NetSuite vs. Epicor: Which ERP Solution Is Best For You?

ERPs are critical applications for any organization that wishes to optimize its activities and control its processes or even gain transparency in its procedures. Of all the ERP solutions currently available, NetSuite and Epicor are the most popular, as they contain strong features and can be used specifically for industries.

NetSuite started as a web-hosted accounting management application, and within no time, it has become a premier cloud-based ERP software. It was bought by Oracle for $9b and has now grown to an astounding figure of over 34,000 customers across more than 200 countries.

After a merger with DataWorks, Epicor eventually became a company that specialized in manufacturing and operation solutions. With over 21,000 customers in 150 countries, Epicor has grown as a strong ERP solution for manufacturing.

For a thorough understanding, here’s what we’ll cover:

• The Basics
• Functionality & Modules
• User Interface
• Industry Fit
• Scalability
• Pricing Structure
• Conclusion: Which ERP Solution is Best for You?
• Common Questions about NetSuite and Epicor

The Basics

What is NetSuite?

NetSuite is an acquired technology for ERP-based proficiency in business that operates on the cloud computing platform. This software is equipped with many facilities without having any particular specialization; these are cash/budget control, customer relationship management, sales, purchase, stock control, etc. It is important to note that flexibility is one of the main benefits of NetSuite so that businesses can expand the system gradually. It is based on the cloud and thus can be used from anywhere; this factor is suitable for working from home and real-time processing.

What is Epicor?

Epicor is also another powerful ERP system that allows for an organization’s implementation, and at the same time, it is available in cloud and on-premise deployment models. It services the manufacturing, distribution, retail and service industry, including companies of all sizes. Epicor is well accredited for its sphere-specific features, specifically its manufacturing and distribution sphere. Some of the functionalities available in the system include financial, supply chain, CRM and human capital functions.

NetSuite vs. Epicor: Functionality & Modules

Epicor Functionality & Modules

Epicor ERP is implemented to organize several processes in a company, but primarily, it addresses the manufacturing market needs with opportunities for other industries as well. Here are the key modules:

Supply Chain Management (SCM):

• Streamlines supply chain processes, offering tools to manage supplier and customer relationships efficiently.
• Enhances inventory management, logistics, and procurement functions.

Production Management:

• Covers everything from production planning and scheduling to execution and performance analysis.
• Provides real-time visibility into production processes to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Planning and Scheduling:

• Offers an end-to-end solution to manage and coordinate all aspects of production scheduling.
• Helps optimize resource utilization and improve delivery times.

Service and Maintenance:

• Manages service orders, maintenance schedules, and service calls.
• Ensures timely support and enhances customer satisfaction.

Human Capital Management (HCM):

• Provides a range of HR functions, including employee self-service, recruitment, onboarding, and performance management.
• Supports organizations in managing their workforce effectively.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM):

• Facilitates management of customer interactions and provides tools for improving customer satisfaction.
• Integrates with other business functions to ensure a seamless customer experience.

NetSuite Functionality & Modules

NetSuite offers a wide array of modules across different verticals, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes. The primary modules include:

Financial Management:

• Delivers comprehensive, real-time financial visibility with integrated financial planning and compliance management.
• Automates financial processes, ensuring accuracy and efficiency.

Order Management:

• Facilitates quick and efficient management of sales and purchase orders, enhancing order fulfillment processes.
• Integrates with inventory and shipping functions to provide real-time updates.

Production Management:

• Offers visibility into the production process, allowing businesses to track and optimize manufacturing activities.
• Supports production planning and work order management.

Supply Chain Management:

• Provides features for managing inventory, logistics, and supplier relationships.
• Enhances overall supply chain efficiency and reduces operational costs.

Warehouse and Fulfillment:

• Simplifies warehouse management and assists organizations in specifying the storage locations for different articles, as well as the serialized items management.
• It increases the accuracy of the orders and helps reduce the time required to fulfill the orders.

Procurement:

• Procedures that help to make all the aspects of the procurement cycle – sourcing, purchasing, and receipt- highly visible.
• It can be used to support strategic sourcing projects and supplier management initiatives.

Human Capital Management:

• Consults in themes related to human resource management and human resource development, including personnel management and payroll.
• It helps promote employees’ participation and ratings of their performance.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM):

• Offers lifecycle management of customers as well as CRM functions that can be easily aligned with many different areas of the business.
• Improves the relations and loyalty of customers.

Ecommerce:

• One of the features of NetSuite that has to be noted is that the company offers solutions for both B2B and B2C companies.
• Enables organizations to run their eCommerce stores optimally by built-in inventory and sales orders with the eCommerce store.

NetSuite vs. Epicor: User Interface

Epicor User Interface

Epicor ERP has a flexible and easy-to-navigate interface designed to help users get the most out of it. Key characteristics include:

Customization:

• More significantly, to this discussion, Epicor allows users to customize their interface with the degree of visibility that is relevant to their tasks.
• Personalization of dashboards allows users to have their relevant information for specific duties by setting the metrics and reports view.

