Finding a Custom-fit Reporting and Forecasting Solution for an Electric Motors Company
Lasse Moklegaard is the president of McMillan Electric, a motor manufacturer based in Woodville, Wisconsin. Founded in 1976, they now have 300 employees of which 160 are in direct labor and they produce around 1.5 million electric motors per year. They previously had a homegrown legacy ERP system which they replaced with Epicor Kinetic in May 2021.
Explains Moklegaard “In our legacy ERP system, we had a custom tool that we called a sales budget summary. We have a way of looking at all our customers and all the models that each customer buys from us. And then we have both a combination of actual orders and what we predict. So, the forecast for the fiscal year is then coupled with various material and labor costs. It then gives us a picture of what we think the budget for the year will be or what the company will do within the fiscal year from a sales perspective. We have that dialed in in the legacy system. Initially, it was all about re-creating that setup using something in Epicor.”
This is where Epicor Financial Planning and Analysis (Epicor FP&A) was brought to McMillan’s attention. It was highly recommended by their ERP consultant and Account manager, and it was clear to them that Epicor FP&A would give them a good way of re-creating their preferred way of working.
McMillan came from a legacy ERP system, and they knew the struggles of maintaining that. They knew that they ideally would want tools that are as off-the-shelf as possible, something that is readily available where they can both add to it and customize, helping to provide a quality service going forward.
McMillan ideally sought an Epicor-owned solution as they wanted a seamless integration with Epicor Kinetic. Soon after Epicor Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) was showcased to them, McMillan knew it was the solution fit they were looking for. They could clearly see the value Epicor FP&A would quickly help to deliver.
ERP systems are deeply integrated into a company's business processes. Switching to a new system can require substantial changes to those processes, which can be time-consuming and disruptive.
For McMillan, their motivation for a new ERP was not predicated on saving a predetermined number of hours or days of people-hours. What they wanted was simple – to move to a more modern ERP system that is easy to use and maintain while making sure they do not lose that critical ability to do the sales budget summary and to help forecast accurately. The integration of Epicor Kinetic and Epicor FP&A met the business goals but also made it significantly more user-friendly. Even before the official go-live of Epicor FP&A, McMillan had seen the immense value and potential of Epicor FP&A.
The Epicor team really seems to care about the customers. In every single meeting, our consultant makes sure that he is giving me insight and guidance around how to navigate the data structure but not too much that it’s overwhelming. I couldn’t possibly ask for a better customer-focused consultant and a smoother implementation.
“We’re now able to do exactly what we had envisioned to do with the new system that we were doing with the legacy system with the bonus of being able to expand our reporting ability, which is the ability to investigate and drill deeper. Plus, I am an Excel guy myself, so I use the Excel interface 99% of the time. I just live in Excel; all my reports and everything I do is in Excel. I do go in and use the web too, but I live primarily in Excel. I like that Epicor Financial Planning and Analysis is Excel and Web-based so that I can get easy access to the data. I can see it and then slice it and dice it the way I want to understand what the data is telling me" said Moklegaard.
I think Epicor Financial Planning and Analysis is a great tool. It teaches you that the value of Epicor FP&A as a product. The consultant, being extremely interested in our success and being able to translate requirements into solutions so that I can focus on running the business. Overall, Epicor FP&A helps to provide great value. I am pleased, and I have been very pleased with Epicor FP&A, the entire experience, and its progress.
Choosing the right solution is only part of the challenge. The other challenge is implementing the chosen solution. A skilled software consultant can provide invaluable expertise that can make or break a software project. Moklegaard shares feedback on McMillan’s experience: “It has been a very productive, very positive, very interesting collaboration. Our Epicor FP&A consultant is so clever, and he has been a real joy to work with. The Epicor team really seems to care about the customers, the team is 10/10 for sure. In every single meeting, our consultant makes sure that he is giving me insight and guidance around how to navigate the data structure but not too much that it’s overwhelming. I couldn’t possibly ask for a better customer-focused consultant and a smoother implementation.”
McMillan's president says he wholeheartedly recommends Epicor FP&A to companies with similar challenges.
“I think Epicor Financial Planning and Analysis is a great tool. It teaches you that the value of Epicor FP&A as a product is not just what it can do but, more importantly, in its skilled consultants. The consultant, being extremely interested in our success and being able to translate requirements into solutions so that I can focus on running the business rather than playing around with data, is exceptional. Overall, Epicor FP&A helps to provide great value. I am pleased and I have been very pleased with Epicor FP&A, the entire experience, and its progress.”