Epicor Procurement Br

EPICOR

EPICOR PROCUREMENT 7.3.6

RELEASE GUIDE, JUNE 2007

EPICOR Procurement 7.3.6 Release Guide

© Epicor Software Corporation, June 2007. of 40

Copyright © Epicor Software Corporation, 2007. The contents hereof are provided for information purposes only. Epicor makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents of this document publication and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. The usage of Epicor Software is subject to the terms of the Epicor End User License Agreement. The contents of this document are believed to be current and accurate as of its date of publication, June 2007. Changes to this document between reprinting and other important information about the software product are made or published in release notes, and you are urged to obtain the current release notes for the software product. We welcome user comments and reserve the right to revise this publication and/or make improvements or changes to the products or programs described in this publication at any time, without notice. For a complete description of the product features, please refer to the product’s user guides, reference manuals and release notes. Companies, names and/or data used in screens are fictitious, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of Epicor Software Corporation. Epicor and the Epicor logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.



Table of Contents Epicor Procurement 7.3.6 ................................................................................... 4

Introduction .................................................................................................... 4 Epicor Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Suite................................. 5

Reigning In Spending with Superior Insight and Processes.............................. 5 Procurement Meets the Challenge of Cost Containment Head-On................ 5 The Epicor Buy-Side Solution........................................................................... 6 Delivering Quantifiable Business Benefits ........................................................ 6

New Features....................................................................................................... 8 Catalog Management..................................................................................... 8 Item Search ..................................................................................................... 8 Shopping Basket ............................................................................................. 8 Orders ...........................................................................................................11 Approvals ......................................................................................................17 Reports..........................................................................................................19 Preferences....................................................................................................19 Inventory Integration.....................................................................................20 Console.........................................................................................................21 Administration ..............................................................................................23 System-Wide.................................................................................................33 Service Connect ............................................................................................34

Additional Information ....................................................................................35 Compatibility.................................................................................................35 Languages.....................................................................................................35 Upgrades.......................................................................................................35

Technical Support .............................................................................................36 Overview.......................................................................................................36 EPICweb........................................................................................................36 Optional Technical Support Services Offerings..............................................37

Consulting Services ...........................................................................................38 Overview.......................................................................................................38 Implementation Support ...............................................................................38 Global Presence ............................................................................................39 Product Education.........................................................................................39

User Groups .......................................................................................................40 Overview.......................................................................................................40



Epicor Procurement 7.3.6 Introduction Epicor is pleased to announce Epicor Procurement 7.3.6, the latest release in our Supplier Relationship Management Suite. Procurement 7.3.6 continues to expand the value of an automated procurement system to the enterprise. With this release, we’ve made improvements in numerous areas. Requisitioners, approvers, and administrators will find it even easier to use and will benefit from new features that expand the scope of Procurement to additional purchasing processes and business workflows.

The goal of this release is to improve the initial setup, simplify ongoing maintenance and improve the user experience.

PROCUREMENT REACH, SPEED, AND CONTROL Epicor Procurement is a Web-based purchasing solution that empowers employees to manage their own buying within the framework of business rules that your organization defines. By automating inefficient manual tasks, like catalog management, requisitions and approvals, purchasing managers are free for more important tasks like analyzing trends, better contract negotiation, and strategic sourcing – a situation that couples smarter buying with time and cost savings. The control and insight delivered by Epicor Procurement achieves quantifiable results that go straight to the bottom line:

• Save money. Centralized procurement delivers bargaining leverage with suppliers, ensuring the best prices for goods, material, and labor.

• Maximize volume discounts. Improved visibility into spending translates into consolidated purchases and suppliers and therefore better discounts or other supplier concessions.

• Reduce purchasing cycle time. By automating tasks, such as approval routing with sophisticated workflow, the purchasing cycle time is significantly reduced.

• Reduce off-contract spending. Enforcement of business rules virtually eliminates maverick buying.

WHAT’S INSIDE This guide covers the features, functionality and technology introduced with Epicor Procurement 7.3.6. It also provides information on professional services, product support, education and other important topics related to this release.



Epicor Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Suite

Reigning In Spending with Superior Insight and Processes Electronic procurement has changed the way companies handle requisitioning and purchasing. Using Web-enabled technologies, electronic procurement begins on every user’s desktop, within the range of available items and approval rules established and managed by central administrators. Throughout the cycle, frictionless processes contribute to better efficiencies and cost containment. However, electronic procurement can only provide maximum benefits when key issues such as enterprise-wide deployment, flexible content, integration and analytics are addressed. Epicor Procurement offers a unique electronic procurement application that provides solutions to your critical business issues and groundbreaking features such as a patently simple user interface, adaptable business rules, out-of-the-box integration, and collaborative content.

Epicor Procurement is one of three solutions that make up the Epicor Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Suite. The others are Sourcing and Procurement DecisionMart. Sourcing provides automation and Web-based collaboration for the up-front purchasing processes of negotiating with suppliers. It automates the Request for Information and Request for Quote processes that can be inefficient when done manually and result in suboptimal outcomes. By automating the process, more categories and spot purchases can be put out for bid to more suppliers, with various levels of online competition and anonymity appropriate for each event. Sourcing can also be used effectively on the sell side, offering the capability to garner the highest price for excess inventory or retired equipment.

Procurement DecisionMart is a business intelligence solution that puts your finger on the pulse of your organization’s spending. With dozens of key performance indicators (KPIs), purchasing professionals, executives, and every expense-accountable manager has access to insightful analysis of their spending, their suppliers’ performance, and their own organizational procurement process performance.

Together or separate, these SRM solutions provide for-profit companies and not-for-profit organizations with great abilities for cost containment. The Epicor SRM solutions, by saving time and money, can provide competitive advantage and the opportunity to focus resources on more strategic initiatives.

Procurement Meets the Challenge of Cost Containment Head-On Today’s market is driving businesses to improve bottom lines by finding new ways to reduce costs and gain efficiencies. Procurement strategies have come into focus as a critical element in maintaining the competitive edge that today’s economy demands.

