Salesforce CRM Epicor integration is a powerful combination of CRM and ERP that can be used to streamline operations and maximize efficiency. However, setting up the integration can be a daunting task for those who are unfamiliar with the process. Here is an in-depth guide on how intgeration for Salesforce and Epicor can be undertaken.
Salesforce CRM Epicor Integration Methods
Methods of Integration
There is no single correct way to integrate Salesforce with Epicor. The right approach depends on your technical environment, the data flows you need to support, and how much customization your processes require.
Middleware Integration Platforms
Integration middleware tools such as MuleSoft, Boomi, and DCKAP Integrator sit between Salesforce CRM and Epicor and manage the movement of data between them. These platforms offer pre-built connectors, visual workflow builders, and error monitoring dashboards.
They are well-suited for businesses who need a maintainable, scalable solution without building custom code from scratch. They also handle the version management burden that comes with keeping integrations functional as both Salesforce CRM and Epicor release updates.
Custom API Integration
Both Salesforce CRM and Epicor expose REST APIs that allow systems to exchange data programmatically. A development team can build a direct integration by writing code that calls these APIs on a defined schedule or in response to specific triggers.
Custom integration offers the most flexibility and can be tailored precisely to your business logic. The tradeoff is that custom integrations require ongoing developer support and can become difficult to maintain as either system evolves.
Native Connectors and AppExchange Solutions
Salesforce’s AppExchange marketplace hosts third-party connectors built specifically to link Salesforce with ERP systems including various Epicor products. These connectors are designed for faster deployment and typically require less development effort than a fully custom build.
They work best when your requirements align closely with what the connector is designed to support. Highly customized Epicor environments or non-standard data models may require additional configuration work.
File-Based and ETL Integration
In some environments, particularly those with legacy infrastructure or strict security constraints, data is exchanged through structured file exports and imports. An ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tool pulls data from one system, transforms it into the format expected by the other, and loads it on a scheduled basis. This method is less elegant than API-based approaches and introduces latency, but it can be a practical option when direct system connectivity is not feasible.
Relevant Reading: The Definitive Guide on ERP Integration with Salesforce
Tips to Choose the Right Integration Solution
Identify the key requirements
Determine exactly what you need the integration solution to do and how it will integrate with your existing systems. When it comes to choosing the right integration solution for your business, it is important to identify your unique needs and requirements.
Depending on the size and complexity of your business, you may require a tailored solution to ensure secure data transfer, while also designing a system that is easy to use and maintain. Consider which systems you are going to integrate, and consider what data flows you will need to manage. Additionally, you should also research the different vendors available and choose the one that best meets your needs.
Lastly, when choosing an integration solution, it is important to consider the features offered, such as scalability and flexibility, while keeping in mind the security of your data. make sure that the security measures implemented by the vendor will prevent data breaches and ensure that your confidential information remains protected.
Research integration solutions
Research different solutions and compare their features to make sure they meet your needs. CRM system and ERP integration solutions offer a comprehensive range of features to consider when selecting an integration platform.
These solutions provide secure integration by incorporating best practices and standards on data privacy and security. When researching these solutions, make sure to consider their scalability, customer service, ease of use, mapping capabilities, and pricing models.
Additionally, ensure that the solution is reliable, supported by a knowledgeable team, and provides end-to-end encryption technology for secure data transfer. Doing thorough research on the different integration solutions available will help you find the right one for your business needs.
Review Your Provider’s Security Measures
Carefully review the provider’s security measures and confirm the standards they have in place to make sure your data remains secure. When evaluating an integration solution’s security, focus on data encryption during transmission and at rest, strong authentication, role-based access controls, and compliance with industry standards and regulations.
Additionally, consider the solution’s audit and logging capabilities, vulnerability management practices, data protection during mapping and transformation, disaster recovery plans, and vendor security practices. Customer references can provide valuable insights into the solution’s security features and performance.
Test the solution
Test the solution before implementing it to make sure everything is working correctly and securely. Ensure that your chosen integration solution is compatible with existing systems and that it offers customizable features that can be tailored to meet any project’s needs.
Proper testing provides confidence that your business processes are secure and that your integration will go smoothly. Some of the integration solution providers give you a free demo on request to help you analyze the solution.
Top Third-Party Salesforce CRM Epicor Integration Solutions
Having a knowledgeable partner or service provider familiar with your systems can go a long way in providing expert troubleshooting and solutions.
