Alternative Technology Solutions
Empowering Customers to Get More ROI from Their Epicor ERP

Alternative Technology Solutions’ mission today is the same as when it started in 2009: help customers get more ROI from their technology investments. “We’ve all seen the statistics that companies only utilize 40-50 percent of their ERP platform,” says Vivian Keena, Alternative CEO. “Alternative was built to change that—to help customers fully implement, integrate, and use their ERP to the greatest extent possible.”

When it comes to helping customers better use and optimize their Epicor ERP, Alternative first starts by looking at how a customer uses the Epicor product suite and whether that matches up with their business needs. “We like to start by looking at the customer’s core product knowledge, process flow, and use of Epicor toolset to streamline the product,” explains Keena. Alternative then develops a roadmap that identifies the steps necessary to achieve the greatest ROI. The roadmap often offers a mix of suggestions from quick changes that can be made with the existing toolset, to training and customizations, to solutions outside of the core Epicor suite. “We find this approach helps customers see their technology holistically versus focusing on conflicting needs and initiatives,” Keena continues. “Our independence allows us to keep our priorities focused exclusively on what approach is the most efficient and cost-effective for the customer.”

A key way that companies can see more value from their Epicor platform comes in automating steps and processes in order to improve usability and effectiveness. “Unfortunately, automation is often put on the 'implementation phase two' list and entirely forgotten,” Keena explains. “The real strength of Epicor comes in leveraging the data that’s captured at the front end of a process in order to automate transactions later in the flow. Alternative excels in tailoring the Epicor product to minimize unnecessary steps, optimize workflow, and automate wherever possible.”

Building on the success of helping hundreds of customers optimize and automate within the Epicor platform, Alternative began building cloud point solutions to address the specific needs of manufacturers and distributors.

Alternative’s Configure, Price, Quote solution, iQ, has helped many Epicor customers automate their complex and labor-intensive quoting process as well as integrate it to their Epicor ERP. “iQ is a great example of a simple yet powerful point solution that is an ideal complement to existing platforms including Epicor and Salesforce,” says Keena. “We recently reduced a customer’s quoting process from 45 minutes to less than 5 minutes with the introduction of iQ. Improvements like these truly change the game for many of our customers.”

Alternative's strength lies in our team's ability to simplify and streamline the Epicor toolset so that the user is empowered and effective

Additionally, Alternative works with many Epicor customers to integrate key platforms such as Salesforce and Magento in order to more effectively see and access data. “As customers diversify their technology investments in order to take advantage of tools from market-leaders like Salesforce, ensuring that all data is accurate and accessible becomes more important than ever,” Keena says. “Our Connect integration solution addresses the challenges of bringing all that data together so that it’s usable and actionable.”

Keena anticipates that Alternative will continue to be driven by the same passion: “Our top priority for all customers is to make their technology easier to use, both with regard to the solutions we build and the services we provide. We look forward to continuing to bring the best of the cloud to manufacturers with key point solutions that complement and enhance our customers’ core ERP technology.”