The early adopters of electronic procurement quickly generated empirical results of their return on investment. These pioneers, mostly large enterprises, paved the way for the midmarket, typically early- to late-majority adopters, to achieve similar results with solutions that had all the necessary functionality at a midmarket total cost of ownership.



According to a recent report from Forrester, “eProcurement applications help create employee compliance with these deals by putting all preferred supplier catalogs at a single corporate site that is accessible by browser and readily searchable, providing easy-to-use tools such as wizards to guide buyers through the requisitioning process and automating the approval process for purchases by employees.” 1

Industry analysts estimate that by automating Procurement, the savings on prices paid for materials ranges from 5% to 20% and that total requisition-to-order costs are reduced by 48% on average.

However, many systems offer incomplete or limited procurement solutions, often not delivering the full buying cycle from requisition through payment.

Along with all the procurement automation solutions available, businesses are often forced to consider custom integration, user adoption, and expensive IT resources or consulting services to maintain and administer the system. These issues can seriously impact the return on investment (ROI) expected from automating the entire purchasing process.

Epicor’s solution addresses these issues.

The Epicor Buy-Side Solution Epicor’s solutions are designed to solve the real-world business challenges of midmarket enterprises and deliver real-world results. Built exclusively on the Microsoft Windows Server System®, Epicor Procurement helps you gain control over your purchasing with a complete Web-based purchasing solution. It delivers genuine process efficiencies, measurable cost savings, and gives you total control over spending and trading relationships with your suppliers.

Strategic supplier relationship management is all about driving the inefficiencies out of the buying and selling process. To maximize efficiencies, you must address the entire process. It starts with sourcing, and goes through procurement, and finishes with financial settlement. Epicor offers the most complete SRM solution for the midmarket simply because we can offer a tightly integrated solution for customer, supplier, and employee enablement, end-to-end.

Delivering Quantifiable Business Benefits

AUTOMATING THE COMPLETE PROCUREMENT CYCLE Epicor provides the ultimate efficiency and control by streamlining the entire purchasing process and bringing it online – from sourcing to procurement to financial settlement. Epicor deals with all the critical factors impacting your supplier relationship management success, including secure supplier access to their data in Epicor Enterprise Information Portal, insightful analytics with Epicor Procurement DecisionMart, and payment control with Epicor Financials.

Several companies also accrue benefits from running Epicor Procurement stand-alone or integrated to non-Epicor ERP and MRP solutions.

FULL PRODUCTION DEPLOYMENT, FAST The intuitive user interface of Epicor Procurement and administration by business users ensures rapid mass adoption and contract compliance, so you get collaborating with more suppliers and users faster. What’s more, Procurement is built for the Microsoft Windows Server System platform, which offers high performance, reliability, and flexibility – without the associated cost or complexity of solutions outside the midmarket.

LOWEST TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP Epicor Procurement is designed for rapid implementation and business user administration, which translates into a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and less drain on your purchasing department, IT resources, and consulting budget.

1 Source: Forrester Research, Inc. “The Forrester Wave™: eProcurement Solutions, Q2 2007” (April 20, 2007)



THE RIGHT INFORMATION WHEN YOU NEED IT Epicor Procurement manages the transactions that provide enterprise-wide, near real-time visibility into your aggregated spending. Analysis of this timely data supports your strategic sourcing initiatives, lets you leverage your spending to obtain discounts, and allows managers to make better, more informed decisions that positively impact the bottom line.

ELEVATED PURCHASING STRATEGY By moving the more mundane functions of ordering, processing and tracking goods and services to the employee desktop, your purchasing professionals are able to focus on more strategic contributions.

A SOLUTION OPEN TO INTEROPERABILITY The long-term viability of your supplier relationship management solution depends upon the openness of your solution’s architecture. Epicor Procurement can communicate with other sources of information both within and outside of the four walls of your business, including any supplier, online marketplace, or alternate back office application – local or global.



New Features Catalog Management

SUPPLIER LOGO ICONS Supplier logo icons can now be associated with all suppliers, not just those that have remote catalogs (Tap Outs). Using a unique supplier icon for each supplier’s catalogs helps users identify items from specific suppliers quickly. Clicking on the supplier icon in a search result brings up the item details page.

Item Search

RETAIN CATALOG SEARCH RESULTS AND QUANTITIES The Catalog Item Search page now retains your search results after you view item details or add items to a shopping basket. The improved functionality provides greater efficiency as you compare catalog items and add them to your basket. Any item quantities you entered in the Results section are also retained.

Shopping Basket

CATALOG ITEM PRICE OVERRIDE Authorized users can now override catalog item prices when creating requisitions. In this release, the system administrator grants override permissions to User Groups. Depending on your enterprise configuration, authorized users can include requisitioners, buyers, and approvers. As an authorized user, you can:

• Override a catalog item price, unit of measure (UOM), and item description

• Enter a negative value at the line item level

• Complete a FreeForm associated with the item

Overrides are recorded in the audit history.

The system administrator must enable override configuration options for User Groups and Catalog Items.

AUTOMATIC NAVIGATION TO NON-CATALOG ENTRY PAGE Some companies and some users utilize non-catalog items more than catalog items. For that reason, a new configuration option allows you to navigate automatically from the Console to the non-catalog entry page. When the option is set, clicking the Create an Order link on the Console opens the non-catalog entry page instead of the Shopping Basket.

The system administrator sets the configuration in the User Profile page.

ENTERPRISE CODES DEFAULT FROM PREVIOUS LINE ITEM Improved functionality now allows for easier entry of enterprise codes when adding multiple items to a shopping basket. The administrator can enable the field dependency option and configure the system so



the enterprise codes automatically default from the previous line item's codes. You can then edit the codes, if necessary. In this way, you can add items with less data entry and fewer key strokes.

The system administrator enables the field dependency option on an Organization Profile page, and sets the previous line item option for account codes in the Customizations page. In the Customizations page, select the option Previous Item in Basket for the account code in the column Basket Item Default Source.

CLARIFICATION OF REQUISITION SUBMISSION DATES Shopping Basket functionality has been enhanced to clarify the date when a requisition is submitted for approval. The My Basket page now includes the field Date to Submit for Approval. Requisitioners enter the date for the system to submit the requisition to approvers in this field. In the previous release, this field was labeled as Release Date. Requisitioners can enter a date for any order, whether or not it is a release against a blanket.



