Epicor acquires KBMax, technology leader in configure price quote market to help customers sell smarter

News summary:

• The acquisition drives continued growth for Epicor with the ability to offer KBMax software as a standalone, cloud-first, low/no code toolset, or integrated into the Epicor productivity suite to generate new cross- and up-sell potential.
• Builds a bridge between Epicor’s customised ERP modules and the sales-to-order process, delivering better customer outcomes.
• Opens up new international growth markets for Epicor across the United Kingdom, France, Benelux, Sweden, Finland, Italy and Germany.
• Marks the latest in a series of strategic merger and acquisition efforts that cement Epicor’s ambitions to become the sole provider of mission-critical business applications to customers in the key industries served.
• KBMax customers will benefit by having access to greater technology solutions and services housed beneath the Epicor brand name, coupled with a seamless transition and assured continuity.

Epicor, a global leader of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, announced today it has acquired configure price quote (CPQ) and visualisation software provider KBMax. The transaction closed on 27 May. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

KBMax software solutions will be marketed under the Epicor brand as a standalone module within the company’s productivity suite, aligning seamlessly with Epicor’s deep expertise in the global manufacturing engineer-to-order space. The ability to offer customers a highly customisable, industry-specific one-stop solution that connects the front and back of the house supports Epicor’s mission to differentiate itself from the fleet of one-size-fits-all off-the-shelf ERP solutions.

"Our customers are the essential businesses who make, deliver and sell the things everyone needs. We knew we needed to move fast, to enable them to be able to stay digitally competitive and build out scalable digital commerce capabilities,” comments Steve Murphy, Epicor CEO. “It's a perfect time for businesses to reach their customers in new and compelling ways. The integration of KBMax’s technology into our platform will solve that challenge for our customers, enabling them to create an information-rich and immersive online buying experience. The integration of next-gen CPQ tools with our ERP system will enable vital connectivity points to our customers across inventory, costs, pricing and customer data.”

With complexity comes the need for real-time, reliable integration between systems, especially CPQ and ERP. Research shows that in 2020, 80% of B2B buyer journeys took place online. Being able to configure a product in CPQ and instantly get 3D renderings and dimensioned drawings will dramatically reduce the time and cost it takes for our customers to respond to RFPs, getting potential buyers the information they need to make a decision faster than ever before.

The integration of KBMax with Epicor’s ERP solutions will provide customers with:

• A seamless connection between sales and operation data, improving demand planning and production.
• A single source of truth for the most complex engineer-to-order projects delivering faster and more accurate sales quotes, fewer order mistakes and improved sales rep productivity.
• Ability to navigate the escalating trend of self-service/online business by translating complex sales information into something easy to configure and visualise.
• A centralised data hub that can be managed in a single application that delivers a full 360-degree view of a customer’s order /fulfilment status allowing the front and back of house teams to work from the same playbook.
• Supported business continuity for existing KBMax customers.

KBMax has transformed the buying experience for over 20 000 users and its CPQ software has delivered customers measurable improvements, on average a 168% increase in annual sales revenues, 38% faster sales cycle and a 35% increase in productivity.

“Epicor truly understands the industries it serves and its deep expertise in critical verticals from manufacturing to distribution make it the ideal home in which our technologies can nest seamlessly, deliver immediate customer value while allowing us to scale and expand the technology suite,” said Kevin Bennett , KBMax CTO. “The integration of our software into the Epicor portfolio will help ensure the world’s most essential businesses can digitally evolve and thrive.”