We have been working with Epicor Professional Services to address several areas within our ERP system. Unfortunately, we do not always get connected with a consultant whose experience is the right fit for our specific needs.
Can anyone recommend another company that provides comprehensive consulting services for Epicor ERP? We are looking for a knowledgeable, reliable partner who can assist with a wide range of Epicor projects, troubleshooting, configuration, and system improvements.
As an Epicor employee that USED to be in Professional Services, i will say that if you are not finding the the correct Epicor Resource, you should reach out through your CAM to find someone that meets your needs. I know from experience that personality matters… we had two different consultants who were the BEST most knowledgable consultants we had on various subjects, and they were often times asked for by name… and yet. both of them were “kicked out” of projects because they were (in the words of the customer): “Idiots”.
Even I got kicked out of one project (after my first day) because I was “too strong” in my opinions (imagine that!).
But, there are other consultants out there that do not work for Epicor, and you do have the option to go outside as well… just make sure that they are certified and knowledgable about the version you are on.
You can escalate and discuss with Epicor management to look for other available PS consultants from other regions.
I agree.
I have been…ahem…asked to step off a project or two. And some of those I have since been asked to step back into.
Knowledge and skill are very important, but personality matters.
I always recommend interviewing professional resources. Make sure they are the right fit to complement your team.
Epicor and the partners are happy to accommodate this; you just might have to wait for your preferred resource to become available.
Shout-out to SixS! Full-Service ERP Software Training and Consulting Firm | Six S Partners
Epicor Kinetic is a PRETTY BIG piece of software. It’s really hard for one consultant to know it all. That said, when I’m presented with a question I can’t answer, I don’t stop at, “huh, I don’t know…”. Before I even take the next breath its “but I can find out.” The supreme advantage of a consulting organization is that I can ask others and consult resources and things I and others have done before. As everyone else has said, this is a relationship business.
And yes, I’ve also been asked to not return on projects.
STORY TIME:
There was one project I was on back in… oh… 2008 or so… i had been on the project for about 10 months. we were implementing their second (out of 27) sites. Their first site had already gone live on full financials, but this second site was the first manufacturing site that was to go live (in about a month).
The customer sent a request to our project management team for someone to HELP with the creation of custom reports. Their team was very accomplished, but needed more manpower, but also asked for some additional training to bring them to top performance.
I arrived at the customer. It was a Tuesday Morning (after an all day travel to get there the day before). The new consultant was already onsite, and came into the conference room to greet me. Through the glass window, i was already getting the stinkeye from the customer’s project team. So… i “interviewed” the new consultant whom I had never met. I asked “how long have you been with Epicor”… what Projects, etc. I found out that he had just finished his first 2 months, and was very proud that he was “fully certified” and that he was now reading how to create reports. After asking more about his experience, I realized that this NEW guy was very inexperienced, and the customer’s project team was going to chew him up. I talked to the customer’s project manager, and confirmed that they had already asked a few questions, and realized he was not experienced. I called the Epicor project manager, and said that we needed an EXPERIENCED person to do the job. We had someone working remotely before the day was done, and that person stayed on the project for the duration.
All that said… yes, we sometimes have new people who are still learning. Hey… ONE TIME, I was that “new person” who had seen the software just weeks before, but was giving (successful) advise on how to run it.
Personality is the key. Someone who can successfully give advice, and other times say “i need to research” and gets a good answer in a breif period of time is great. In fact, sometimes it is the hungry newcomers who can give the best answers.
Another time… i was the lead consultant, and “Betty” came in to “shadow” me… customer asked me a question, and i had to say “i dont know”… but Betty said “Oh, you can do that with ___”… after the customer left, Betty showed me how to do that. it was amazing how this newcomer was teaching me how to do something advanced, basically because she had just finished the training.
END of STORY TIME.
There a lot of good Epicor Professional Services consultants, and of course, I’m partial to the authorized Epicor Services Partners in the channel. Here’s the link to find them.
If you’re going to contact any of them, I highly recommend starting at the end of the list (i.e., staring with “T”) and working your way back. 