REQUIRED DATE AND SUBMISSION DATE VALIDATION Improved functionality now prevents requisitioners from submitting a requisition when the date required for fulfillment occurs before the date the requisition will be submitted for approval. When a requisitioner submits a requisition, the system checks the dates the requisitioner entered in the Date Required field and the Date to Submit for Approval field.

When the required date is earlier than the submission date, the system stops the process and alerts the requisitioner as shown here.

SIMPLIFIED ENTRY OF SPLIT DISTRIBUTIONS Improved functionality now simplifies your ability to enter split distributions when requisitioning items. Split functionality allows you to split the cost of a line item between two or more account codes, categories, cost center codes, or other enterprise records. You can now use the Tab key to navigate from field to field as you enter split percentages, amounts, or quantities in the main splits page.



Orders

NOTES LOGS FOR ORDERS The Order Details page includes a new Notes tab where you can enter comments about an order. You can add, edit, and delete notes on a specific order, and the system logs each note with the date, time, and user name. The Notes feature allows you to:

• Enter notes on any order to which you have access, if you are a requisitioner, approver, buyer, or administrator

• Enter notes on an order of any status without having to reroute the order

• View all notes logged on an order by all users

• Edit and delete the notes you entered



PURCHASE ORDERS TRANSMITTED IN PDF FORMAT Purchase orders can now be transmitted to suppliers in PDF format. This new feature allows you to email the purchase orders to suppliers in a format that is read-only and prohibits editing. In the previous release, purchase orders were transmitted in RTF format. This change is automatic in this release; it does not require a configuration setting.

PURCHASE ORDERS EASIER TO PRINT Improved functionality simplifies your ability to print purchase orders. In this release, the number steps has been reduced. To print a purchase order, you now:

1. Open the Purchase Order.

2. Click Preview.

3. Click Print.

PURCHASE ORDER TRANSMISSION INFORMATION When a purchase order is transmitted to a supplier, the transmit method and address (email or URL) are now recorded in the Order History tab.

INTELLIGENT TOOL TIPS FOR ORDER LISTS Tool tips now display more information in a pop-up when you point to the More Information icon on a list of orders. The tool tips now display:

• Order header comments

• Requisition description

• Date/time order was submitted

• Date/time order was transmitted

• Supplier



The tool tips also display for orders in the Approvals page and the Item Search page. The system administrator enables the intelligent tool tips in the Customizations page by selecting the following options:

• Smart Cursor for Orders and Approver Orders

• Smart Cursor for Item Search

MODIFICATION OF CHANGE ORDERS Change Order functionality now allows you to fully modify an order. In the previous release, you were permitted to make limited modifications to an order, such as item quantity, ship to, and comments. In this release, you can add additional catalog and non-catalog items, delete items, and change nearly all other information you enter when creating a shopping basket.

You can now change the following information:

Item Information Order Information

Enterprise Codes (line requisition codes and segmented requisition codes)

Budget Date

Required Date

Quantity

Price

Enterprise Codes (header requisition codes)

Requisition Description

Credit Card Type

Credit Card Number

Expiration Date

Reference

Billing

Shipping

CHANGE ORDERS PERMITTED ON PARTIALLY RECEIVED ORDERS Change orders are now permitted on purchase orders when the status is Pending Receipt and one or more items have already been received. The order details display received items as read-only and pending items as enabled for editing. You can make changes to the pending items, such as decreasing or increasing



quantities and changing descriptions, accounts, or suppliers. The resulting change order will be routed for approval.

Once you make changes on the order, the system creates a new order and applies a prefix from the original order as a reference. The status of the original order is changed to Replaced.

Any user in the system with the ability to enter an order can create a change order, but only the originator of the order can affect the change order. Note: When approvers change orders during the approval process, they change the existing order; that does not create a change order.

ALLOCATED ESTIMATED TAX ON LINE ITEMS A new configuration option enables the system to include estimated tax for line items in budget calculations for more accurate budgeting and commitment checking. In the previous release, the system calculated estimated tax amounts for the order total and not for individual items. In this release, when the option to include tax is enabled:

• Estimated tax on line items displays in the order details

• Taxes are included in budget calculations and commitment type calculations

• Receivers can change the estimated tax amount on line items to the actual tax amounts

The system administrator enables the tax option in the Enterprise Manager.

BUYER SUBMISSION OF NON-CATALOG ORDERS Buyers can now submit non-catalog orders for approval after verification instead of routing the orders back to the requisitioners for release. In the previous release, only requisitioners could release orders for approval. This is an Organization option set by your system administrator.

Depending on the configuration of the approval path in your enterprise, a buyer may release a non-catalog item to a supplier for fulfillment when this option is enabled. New approval path options in this release allow routing of non-catalog orders to approvers before buyers. In this case, a requisition is first approved, and then verified by the buyer. If the option is enabled to allow the buyer to submit the non-catalog item, the system will send the approved requisition to the supplier after buyer verification.

For more information about the new approval path options, see Approval of Non-catalog Items Prior to Buyer Verification in the Administration section.



ORDER SEARCH CRITERIA The Orders Search page has new search criteria to help you find a specific order in less time. You can now search for orders by:

• User-defined date range (in mm/dd/yyyy or dd/mm/yyyy format depending on the user’s regional preference setting)

• Organization and enterprise blankets created by other users

Additional changes to the Order Search page include:

• Enhanced Keyword search functionality, with the system now searching the requisition description, item description, and order comments

• Reordered search options for orders Submitted for approval, from the Last 7 days to the Last 90 days

PERFORMANCE OF ORDER ITEM DETAIL Improved system performance enables you to work more efficiently with requisitions at the line item level. The pages you use to view and edit line items now open faster and respond quicker to your commands. The Order Details page displays the individual items in an order. You can click the More Information icon next to a specific line item to view item details.

