Many organizations have implemented strategies to work toward a ‘paperless’ workplace. While this can seem daunting and unachievable, Epicor ECM (DocStar) & Epicor Advanced Print Routings (APR) can help these strategies be successful, by adding flexibility and automation into day-to-day processes. When both are incorporated into an Epicor system, paper copies of many documents are greatly reduced, and the software provides a reliability and effective process for sending documentation to customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders.

Advanced Print Routings (APR) is an integrated Epicor solution for routing documents and reports through various methods of distribution. Customer related documents such as invoices or order acknowledgements can be automatically sent to a specified email address, while also determining if a specific report style is required. These rules and routings will apply to an entire batch of records, looking at each break point to determine if a different path needs to be followed. In this way, a mass batch of documents can be handled at once, even scheduled to occur during off-hours, saving valuable time for an employee who previously had to manually complete the task. 

Epicor ECM (DocStar), Epicor’s content management system, is built for document management and retention, as well as automation of paper-heavy data entry processes. With its ability to integrate to Epicor Kinetics and ERP 10 in a multitude of ways, ECM is a strong and agile tool to have at your disposal. The software acts as a document repository, capturing each change made to a document, updating the version number while retaining previous copies in an archived state. Document attachments and retrievals can occur bidirectionally – either from ECM into Epicor, or pushed into ECM from an attachment saved to a record. Workflows can be created to handle the automation of AP invoice creation, sales order automations, as well as almost any other process involving documents and approvals. ECM can attach documents coming into the system to various records or take a report generated within Epicor and store it within ECM with an audit and history trail to track all actions taken.

When ECM and APR are integrated into an Epicor Kinetics or ERP 10 system, the benefits of both are enhanced. Two new options become available when creating a routing: the ‘Add DocStar Attachment’ and the ‘Take DocStar Attachment’. By including the ‘Add DocStar Attachment’ task into an Advanced Print Routing, the document can be sent in an email as well as optionally archived within ECM. The ‘Take DocStar Attachment’ gives the option

to attach additional documentation stored in ECM to an email, along with the primary attachment. When paired with APR, a ‘package’ can be sent to a customer, supplier, or internal individual by creating routings that grab the necessary documents from ECM based on the field data and sending them all as one email. An example of this functionality is sending AR invoices to customers upon shipment while also attaching a copy of the sales order acknowledgement stored in ECM. With the ability to bring in as many fields from Epicor as desired to index documents in ECM for easy searching, the storage of documents is secure and allows users to interact only with a published document in Epicor, knowing that previous versions are securely archived.

TeccWeb has worked with many customers to develop APR solutions and understands the desire for a verification tool to confirm that processing was completed successfully. As Epicor does not provide a simple, visual way to confirm success, TeccWeb has developed the APR Validation Dashboard. This dashboard monitors various areas related to APR routings and delivers the results back to users in a simple interface that provides information on the type of routing and other information specific to the process. The dashboard covers routings for AR Invoices, AP Remittances, Sales Order Acknowledgements, Purchase Orders, Packing Slips, and several others. If you have interest in learning more about this validation tool, check out the TeccWeb APR Cutsheet here.

For more information on ECM or APR and the options for integrating the two into Epicor Kinetics or ERP 10, please reach out to us at info@teccweb.com. Our Introduction to ECM workshop is also available for viewing on the TeccWeb YouTube channel.