’ ERP system delivers optimal solutions for our customers, helping them make better decisions for their businesses.
Over the Years
Our original company was Decorated Products, a contract manufacturer of nameplates, decals, roll labels and signs. Our products were made from aluminum, stainless steel, polyester or other long lasting materials. Our products provided identification, logos, serial numbers etc. and our customers were manufacturers of machinery, HVAC equipment, appliances and all kinds of products requiring dials, graduations etc.
In 1997 we bought Epicor Vantage because we needed to do a better job scheduling our work. At that time we would have 300 – 500 jobs in the shop at any one time, each requiring 10 – 30 operations and 1 to 5 materials. Our average delivery was 4-6 weeks. Even though we were a small company, we had lots of details to track, such as serial numbers, lot numbers, ink formulas, etc.
We successfully implemented Epicor Vantage (later the name changed to Kinetic) and were able to reduce our delivery time to 4-5 business days, and we reduced our raw materials inventory by 90% using vendor managed inventory through Vantage. We had a very good idea of the cost of our products, and could track profitability by item, product line and customer.
In the early 2000’s we had 120 employees on 2 shifts, and were registered to ISO 9000, TS 16949 and ISO 14001. However, with China receiving ‘most favored nation’ status, our customers started to move their manufacturing to China. Over the next few years we lost 70% of our business. During that time, Jeff Glaze became President of the Epicor User’s Group, and consolidated several global user groups into one. In the spring of 2006 Jeff was meeting with George Klaus, then President of Epicor Software Co., and Jeff told George he was going to have to step down from the user group because his company was in trouble. George asked Jeff to become a partner – so he could help customers with the software, but get paid to do it.
The original four consultants were Jeff Glaze, Lynn LaPlante (still with EpiCenter today), Trish Deziell (retired) and Paul Chartier (deceased). Paul had been with Friendly Ice Cream for most of his career, and when he retired he joined Decorated Products as their IT manager. He was the main protagonist to start EpiCenter along with Jeff. We lost Paul to pancreatic cancer in February 2008.
EpiCenter officially became a separate company in June, 2007, and began hiring other experienced Epicor users to become consultants. Today EpiCenter has 54 staff, most of whom are consultants, developers or support staff. We have successfully implemented over 200 companies, and have retained most of them as their long term trusted business partner.