RELEASE CREATED FOR NON-CATALOG ITEMS AGAINST BLANKET ORDERS New functionality now allows the system to automatically create a release for non-catalog orders against blanket orders. When requisitioners create requisitions, Procurement now automatically checks to see if the non-catalog items on the requisition qualify for a release against a blanket order. If a blanket can accommodate all or some of the requisition, then the qualifying portion of the requisition creates a release against the blanket order.



RELEASE CREATED AGAINST A SPECIFIC BLANKET ORDER Authorized requisitioners can now search open blanket orders and create a release against a specific blanket order. In the previous release, you were permitted to view only the blanket orders you created, and the system did not always associate the release with the displayed blanket. You now have the ability to:

• Search all open public blankets and organization blankets for the organization to which you belong

• Create a release against a specific blanket order



Approvals

LINE ITEM APPROVAL Approvers can now approve or disapprove line items in a requisition. In the previous release, approvers were required to approve or disapprove an entire requisition. The new functionality now allows approvers to:

• Approve or disapprove specific line items in a requisition

• Enter comments for each line item approval/disapproval

When an approver disapproves a line item, Procurement:

• Sends an email notification with approver comments to the requisitioner

• Inserts a note in the audit log

• Deletes the disapproved item from the requisition

• Deletes the item amount from the budget (Pending Approval commitment type)

When an approver changes and approves an order, the system sends an email notification to the requisitioner that lists the line items that were changed, approved, disapproved, and deleted.

To support the new functionality, the user interface has been changed to include check boxes and radio buttons to approve or disapprove each line item or all items. You select the check box or radio button next to the line item to approve or disapprove it in the Order Details (Pending Approval) page.

REQUISITION APPROVAL FROM A PDA OR EMAIL New functionality now simplifies your ability to approve or disapprove requisitions from the email notification. First, the email notification now contains order details in the body of the email. In the previous release, approvers were required to log in to Procurement or open the order to view order information. Secondly, you can now approve requisitions from email using a mobile device. The email notification now



contains a hyperlink that opens a new page where you can approve or disapprove the requisition and enter comments.

To support this new feature, the email notification sent to the approver now includes Order Summary and Order Details information.

Order Summary Information Order Details Information

Requisition Number

Supplier Name

Order Comment

Requisition Description

Order Total

Line Item

Quantity

Unit of measure

Supplier Part Number

Unit Price

Extended Price

Order Total

The email notification contains the following new hyperlink for mobile devices:

• To go directly to the order from a mobile device, click here...

When you click the link for a mobile device, the system displays the new page for approving/disapproving the requisition.

Email approval options are configured by the system administrator and by user preference.

APPROVER ABILITY TO MODIFY REQUISITIONS Approver rights have been enhanced to allow an approver to completely modify a requisition. In the previous release, approvers were permitted to make limited changes to a requisition including deleting an item, reducing a quantity, adding ad-hoc approvers, and changing header and item comments. In this release, approvers can make extensive changes to a requisition. Approvers can now:

• Add new catalog and non-catalog items

• Change items

• Edit billing and shipping information

• Change estimated tax

• Fully modify an order while completing a change order

Changes that require rerouting are determined by new approval rerouting options in the Enterprise Manager. The order is rerouted according to the options selected by the administrator. For more information about the new options, see Approval Path Rerouting Upon Order Changes in the Administration section.

The system administrator grants permission for approvers to modify requisitions at the Organization level with an override at the User Profile level.

EMAIL APPROVAL NOTIFICATIONS The email approval notification sent to a requisitioner now includes details of changes made by the approver. The email notification includes:

• Approver

• Description of the action taken

• Approver comments

• Line items changed, approved, disapproved, and deleted



APPROVER COMMENTS WINDOW The Approver Comments window has been relabeled to more clearly identify its purpose. When you approve or disapprove all items in a requisition, the Approver Comments window displays where you can enter comments about the requisition.

Reports

SIMPLIFIED REPORT PRINTING Improved functionality simplifies your ability to print reports. In this release, the number of steps has been reduced. To print a report, you now:

1. Select the report in the Reports page.

2. Click Preview.

3. Click Print.

BUDGET SUMMARY AND DETAIL REPORTS The Budget Summary report has been reformatted and a new Budget Detail report is now available that shows the budgeted amount verses the actual amount committed. You specify the date range and enterprise code. The report includes a list of purchase orders that comprise the commitment, and creates subtotals by commitment type and period.

Preferences

ASSIGNMENT OF TWO PROXIES TO EACH OTHER PROHIBITED Proxy functionality has been changed to facilitate the approval and buyer verification processes. The system now prohibits two users from designating each other as mutual proxies. If you select a proxy who already has you designated as a proxy, the system prompts you to select a different user.

This change applies only to approval and buyer proxies. Two requisitioners may still designate each other as their requisition proxies. The system also prevents the assignment of two proxies to each other in the User Profiles page.

USER PREFERENCE FOR DEFAULT CURRENCY Regional settings now include a new Default Currency preference. The currency you select is used as the default on pages where you can choose a currency and a currency has not been previously stored on a record. For example, the default currency will display when you:

• Add a non-catalog item to a shopping basket

• Add an item to a catalog



Inventory Integration

SHIP FROM MULTIPLE INVENTORY LOCATIONS Integration with Epicor Enterprise SCM Suite's Inventory module has been enhanced to allow you to ship Inventory items from multiple locations against internal sales orders generated by Procurement. In the previous release, the integration supported only one stock location and allocated inventory for shipment from that location.

In this release:

• The system defaults to the first location the item is available

• An inventory manager can split a stock issue from multiple locations

• The charge posts to the account on the Procurement requisition

AUTOMATED ITEM IMAGE MANAGEMENT WITH INVENTORY Item image links are now automatically created and updated between Procurement and Epicor Enterprise SCM suite's Inventory module. In the previous release, you could not attach an image to an item. In this release, a link to the image is sent between the two applications.

DISPLAY STOCK AVAILABLE FOR INVENTORY ITEMS Integration with Epicor Enterprise SCM suite’s Inventory module now displays the stock available in Inventory. Requisitioners and buyers can use this information to determine whether to submit a requisition for stock from the default warehouse location, a stock issue from another warehouse, or place an order with a supplier.