Navigation:

• It has a ribbon-based interface architecture that is familiar to the majority of users because of the analogous Microsoft Office applications.
• The structure of the program and its modules is logical; one can easily go from one module to another using the collapsable menu bar.

Active Home Page:

• The active home page is, as the name implies, a home page that displays real-time data based on the role being used.
• Such an option is especially useful for those who have to receive performance indicators urgently.

Context-Sensitive Help:

• New users are created equal as the UI contains links to help and special tutorials that make it easy to find what one wants in the system.
• This support feature can be very useful because it allows users to gain proficiency much more quickly.

NetSuite User Interface

NetSuite also prioritizes user experience with its intuitive interface designed for ease of use:

Dashboard Customization:

• The self-service feature allows the user to configure the electronic dashboards as desired based on the roles with reference to the KPIs and the reports to be displayed.
• This level of personalization means that what is of most relevance to the users in their working capacities is showcased.

Navigation:

• The appearance of NetSuite is rather neat and user-friendly: the only principal tool for navigation is the top menu, which is divided into application parts.
• Users can search information by keywords on the global search, recent records or the shortcuts set by the users.

Reporting:

• Reporting tools of NetSuite are easy to use for the creation, modification, and execution of reports from within the system.
• This capability makes it possible for users to derive the required analysis with the least of a challenge.

User Preferences:

• Preferences settings like language or time zone, for example, can be adjusted by the users and color themes, which in return demonstrate a high level of flexibility for the software.
• This customization contributes to enhancing the user experience.

NetSuite vs. Epicor: Industry Fit

Epicor Industry Fit

Epicor has a strong presence in the following industries, providing specialized solutions tailored to their unique needs: 

Distribution:

• Epicor offers a best-of-breed framework of tools to ensure that wholesale distributors increase income, better serve customers, and reduce expenses.
• It has well-developed functionality related to supply chain management, assisting distributors in managing supply and demand.

Services:

• Using Epicor as an enterprise resource planning system, industries such as professional services and nonprofit organizations are well catered to by modules on human capital, financial, and customer relationship management.
• The execution of service operations management helps service organizations operate efficiently and improve service provision.

Retail:

• Being one of the current global leaders in retail solutions, Epicor offers solutions for every aspect of retail, including POS systems, merchandising, and e-commerce solutions that allow retailers with both physical and online stores to be closely integrated.
• This versatility makes it easier for retailers to be in harmony with changing consumer trends.

NetSuite Industry Fit

Due to the applicability of NetSuite to so many different sectors, the company is able to accommodate the various industries conveniently. Key sectors include:

Wholesale Distribution:

• Due to the availability of numerous solutions, including inventory management, order management, and supply chain management, NetSuite is highly suitable for use in wholesale distribution companies.
• The platform automates processes, increases the accuracy of item selection, and tends to work with customers.

Software and Technology:

• Since NetSuite is an online-based ERP, it is widely used in the tech market, where businesses may expand at a very fast rate or expand to other countries.
• One of the benefits is the ability to change the demand of the market: this feature helps tech companies to be flexible.

Professional Services:

• The NetSuite ERP contains enhanced workflow, project, resource, and timesheet/building expense tracking that is suitable for business service organizations.
• This assists organizations in the proper management of projects and, consequently, an improvement in the delivery of services.

Nonprofit:

• NetSuite has Nonprofit SuiteSuccess, which, as a single solution, comes with features for fund accounting, grant management, and donor management.
• These features are particularly useful to nonprofit organizations seeking to enhance their resource control.

Retail and eCommerce:

• The retail and eCommerce strengths of NetSuite are adapted point-of-sale, inventory management and customer relationship management systems.
• They help firms integrate the e-store and the physical store and ensure that customers have a similar experience when they shop online and physically.

NetSuite vs. Epicor: Scalability

Epicor Scalability

Epicor Software is specially developed to support the growth of different organizations, most specifically manufacturers and distributors. Key aspects include:

Flexible Deployment Options:

• Epicor comes in both on-premise and hosted solutions, a choice that empowers organizations to go for the solution that would best suit the organization and its growth plan.
• It also allows organizations to fit ERP solutions according to changes in their strapping or the modification of their business models.

Modular Architecture:

• It is also flexible because Epicor needs implementation in a modular fashion, and businesses can implement the functionalities that are needed currently and add to them as they arise.
• This means organizations can begin with basic processes and then add more complex processes at a later date, yet they do not have to redesign an entire system.

User Capacity:

• This functionality is able to handle a growing number of users without a lot of detrimental effects on the operation of the software. Therefore, it can grow with the business.
• This scalability is key for companies that are growing fast or for those that are extending their operations to other regions.

NetSuite Scalability

Regarding scalability, having a cloud as the foundation of its environment, NetSuite is ideal for companies that expect increases in sales and, correspondingly, in the number of transactions. Key features include:

Unlimited Users:

• One of the key strengths of NetSuite is that any number of users can be added to it, meaning that when an organization expands, its human resources do not have to be contracted because of licensing issues.
• This feature is particularly useful in organizations that have different employee requirements at different times.

