In many organizations, procurement overspend isn’t driven by pricing alone, it’s driven by inconsistent requisition processes: buying outside preferred suppliers, slow multi-layer approvals, late budget checks, and limited visibility into spend by project or GL. For ERP for Manufacturing and Distribution, these gaps directly impact operational efficiency, cash planning, and supply continuity.
Epicor Advanced Requisition Management (ARM) strengthens end-to-end procurement execution in Epicor Kinetic (Epicor ERP), from purchase requests and real-time budget control to multidimensional approvals and automated PO/receiving, so governance stays tight without slowing the business down.
What is Epicor ARM?
Epicor ARM is a procurement automation solution that streamlines the process from requisition to receipt, with a focus on spend control, real-time status visibility, and precision approval workflows. ARM helps enforce authorization limits, contracted pricing, and supplier policy, without adding friction to request creation and processing.
Control spend without slowing operations
Epicor positions ARM as a controlled-spending accelerator: requestors can submit requisitions easily, while the system enforces budget and purchasing policies through workflow, improving efficiency, optimizing inventory decisions, and reducing total cost.
High-impact capabilities in Epicor ARM
1) Flexible requisition types + custom forms
ARM supports multiple configurable requisition/order types, including capturing additional information through custom forms to improve approval decisions. It also supports project details for stronger project-based spend control.
2) Real-time budget checking (GL Budget / Project Budget)
ARM can automatically validate requisition amounts against GL Budgets or Project Budgets (especially for non-inventory requests such as Catalog and Non-Catalog items) at each approval step. If a request is over budget, ARM flags it visually, while still allowing submission so approvers can decide with full context.
3) Online-buying experience: catalog + supplier PunchOut
Requestors can shop through the ARM product catalog, the Kinetic inventory master, or PunchOut directly to supplier e-commerce sites. Preferred supplier rules and pricing agreements help keep buying aligned with contracted vendors and pricing.
4) Preferred suppliers and one-time vendors
ARM supports Preferred Suppliers for catalog and inventory purchases to enforce contract pricing. For one-off buys, ARM can support a “one-time vendor” approach without permanently expanding vendor master data, while still integrating through Accounts Payable processes.
5) Multidimensional approval workflows
ARM provides approval workflows driven by roles, approval limits, and multidimensional header/line attributes. Procurement teams gain real-time visibility into the approval status of each requisition line across workflow stages.
6) Notifications, escalation, and delegation
ARM includes automated notifications, overdue escalation, and approval delegation to keep work moving, especially during peak periods or approver absences.
7) Automated PO creation and goods receiving
After approval, ARM can automatically create and send Purchase Orders. It can also consolidate multiple requests into a single PO to leverage quantity breaks or meet contract requirements. For receiving, ARM supports simplified receipt processing to speed up operational execution.
Seamless integration with Epicor Kinetic (Epicor ERP)
ARM is designed as an extension of Kinetic’s standard purchasing/requisition capabilities, integrated in real time across many touchpoints (Epicor references 50+ touchpoints). It supports scenarios such as:
- Kinetic inventory items available through ARM catalogs
- Job/project requisitions connected to Kinetic
- Non-inventory requests mapped to GL accounts (including budget controls and GL splitting)
- Kinetic suppliers, preferred suppliers, and supplier web stores
- Cross-site and cross-company requisitions
- Automated Kinetic transactions: PO, transfer requests, receipts, and AP invoices
- PO suggestions in Kinetic visible in ARM, with requisitions created directly from suggestions
Deployment options: SaaS on Azure or on-premises
Epicor offers ARM as SaaS hosted securely on Microsoft Azure (faster implementation, scalability, reduced infrastructure burden, and automatic updates). ARM is also available on-premises to match specific IT governance requirements.
Optional modules to extend procurement control
1) Supplier PunchOut (External Integration Suite)
Users PunchOut to a supplier’s e-commerce site, select items with the latest contracted pricing/stock, and the cart returns as requisition lines in ARM (with descriptions, SKUs, and pricing) for approval and PO processing. The suite also supports CSV requisition imports.
2) Inventory Transfers
ARM supports internal transfer requests when stock exists in another location, including ship/receive and automated financial transactions. It also supports expensing items with automated expense and inventory adjustments after approval.
Outcomes you typically see first
Epicor summarizes ARM’s outcomes as faster, more standardized procurement: improved spend visibility and control, fewer manual steps, consistent approval workflows, stronger budget checking, better preferred supplier compliance, faster sourcing for goods/services, fewer off-contract purchases, more efficient handling of low-dollar buys, and paperless processing.
If you’re running Epicor Kinetic (Epicor ERP) and need faster procurement with tighter governance, KANO can support a focused assessment of your current requisition flow, multidimensional approval design, budget checking configuration, and catalog/PunchOut strategy, aligned with your Implementasi Epicor Kinetic roadmap for ERP for Manufacturing and Distribution.