STOCK TRANSFER When Procurement is integrated with Epicor Enterprise SCM suite's Inventory module, a requisition can now request a stock transfer from one warehouse to another instead of a stock withdrawal.

PURCHASE ORDERS PUBLISHED TO EPICOR ENTERPRISE PURCHASING When an “order to stock” is approved and Procurement is integrated with Epicor Enterprise Purchasing, Procurement creates and sends a back office purchase order to Purchasing. When the purchase order is received, the receipt is completed in Purchasing and inventory is incremented.



Console

ORDERS TO VERIFY ON THE CONSOLE The Procurement login console now includes a new expandable order control for buyers only. The new order control, Orders to Verify, hyperlinks to the last ten orders awaiting buyer verification. Point the cursor over an order number, and a tool tip displays details about the order.

MORE INFORMATION IN ORDER TOOL TIPS The tool tips now display more information about the orders on the console. Point the cursor over an order number, and a tool tip displays the requisitioner's name, the total order amount, and the requisition description in addition to the fields that were previously displayed in the order tool tip.



Administration

NOTES LOGS ON SUPPLIERS The Supplier Information page includes a new Notes field where administrators and authorized buyers can add comments about the supplier. The system logs each note with the date, time, and user name. The new Notes feature allows:

• Administrators and authorized buyers to add, edit, and delete notes about the supplier

• All users with access to the catalog to view notes about the supplier

The user interface has been changed in this release:

• The Supplier Links option is now named Supplier Information.

• The Supplier Profile information now displays in the Supplier Information page when you click a supplier name hyperlink. In the previous release, the Supplier Profile page opened in a separate window.

PROCUREMENT CARD OPTION ON SUPPLIER PROFILES The Supplier Profiles page in the Enterprise Manager now includes new configuration options that designate 1) if a supplier accepts credit cards, and 2) whether the supplier has a ghost procurement card. A ghost procurement card is a credit card used by your enterprise that is not visible to your users. When the option is enabled, the system uses the ghost procurement card for a purchase order to that particular supplier. In addition, the ghost card overrides any other credit card a requisitioner or buyer may enter against an order.

If the supplier profile is not configured to accept procurement cards, but a procurement card is included on the header of a requisition, then the system excludes the procurement card information from the purchase order created for the supplier.



MULTIPLE CATALOGS PER SUPPLIER Enhanced Catalog functionality now allows you to create and maintain multiple catalogs for a single supplier. You can then associate the catalogs to user groups in the User Groups Profile page without setting up separate suppliers.

For example, the supplier ABC Company may provide you with one catalog file. You can create two catalogs for ABC Company supplies, such as ABC Office Supplies and ABC Audio Equipment. You can then associate each catalog to user groups.

As a result, catalog maintenance is now more efficient as you can import a single supplier catalog in the Import Catalog page, and the system updates the items and prices for the multiple catalogs you created. For example, you can import the new ABC Office Supplies catalog only once, and the system updates both ABC Office Supplies and ABC Audio Equipment.

Each catalog you create can be associated to only one supplier.



The Item Search page has a new Catalog search field. You can select a catalog from the list to limit your search to a specific supplier catalog. A catalog is available to you if it is associated with your user group.

DESIGNATED USERS CAN ASSIGN ENTERPRISE CODES TO NON-CATALOG ITEMS New configuration options in Enterprise Manager allow designated users to assign and edit enterprise codes for non-catalog items when the enterprise codes are disabled for editing in the system. In the previous release, requisitioners and buyers were prohibited from editing enterprise codes when the Editable option was disabled in the Customizations page.

One configuration option applies to buyers, and the other, to requisitioners. Buyers can edit enterprise codes for both catalog and non-catalog items, and requisitioners can edit enterprise codes only for catalog items. The system administrator sets the options in the User Profile page.

The options are:

• Allow requisitioner to edit non-editable enterprise codes

• Allow buyer to edit non-editable enterprise codes



APPROVAL OF NON-CATALOG ITEMS PRIOR TO BUYER VERIFICATION New configuration options are available at the Organization level for approving non-catalog items. You can now require a first-level approval before routing the requisition to a buyer and determine the routing path between the buyer and approver(s). The system administrator configures the option in the Organizations Profile page. The following routing path options are available:

• None – requisition is routed to the buyer first, and then to the approvers

• All Approvers – requisition is routed to all approvers first, then to the buyer

• Specific Number – the requisition is routed first to the number of approvers you enter in the field, then to the buyer

Related Change - Pending Approval Commitment Type

The Pending Approval Commitment Type has been changed. When enabled, the Pending Approval Commitment Type now includes orders in Pending Approval status and Buyer Research status in budget and commitment calculations. In the previous release, the Pending Approval Commitment Type included orders in Pending Approval status, but excluded orders in Buyer Research status.



APPROVER LIST ON USER PROFILE SUMMARY TAB The Summary tab on the User Profile page in Enterprise Manager now includes a list of users for whom the current user is a hierarchical approver. You can use this information to reassign users to a different approver before you delete their current approver. The list displays in a tree format. Expand Approver For on the tree, and the list of users assigned to the approver displays in the following categories:

• Assigned To

• Proxy For

• Ad Hoc For

NON-CATALOG SUPPLIER DEFAULT A new configuration option is available in Enterprise Manager for using a default supplier for non-catalog items during the buyer verification process. When this option is enabled and a buyer is verifying a non-catalog item, the system uses the supplier selected as the source for the previous non-catalog item as the default supplier for the current item. The system administrator enables this option in the Customizations page in Enterprise Settings.

USER GROUP ASSIGNMENT The Enterprise Manager has been enhanced to streamline the process of assigning users to user groups. When you are adding new users, you now have two ways to assign them to groups:

• The User Profile page now includes a new User Group tab. You add the new user in the User Profile page, and then click the User Group tab where you can select one or more user groups for the user.



• A new configuration option in the Organizations Profile page allows you to set a default user group for an organization. After you have configured default user group for an organization, when you assign the user to an organization in the User Profile Address tab, the user will automatically be assigned to the organization’s default user group.



