Company Facts
• Location:  Johannesburg, South Africa
• Industry: Epicor Value Added Reseller (VAR)
• Number of Locations:  2
• Website:  www.newerasol.co.za

Success Highlights
Challenges and Opportunities
• Skills shortage means that resellers require a strong support system and proven products
• Being able to offer the latest technology
• Scalability and flexibility is key for all clients
• To succeed when many other system implementers fail, requires a talented team with strong partners

Why Epicor?
• Cutting-edge technology, always a step ahead of its competition
• Major investment in research and development on a continuous basis
• Flexibility and proven capabilities
• Products grow with clients’ needs and they can take ownership of their own destiny with Epicor
• Consolidated systems with embedded functionality as opposed to a set of loosely integrated modules

Benefits
• Have a strong business based on Epicor
• Bolstered profitability
• First to implement Epicor ERP in Africa
• Exceptional track record of successfully implementing Epicor ERP
• Allows us to differentiate from typical ERP offerings

"Epicor invests significantly in research and development; they offer cutting-edge technology that is always a step ahead of their competition. This means that we are able to offer our clients proven, award-winning products to meet their specific business requirements."

Stuart Scanlon, sales director for New Era Solutions

Founded in 1999, New ERA Solutions began with their core focus on ERP implementations in the financial services and distribution sectors. Their customer base has broadened significantly and today most of their customers fall into the distribution, manufacturing and service based sectors.

New Era Solutions fully understands and drives the implementation of complete business solutions for medium and large businesses in this space. Their core service pillars are in providing integrated and customisable IT solutions in partnership with global specialists in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Mobility.

Key to New Era Solutions' success has always been the fact that they surround themselves with industry leaders. They have been an Epicor Certified Partner from the start and a Microsoft Certified Partner since 2000.

New Era Solutions differentiates itself through:
• Smart solutions - New Era Solutions offers a turnkey solution to clients using the latest technology to ensure results with a low total cost of ownership.
• Excellent service and a personal touch - with over 10 years of experience in Epicor solutions and a deep understanding of distribution and manufacturing, New Era Solutions uses a tried and tested implementation methodology. This has cemented their exceptional track record of successfully implementing Epicor ERP.
• A combination of detailed knowledge and award-winning Epicor ERP has helped New Era Solutions clients take their business to new levels of efficiency and profitability.

Why Epicor
"Epicor invests significantly in research and development; they offer cutting-edge technology always a step ahead of their competition," says Stuart Scanlon, sales director for New Era Solutions. "This means that we are able to offer our clients proven, award winning products to meet their specific business requirements."

Being able to offer a consolidated system based on state-of-the-art technology which is already tried and tested gives New Era Solutions a significant competitive edge.

Epicor constantly trawls its partner network to learn more about its product's performance, not only to improve its offering but to work through any 'bugs'. A steady flow of service packs means that a customer's investment in Epicor ERP becomes an asset as it is studiously kept up to date.

For customers who have not yet upgraded to the latest version of Epicor ERP, Epicor’s converge, extend and protect strategy. Ensures that our customers investment into Epicor, is looked after whilst they plan their migration path. "This goes above and beyond what other software providers do to support their partners and customers," adds Scanlon.

Industry Leading Solutions
Epicor offers industry specific next-generation business software that can be customized to suit a customer's specific requirements. Scanlon comments: "Epicor ERP makes it possible for clients to streamline their business and maximize profitability by taking ownership of the system that they have purchased. These two areas are crucial to the success of any business, especially in the current economic climate where organisations are looking at ways to maximize their operations and profitability can be a challenge."

With Epicor ERP, New Era Solutions targets mid-market customers with 25 – 500 ERP Users that need a scalable ERP solution with a low total cost of ownership.

Epicor Inspired Partner Network
Epicor prides itself in the support and training that its offers its partners through its Inspired Partner Network Program. This comprehensive sales, marketing, and support program offers its partners significant opportunities to grow their business through award-winning products, training and support.

New Era Solutions works closely with other Epicor partners across the Globe on implementations, for support and troubleshooting.

"Having a strong sense of camaraderie and teamwork benefits all partners in the Epicor network. Epicor views its partners as an extension of itself. Partners work together to offer clients unparalleled service and support," adds Scanlon.

Ongoing Support from Epicor
The Partner LeadFlow platform assists New Era Solutions to generate leads by using ready-to-go campaigns and the ability to turn their websites into a powerful lead source that automatically stays up-to-date with the latest Epicor content and offers. This helps generate good quality leads with minimal amount of work.

The Technical Training and Services Certification Program by Epicor University is extremely important for both Epicor and New Era Solutions. It ensures that every customer can expect the same high level of services regardless of who carries out the implementation. Consultants can achieve certification in one or more tracks through a combination of remote and classroom training. The training also consists of shadowing opportunities and there is an option for ‘train the trainer’. Epicor, and all of its partners, follow the same implementation methodology worldwide, entitled Signature. This means that customers can have full confidence in the project because partners know the products as well as Epicor in-house staff.

The dedicated partner portal offers sales, pre-sales & marketing related support such as embedded education, demo images, live and recorded demos, online training, demo scripts, mentors and collateral such as the ROI calculator, presentation templates, product roadmaps, references and a quotation tool, in order for them to be as successful as possible.

The Epicor Marketing Development Fund helps New Era Solutions to better market themselves and Epicor solutions. The fund can be used for events, co-branding, various collaterals or lead generation programs. Epicor has a lead locking mechanism that ensures minimal internal conflict over leads. This is a clearly documented process that aims at being fair to all parties, and it gives partners the confidence to go out and generate lead themselves.

Benefits of the Partnership
"We have built our business around Epicor and have enjoyed over 10 years of success which continues to gain momentum," says Scanlon. "Our customers can't say enough good things about the tangible benefits Epicor ERP brings to their businesses."
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