Technology is the handshake that helps workers do the legwork.
As one of the world’s essential businesses making things we all need, you know the importance of supply chain visibility. The more you understand the big picture of what you have, how it’s being made, and who is responsible for each element, the more effectively you can use emerging technologies to optimize the entire process. At Epicor, we want to help you make every day easier in ways that blend technology and the human component of collaborative teams.
Whether you’re seeking to adapt quickly to market changes, automate your processes to do more with less, or redirect your workforce toward pursuing revenue-generating tasks while mastering new skills, our industry-focused solutions use data to add value while building out a roadmap for success.
Best of all, you can empower your employees by relieving them of so much manual labor—generating documents, searching for selected data, taking actions within your ERP system—that they are free to pursue more satisfying, revenue-generating tasks.
The right cognitive ERP solutions can do a lot to support a company’s transformation. But these tools are most effective when used in combination with a workforce that is eager to improve, adapt, and grow. According to Gallup, such technology-powered learning isn’t a hard sell. Their research found that 71% of workers who received upskilling opportunities say their overall satisfaction with their jobs increased.
Additionally, 65% say their standard of living has increased and 75% have gone on to advance in their careers. Similarly, our own Voice of the Essential Manufacturing Worker report reveals that 66% of workers surveyed would trade their current job for one that offered more upskilling—even if it meant working longer hours.
If you’re seeking robust employee engagement and a competitive edge through upskilling, here are a few guidelines to help you build a successful people + technology partnership.
Before you launch your upskilling initiatives, set defined objectives for what you want to accomplish—for example, X number of people undergo training in a new tool by a certain date, so they can manage new productivity initiatives in the warehouse or on the line. If possible, try and incorporate some hands-on training, which tends to be more active and engaging for participants.
It’s also important to understand how each new solution is benefitting the business. Once this is established, create a set of key performance indicators that you'll use to track the impacts of the training. Don't just look at completion rates, but review productivity metrics to get a clear picture of the overall value.
Continue to track your results over time, using a digital platform like your ERP system. This will make it easy for you to quantify which employees participated as well as the impact they made on the business. You’ll be able to calculate your return on investment, and take note of areas that performed especially well.
Most important, talk to the upskilling participants themselves about their experiences with the training. By connecting their real human feedback to measurable data-driven insights, you’ll get an accurate view of the potential for the program to improve the business moving forward.
Checking in with workers on a regular schedule helps ensure ongoing buy-in—and this includes offering those with potential an opportunity to learn new skills and take on new levels of responsibility. Tackling these challenges fuels a sense of purpose, community, and satisfaction, paving the way for employee growth while building a steady pipeline for future leadership.
But community doesn’t have to stay within the walls of your business. Bringing promising leaders in your business to events like Epicor Insights—our flagship, customer-only global conference series—can open up new possibilities for people and technology to work together. New solutions can help businesses extract value from their data, driving faster decision-making and bold actions that were previously unimaginable.
This was exactly what happened to Ryan Scriven, IT and Systems Manager at Australian bus manufacturing company Volgren. “We went to the Epicor Insights conference—which I recommend to anyone who is looking at Epicor—and spoke with the FP&A developer and realized it was exactly what we needed,” he says. “There has been no looking back. Our CFO is very, very happy with it.”
If you’re ready to collaborate, network, and learn about all things Epicor, please join us at one of this year’s Insights events:
Epicor Insights Americas
May 5-8, 2025
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Join us at Epicor Insights 2025
Epicor Insights Europe
2-4 June 2025
Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth, Warwickshire UK
Join us at Epicor Insights Europe
Epicor Insights Australia / New Zealand
August 4-6, 2025
JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa, Surfers Paradise, QLD
Contact us to learn more: insights@epicor.com
Epicor Insights for Building Supply and Retail
Nov 19-21, 2025
Gaylord National Resort and
Convention Center, National Harbor, MD
Join the Early Bird list for Epicor Insights for Building Supply and Retail
Whether it’s financial tools, productivity measurements, or agentic AI networks that engage with customers using familiar language, companies that equip their workforce with emerging technologies will improve retention, boost satisfaction, and maintain a competitive edge.
When employees see that everyday processes can be improved 10x, they themselves will be the ones pushing the boundaries of the solution and coming up with new, exciting ways to increase the company’s return on investment.
Learn how Epicor solutions can help your business thrive.