DEFAULT MULTIPLE ENTERPRISE CODES FROM CATALOG ITEMS Enhanced functionality now allows you to select up to three enterprise codes to default from catalog items. In the previous release, you could select only one enterprise code to default. The enterprise codes are in the Customizations page in Enterprise Settings. You select the default enterprise codes in the Catalog Enterprise Record drop-down list. The code values for the catalog items are configured in the Catalog Manager.

APPROVAL PATH REROUTING UPON ORDER CHANGES Improved functionality now provides the option to automatically recalculate the approval routing path when an approver makes a change to a requisition. In the previous release, the requisition continued on the original routing path, and the approver was allowed to add an ad hoc approver to change the routing path. In this release, the routing path is determined by the configuration. The system recalculates the routing path as required when the approver has changed the requisition or the system administrator has changed the routing rules.

To support the new functionality, two new configurations have been added in the Enterprise Manager:

• Rerouting Settings for Routing Rules Change

• Rerouting Settings for Approvers



Rerouting Settings for Routing Rules

The administrator can now set an option to reroute orders for approval after making any changes in the Routing Rules. When this option is enabled and the administrator adds, edits, or deletes a routing rule, orders with a status of Pending Approval are rerouted for approval. Check the Reroute when Routing Rules Change check box to enable this option.

When this option is enabled and the administrator submits a routing rule change in the Routing Rules page, the system displays a prompt to indicate that the orders will be rerouted.

Rerouting Settings for Approvers

The administrator can now set configuration options to determine the approval rerouting path when approvers change orders with a status of Pending Approval. The administrator can set configuration



options based on the type of change the approver makes. The types of changes are listed in the column labeled: When Order Changes. The types of changes include:

Amount UP

Amount DOWN

Enterprise Codes

Dates

Item Information

Other

The option Reroute when budget info changes has been removed from this release. The functionality is now incorporated in the option Rerouting Setting for Approval. Approver changes to the budget code are included in the Enterprise Codes option, and changes to the amount are included in the Amount UP and Amount DOWN options when the budget is enabled.

The administrator sets the routing path for each type of change by selecting the corresponding radio button. For each type of change, the administrator can:

Keep Original Route – the approval path is unaffected by the change and the order continues with the original path

Recalculate Remaining Route – the approval path is rerouted forward from the point of the change and the order is sent to the next approver

Recalculate Entire Route – the approval path is rerouted and the order is sent back to the first approver and repeats the entire approval path

The Priority box allows the administrator to determine the priority of each type of change. When the administrator selects different rerouting path options for each type of change, the system uses the priority box setting to determine the type of rerouting path to use.

AVAILABLE CURRENCY CODES FOR NON-CATALOG ITEMS The Currency Codes page now allows you to select the active currency codes that are available in the currency dropdown list when requisitioning non-catalog items. In the previous release, all the currency codes displayed in the dropdown lists, whether or not the currency was used in your enterprise. In this release, only the active codes display. The Currency Codes page is in the Enterprise Manager.

A new Available column indicates whether a currency code is available (or active) in your enterprise. You can change the availability of a currency code using one of the following methods:

• Click the Active/Inactive button and move currency codes from one status to the other

• Click the edit icon in a specific currency code line and then select the Active checkbox



MANDATORY USER EMAIL CONFIGURATION The system now requires the administrator to enter user email addresses when configuring user profiles in the Enterprise Manager. The system then validates the email addresses to prevent notification errors.



System-Wide

ENHANCED SEARCH FUNCTIONALITY Search functionality has been enhanced throughout the system as follows:

QUICK SEARCH IMPROVEMENT

The Quick Search feature has been improved to allow for faster and more efficient searching. Quick search

fields are located throughout Procurement by the following icon:

In this release, the process has been simplified by reducing the number of clicks and dialog boxes you need to complete when performing a search.

For example, you can now enter a search term in the quick search field and then click the quick search icon. If the system finds a single match, the system returns the result directly to the main page. In the previous release, you were required to click the icon first, and then enter a search term in a separate dialog box.

ENTER Key Activates the Search Button

On all pages that have a Search button, you can now enter your search criteria and press the ENTER key on your keyboard to activate the search.

Extra Spaces Ignored in Search Fields

The system now ignores any extra spaces that follow a value you enter in a search field. For example, when you copy and paste a value into a search field from another source, that value may be followed by blank spaces. These spaces are not included in the search.

IMPROVED SYSTEM PERFORMANCE System performance has been enhanced as follows:

Routing Path Generation

The Routing Path Generator has been improved for better system performance when an enterprise has more than 1,000 routing rules.

Larger Routing Rule Amounts

Routing rule amounts have been increased from 6 numeric characters to 9 numeric characters.

Auto-start EKP Server

The EKP Server now automatically starts after rebooting when the auto-start setting is used.

COMMENTS FIELDS INCREASED TO 250 CHARACTERS The length of user-defined Comments fields has been increased to 250 characters. This applies to all Comments fields throughout the system, including:



• Order header and line items

• Approvals/disapprovals

• Receipts

NEW FORMAT FOR CANCELLATION NOTICES SENT TO SUPPLIERS The format of cancellation notices has been improved for easier identification and processing by suppliers. The text "Order Cancellation" now appears in a larger red font on cancelled orders to better distinguish them from active purchase orders.

REMOVAL OF HARD-CODED REFERENCES The following references have been changed:

• Hard-coded references to "USD" have been removed from all reports

• References to "U.S. Mail" as a transmission method have been changed to "Print"

Service Connect

INTEGRATION WITH ERP SYSTEMS This release introduces a new approach to integration with ERP systems. What was previously accomplished with Fusion and BizTalk and the eBridge BizTalk Adapter is now done with Epicor Service Connect and Web services.

Epicor Service Connect is a business integration platform, functioning as a central integration point for secure workflow orchestrations within Epicor applications - as well as external connectivity to non-Epicor applications.