Global Capabilities:

• NetSuite offers or can integrate multiple currencies, language support, and several compliance management systems; it is suitable for businesses that operate in global markets.
• This global scalability means that organizations can keep the management of operations of the organization in different regions easy.

Customization and Integration:

• NetSuite provides flexibility and extensibility, allowing for the extension of the system by third-party applications and integration with third-party applications.
• As can be seen from the above description, there are added advantages of using this tool when organizations expand; it can allow one to add more functionality or incorporate other tools without having to make any changes in the current organization.

Performance:

• The technological platform used by the tool is in the cloud for NetSuite, meaning that as the data loads and the number of its users increases, there is no question that the tool will slow down.
• This reliability is important in the areas of business that require the input and the output of real-time data analysis.

NetSuite vs. Epicor: Pricing Structure

Epicor Pricing Structure

Conventionally, Epicor’s pricing strategy depends on the type of deployment, the number of users, and chosen modules. Key points include:

Licensing Options:

• Epicor currently follows two types of license modes: the subscription license model for cloud-based users and the perpetual license model for on-premise users.
• Thus, organizations have the option to go for the model that will suit their financial plans as well as the operational model that they want to adopt.

Customization Costs:

• This is because the cost of customization depends on the extent to which the firm will deviate from the standard system.
• One drawback that businesses must consider is the extra expenses that are required to develop and put into practice the system.

Implementation Costs:

• The cost of deployment is relatively high and depends on the size of the organization and the format of the implementation.
• Epicor may take a longer time to implement because it may take one or more dedicated project teams, which can be costly in the beginning.

Support and Maintenance:

• Maintenance and support costs can actually be rolled into the pricing of a cloud solution. In contrast, in the case of on-premise software solutions, there may be additional costs for support services offered.
• These costs must be considered in the long-term cost structure of the businesses so they can be appropriately budgeted for when they arise.

NetSuite Pricing Structure

The pricing model of NetSuite can be based on subscription fees and can depend on the modules being chosen as well as the number of users. Key points include:

Base Subscription Fee:

• The essential ingredient underlying NetSuite is a subscription fee, which allows businesses to perform the fundamental tasks for $30,000 to $50,000 per year; add-on feature charges apply to particular modules, offices, or features, among others.
• The current fee model serves many purposes because it offers different options to businesses, which lets them control expenses.

User-Based Pricing:

• Specifically with regards to prices, cost can be dependent upon the number of users who are to access the system, which makes use of various pricing models that are characterized by user numbers.
• The expense inflations give organizations the ability to scale up their usage and the related money spent in proportion to growth.

Implementation Fees:

• As much as implementation costs can be fairly estimated, they depend on the level of deployment and the extent to which the solution requires customization.
• Businesses are also required to consider the cost that may be incurred when implementing the strategies since they can be immense.

Support and Maintenance:

• With NetSuite, support and maintenance come with the subscription cost, which can make for easy prediction in the company’s budgeting and financial planning.
• The level of improvements is constant and included as part of the services the clients are offered so that the system is as updated as possible.

Which ERP Solution is Best for You?

Epicor and NetSuite are two great ERP systems, though the one that would fit your business process more depends on your industry and special requirements.

Choose NetSuite if you require a highly elastic cloud-based ERP platform that will support a wide range of industries and have all the basic functionalities. It is best suited to industries such as software, subscription businesses, and retail with good e-commerce functionality. It is best for those companies that require a highly flexible and simple solution that can easily integrate most of the company’s business processes.

Choose Epicor if your company is in manufacturing or distribution and you are seeking business-specific modules. Epicor has great manufacturing features and outstanding controls for the financial management of the organization, so it has become a favorite among customers with elaborate requirements and industry specifications. However, some customization and integration may be required to utilize the platform to its full potential.

Whether it is for the flexibility and expansion to the international market in NetSuite or the specialization in fields of operations in Epicor, Onboard goes hand in hand to assist from the get-go.

Common Questions about NetSuite and Epicor

Q1. Can third-party applications interface with Netsuite and Epicor?

Yes, integration as a job of NetSuite and Epicor is quite strong. NetSuite offers a more efficient integration ability through SuiteCloud, and Epicor offers this with Epicor Service Connect for third-party integration.

Q2. What are NetSuite and Epicor’s approaches to data security and compliance?

Both platforms are committed to data security and protection and all of the compliance. Implemented with primary features such as GDPR compliance, HIPAA, and SOC 1/2/3, with updated security measures on a regular basis. Addressing further compliance, Epicor also complies with industry-specific compliance standards and has other features, such as role-based access control to data.

Q3. How do Netsuite and Epicor handle multi-currency and scaling internationally?

NetSuite has a globalization perspective to it as it supports multiple currencies, taxes, and International GAAP. Epicor also provides support for multi-currency working and has tools and features to address many of the manufacturing issues associated with the global supply chain.