Why is consumer-level mobile technology light years ahead of what is available in the enterprise?
Why are we able to monitor our heart rate on a watch or hold our phone to a cash register and pay electronically?
All the while at the corporate level, we still scan bar codes with handheld devices that cost ten times as much and are running Windows CE which was released in 1996...over 20 years ago? Why do business users still need to sit at a desktop workstation to login into their ERP client software to get meaningful work done?
We wondered the same thing! We have made it our mission to get the enterprise back into the lead on mobility. Our newest software service, Bezlio, allows you to easily connect your ERP with the outside world, without having to open firewall ports or copy and sync data to the cloud.
Order Entry in Epicor ERP on a Mobile Device
To prove that Bezlio can rapidly mobilize your ERP, we created a Bezlio screen to allow Epicor 10 ERP users to do sales order entry from a web browser, on any device, from anywhere. And do it much faster and more efficiently!
Look at these two GIFs that compare the two processes. The first one is the standard Epicor 10 ERP client screen. The user is entering a brand new sales order with two individual lines.
The second GIF is a Bezlio screen where we created a streamlined Epicor sales order entry screen that allows someone to create the same order with the same two lines!
Check it out!
Epicor 10 ERP Client
48 Seconds
Bezlio Portal to Epicor 10
35 seconds
So...How Does Bezlio Compare?
There are three distinct advantages of using Bezlio for mobilizing your ERP functionality.
Speed
First, let's talk about the speed. You can see how much faster a web application can be when it is stripped down to the core requirements required by the user. When you build a tool with a particular type of worker in mind, you can speed up their experience exponentially. In this case, if the user simply needs a way to enter a quick sales order from a mobile device, then Bezlio is vastly superior. Imagine auto-signing in, selecting your sales order bezl, and being able to enter that information almost instantly, from any device. The alternative would require your remote user to boot up a laptop, VPN into your network, load the full software client and then enter the order.
Flexibility
Developers of consumer apps often make their applications available on a variety of platforms so their users can access their data on multiple devices. For example, an application like Evernote has clients for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, and a web version. Again, why are enterprise users stuck running their ERP client software in Windows only? Imagine being able to access your Epicor functionality from any smartphone, tablet, or even from a Mac without having to open a virtual Windows environment! Open a browser, log into Bezlio, and within a few seconds, be connected to your Epicor environment from anywhere in the world.
Security
While there are solutions that let you copy your data to the cloud for reporting and analysis, that process introduces another set of problems. Once you copy data to the cloud, it is immediately out of date with the parent data source. You are now responsible for keeping that data synchronized for the services that read that data to be accurate. Bad data produces bad decisions. Lastly, you now need to secure your data in two places. Keep in mind that the copy of the data in the cloud is not even on your platform, which means that you are likely relying on third-parties for your data security.
By utilizing Bezlio, you can avoid all of these issues. When you link to your original data source, you eliminate all problems with old data and synchronization issues. You don't need to worry about securing any data you store in the cloud because Bezlio doesn't store your data there. Bezlio relies on a token-based communications system between your source data and the end user, utilizing military-strength encryption between the two points. This includes granular user controls to provide the most secure method to mobilize your Epicor ERP data.
Conclusion
When you start to understand the incredible flexibility and mobile access that Bezlio provides to Epicor ERP users, then you realize the scope of functions and processes that you can operate on a mobile device for Epicor.
Deploy a customer portal where your clients can perform self-service, viewing their open invoices, current order status, and any payment status.
Implement a labor data collection system on an iPhone, iPad or Android device, from anywhere on your shop floor with an internet connection.
Your warehouse personnel can perform purchase order receipts on an iPad, right from the dock doors.
Or a traveling executive can approve POs in Epicor right from their iPhone on the 8th tee.
So...now it is your turn! What unique processes with your Epicor ERP would you love to be able to do on a mobile device? Or better yet, how about integrating Salesforce with Epicor? Tell us in the comments below!