Epicor Procurement ships with a runtime version of Service Connect that includes the business process orchestrations and Web services required for integration between Procurement, Financials, and Supply Chain Management. The supported touchpoints are:

Data From To

Chart of Accounts Enterprise Financials Procurement

Suppliers Enterprise Financials Procurement

Preliminary Invoices Procurement Enterprise Financials

Locations Enterprise SCM Procurement

Internal Item Catalogs Enterprise SCM Procurement



Additional Information Compatibility Epicor Procurement 7.3.6 is compatible with the following products:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional and XP Professional

• Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 6.0 and 7.0

• Epicor Enterprise Financials 7.3.6

• Epicor Enterprise Supply Chain Management 7.3.6

• Epicor Enterprise DecisionStore 7.3.6

• Altec doc-link 2.4 (report capture only)

• Epicor Sourcing 7.3.1

• Crystal Reports Server XI R2

• Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 and 6.0

• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and 2005

• Microsoft Windows Server 2000 and 2003

Languages Epicor Procurement 7.3.6 is available in English (US) only.

Upgrades You can upgrade to this release from Epicor Procurement 7.3.5.



Technical Support Overview Epicor’s commitment to deliver high quality business solutions means that our customers depend not only on our applications, but also on our experience in supporting those solutions around the world. Epicor stands behind all of its products with a world-class technical support organization, capable of serving our global customer base.

We are able to offer this support through our worldwide support centers located in the US, UK, Mexico, Australia, Hungary, Malaysia and other countries. Contact information for each support center is listed on listed on the Epicor Customer and Partner Web site: EPICweb.epicor.com.

Because midmarket business solutions represent solid, long-term partnerships with our customers, we've developed high standards of service and support. Epicor's support analysts are not only specialists on our product, but also understand the ongoing business needs of successful system operation. Our goal is to continue to fine-tune and improve our support systems to keep your organization as productive as possible.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY Epicor Technical Support uses advanced telecommunications technology to ensure you connect with the right person quickly to resolve your application related issues. When you call into any of our support centers, our Automatic Call Distribution System quickly routes your call to the appropriate support analyst. You also benefit from Epicor's own award-winning customer relationship management software, Epicor Clientele, which gives our analysts instant access to your records and our extensive knowledge base of information, so they can quickly provide you with answers and solutions. Epicor Technical Support also utilizes the latest technology in troubleshooting tools such as WebEx™ and Identify® AppSight™ BlackBox to resolve tough customer issues in a timely manner.

Note: Services are provided as available and might be limited for certain products provided by Epicor or its third-party partners.

EPICweb Self-service support via the Internet can be challenging. That’s why Epicor has designed a specific website for customer and partner communication. EPICweb (epicweb.epicor.com) is our state-of-the-art customer and partner portal. Based on Microsoft SharePoint technology, this portal is the central point of contact between Epicor and our customers and partners.

Some key benefits of this portal site include:

• Patch management system -- now you can be notified when a new patch is available for your product.

• The ability to customize your EPICweb experience -- see only the information you want to see.

• Manage your customer newsletter and other corporate communication subscriptions from one location.

• Easy password and account management -- allows customers to manage their account access on EPICweb.

For a complete list of benefits and features, and to setup your own account, go to http://fyi.epicor.com/FYI/EN/0405/supportEPICweb.htm.

KNOWLEDGE BASE Our knowledge base of technical information is available to all support customers over the Internet. We put this wealth of information at your fingertips by leveraging advanced indexing and search technology to

https://epicweb.epicor.com/

https://epicweb.epicor.com/

http://fyi.epicor.com/FYI/EN/0405/supportEPICweb.htm



provide a powerful and easy to use Web-based resource. This is the place to get up-to-the-minute technical information about our products and the environments and platforms in which they run.

CUSTOMER PORTAL Many other support services are available using the Epicor customer portal (EPICweb.epicor.com). Customers can review their account information including their currently supported products and update their contact information. Customers can also submit support calls, view support call status and update their outstanding calls directly from their browser.

PRODUCT DOWNLOADS Product patches and service packs are regularly published to EPICweb where they are available for download. Our knowledge base of technical information is available to all support customers over the Internet. We put this wealth of information at your fingertips by leveraging advanced indexing and search technology to provide a powerful and easy to use Web-based knowledge base. This is the place to get up to the minute technical information about our products and the environments and platforms they interact with.

Optional Technical Support Services Offerings

EXTENDED SUPPORT HOURS As part of Epicor Technical Support’s ongoing commitment to providing world class service, we provide 5x24 Technical Support. Epicor’s 5x24 Support covers the hours 6pm Sunday – 6pm Friday (Pacific Time). Epicor’s 5x24 support policy also includes limited Technical Support Coverage for the Standard US/Epicor Holidays. Customers can submit calls at anytime via the Epicor Customer Portal.

EXPANDED WEEKEND COVERAGE (BY APPOINTMENT ONLY) Epicor’s Technical Support realizes that many customers would like to contract for additional support coverage for specific planned system events, like upgrades, which fall outside the normal business weekday support coverage. For a nominal additional fee, we can arrange for you to have your own personal support contact over most any weekend as long as this is scheduled in advance.

eLEARNING Epicor Technical Support also offers Web-based eLearning training sessions. eLearning consists of prerecorded Web-based training sessions that cover key topics on Epicor Software. These topics are used by our customers to stay up to speed on the latest Epicor has to offer. eLearning enables Epicor customers to keep their staff up-to-date on the latest software features with little or no down time. These sessions provide Epicor’s customers with a flexible training option without incurring the cost of class room training. New topics are added monthly.

Epicor Technical Support has extended its traditional online training courses to include low-cost individualized Web training sessions for our customers

http://epicweb.epicor.com/



Consulting Services Overview Epicor’s Consulting Services organization helps companies implement a complete enterprise software solution, quickly and cost-effectively. By coupling its product suite with a large, well-seasoned Consulting Services organization, Epicor makes implementing enterprise applications simpler by providing a single-stop solution for all customer needs.

In addition to Epicor’s own professional services consultants, we partner with many Value-Added Resellers (VARs). VARs are certified on Epicor products and even offer specialized implementation services for geographic markets or specific sub-vertical markets.

Implementation Support To help you achieve successful, live operation as quickly and as productively as possible, Epicor’s consulting services team employs an integrated consulting approach consisting of several fundamental principles.

TECHNICAL AND FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE The basis of our consulting success is a robust knowledge base concerning not only our products and how they function, but also how you can utilize them most effectively to maximize the return on your investment. Our consulting organization is staffed with technical professionals certified in a variety of technologies, and applications experts who have backgrounds in the industries we serve.

Consultants work with you to analyze your needs, design the system, explain the functional and technical details of system processes, troubleshoot implementation issues, and concurrently, transfer our extensive knowledge to you.

CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS Epicor’s Professional Services organization has unmatched experience in implementing solutions that span customer relationship management, supplier relationship management, distribution, financial accounting, and enterprise services automation. The organization boasts a proven track record with thousands of successful implementations around the world.

Because Epicor is a leading enterprise application provider in the midmarket offering its own easy-to-implement, cost-effective solutions; Epicor’s Professional Services organization can deliver tangible business results faster and more efficiently.

PROVEN IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY Our Signature Methodology is based on years of field experience implementing our products in thousands of organizations and provides a compilation of approaches, instructions, techniques, templates and sample deliverables to facilitate implementation projects. The methodology acknowledges the architecture, technology, and personnel requirements for a successful implementation. It also recognizes the requirements for success and increases the chances of quickly and painlessly reaching implementation goals and objectives. It is also highly customizable to each customer’s specific requirements, timetables, and resources.

Signature is about managing the partnership we have with our clients, to deliver successful implementations. It allows Epicor to provide consistent, client-focused implementations.

As a highly structured, proven implementation methodology, Signature guides you and your company through a four-step process, from an in-depth analysis of your business requirements, all the way to the hand over, quickly enabling your company to begin using your Epicor solution in its day-to-day operations.

For more information on Signature, contact your Epicor consultant.



UPGRADE SERVICES Epicor Consulting offers complete upgrade services. By enlisting services from the consulting team, you will have access to the experiences of many upgrades. For example, when upgrading from Platinum SQL 4.2a version to subsequent versions of Epicor Enterprise, the Epicor consulting team can help you understand the extensive new features and functionality and assist you in both the technical aspects and the business process aspects. You will be provided with a set of consulting and training services to guide you along the fastest migration path in order to maximize the value of your upgrade.

ROI OPTIMIZATION PROGRAM Epicor Consulting has developed an exciting new program to provide our customers with post go-live support services: This program is the eServices ROI Optimization Program.

The main objective of the ROI Optimization Program is to ensure that your business systems remain highly optimized and fully leveraged. As with most business software, customers typically use only a partial amount of the available functionality initially. Epicor Service Consultants can help you maximize the return on your current system investment and implement additional features that you might not be aware of. The intention of the program is to share best practices across our customer base and to ensure your business is getting everything possible out of your Epicor investment.

INTEGRATION SERVICES Leveraging the Internet is not just about putting a catalog on a Web site. The Internet can fundamentally change the way a company does business, uses systems, and communicates with its customers, suppliers and partners. Epicor has been helping its customers connect their businesses to the Internet for years, and it understands the impact of it on our customers’ businesses. As a result, Epicor has established a specialized Consulting Services team that is focused on implementing e-commerce solutions.

Epicor’s Integration Services team has the experience to implement Epicor e-commerce systems, from electronic storefronts to supply chain integration to customer portals. Epicor consultants are experienced with protocols, security, virtual private networks, XML schema standards, Microsoft Site Server, Microsoft IIS, HTML, DHTML, ASP’s, Scripting, Microsoft DNA and a host of other technologies necessary to link up to the Internet. More importantly, Integration Services understands all aspects of Epicor’s customers’ businesses so the team knows how to tie e-commerce systems with sales, marketing, finance, distribution and manufacturing systems to e-enable an entire business – not just a Web site.

Global Presence Our consulting resources are deployed regionally to effectively deliver services when and where you need them. Regional consulting offices are based in our America, EMEA and Asia Pacific regions.

Product Education Epicor’s Product Education department has been extremely successful in transferring our years of experience to you, our customers. Our continuously updated, hands-on, interactive classes impart a deep level of understanding of the functionality of the system. Our experienced, knowledgeable instructors equip you to make the best implementation and configuration decisions for your business. Real-life exercises and examples enable you to apply classroom concepts to precisely meet your company’s individual needs and unleash the power of your Epicor solution. Our ever-growing eLearning series of courses allow you to take many classes from the comfort of your own office. These courses cover topics such as new product information, technical reviews, advanced features, product overviews, and more.

If you have a large number of individuals to train, you may wish to schedule on-site education to avoid travel costs. This allows us to focus on those issues critical to your business, and allows you to train a larger number of people.



User Groups Overview For Epicor solutions, user groups have been organized throughout the world. These user groups provide opportunities for our customers to share experiences and ideas with each other and with the Epicor product marketing and product management teams. The feedback from these groups positively influences our products, our partner relationships and our services.

USER GROUP LEADERSHIP COUNCILS There are two Epicor User Group Leadership Councils (EUGLC), one for Enterprise and one for Vantage, along with subcommittees for specific topics or projects. The purpose of the leadership council is to represent the customer base and assist Epicor in being responsive to its customers’ needs. The council has the opportunity to influence product development plans and customer support procedures to ensure that both our software products and our services meet our customer needs.

The User Group Leadership Council submits a prioritized list of issues and product enhancement requests to product management. Epicor then reviews these requests with the EUGLC in the form of a product summit. Product Summits consists of members of the EUGLC, key customers, and representatives from Epicor product management, product marketing and technical support teams. The agreed upon software fixes and enhancements are incorporated into the next product release.

It is important to note that we will continue to address issues reported by individual customers directly to technical support. However, the User Group Leadership Council has the unique opportunity to actively participate in Epicor’s release planning and prioritization process.

PRODUCT LIAISONS Each Epicor product line has a Product Liaison. The Product Liaisons help administer list servers, work with Product Development on customer surveys, and organize the SIG (Special Interest Groups) for each discipline within their product lines. For a listing of all Product Liaisons and SIG Leaders, please visit www.epicorusers.org.

http://www.epicorusers.org/

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