A partner or service provider familiar with your systems can be a great asset in providing efficient troubleshooting and solutions that are tailored to fit your business needs.
Here are the top 6 Integration tools that will help you achieve seamless integration quickly.
1. DCKAP Integrator
DCKAP Integrator is a middleware ERP-first integration platform that can connect any number and type of business applications ranging from ERP, eCommerce, CRM, EDI, databases, and much more. With DCKAP Integrator, integration over the cloud is executed seamlessly thus eliminating the need to use different environments to deploy your technology.
DCKAP’s team of experts can be trusted to set up, customize, maintain and upgrade the platform as needed, ensuring the flexible and scalable platform matches your current needs and adapts to your business’ growing needs.
2. Boomi
Boomi is an a leading cloud-native, low-code integration platform connecting applications, APIs and AI agents. Boomi supports 180+ software to integrate with industry-leading software like Oracle NetSuite ERP, Salesforce, Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, SAP, Shopify, Magento, and many more.
3. MuleSoft
MuleSoft provides a data integration platform to help businesses connect data, applications, and devices across on-premises and cloud computing environments. Since 2018, after being acquired by Salesforce, it is being used as part of Salesforce Integration Technology. MuleSoft’s Integration Technology ‘AnyPoint’ offers several tools and services that facilitate developers to integrate leading technology with less effort.
3. Celigo
Celigo is an enterprise iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) is designed for IT professionals and business users to quickly connect applications. Its integration platform Integrator.io automates critical business processes, sharing a wide range of data across platforms. Celigo has a long relationship with STREAMS Solutions.
4. Jitterbit
Jitterbit is an AI-power enterprise automation software providing cloud integration solutions that connect applications, data, and systems. As an API transformation company, Jitterbit accelerates innovation by combining the power of APIs and integration. It is one of the best software integration tools and is in high demand as an eCommerce Integration Tool.
5. Zapier
Zapier is an platform that helps you automate AI, workflows and apps. The platform comes equipped with several thousand app integrations right out of the box. Zapier supports 9000+ Apps and Software to integrate including the most popular Google Cloud, Facebook, Youtube, Salesforce, QuickBooks, and others.
Implementing a Secure Integration Solution
When implementing a new integration solution, it is important to take steps to ensure that the data being transferred is secure. The most successful integrations occur when the right integration solution is selected for the specific organization’s needs.
It is important to assess:
- The requirements of the organization
- Evaluate different integration solutions
- Determine which solution will be the most effective and secure.
Additionally, it is important to ensure that any integration solution being considered supports compliance with industry standards and best practices, such as those surrounding data security and privacy.
Finally, it is necessary to establish policies and procedures that detail how the integration will be managed and maintained over time. Taking these steps prior to implementing a new integration solution will allow organizations to ensure secure integrations that are reliable and long-lasting.
This includes making sure that:
- All data is encrypted,
- Access is limited to authorized users;
- And that access credentials are regularly updated.
When choosing an integration solution for Salesforce Epicor Integration, these security measures should be taken into consideration.
- A professional team of experts should be consulted to ensure that the system is properly configured and secured.
- Additionally, frequent maintenance checks should be performed to ensure that any potential vulnerabilities are identified and rectified.
- Furthermore, proper protocols should be put in place to ensure compliant interactions with the integration solution. Ultimately, secure integration is possible if the right steps are taken.
Also See: Comparing P21 API and DCKAP Integrator: Understanding the Differences
Integration Challenges and Best Practices
Mismatched Data Models
Salesforce and Epicor organize data differently. An account in Salesforce may not map cleanly to a customer record in Epicor. Product records, opportunity line items, and order fields often have different structures, naming conventions, and required fields on each side. Careful field mapping and data modeling work is required before any integration goes live.
Conduct a thorough data mapping exercise before development begins. Document how each field in Salesforce corresponds to a field in Epicor, including data types, character limits, and validation rules. Involve both your CRM administrator and your ERP administrator in this process.
Keeping Records in Sync
When a customer record is updated in Salesforce, the corresponding record in Epicor needs to reflect that change, and vice versa. Without a clear system of record defined for each data type, conflicting updates can create duplicate or corrupted data. This becomes especially problematic with customer contact information and pricing.
Define a single system of record for each data category. Customer financial data and pricing should typically be owned by Epicor. Customer contact and relationship data should be owned by Salesforce. Establish clear rules about which system can write to which fields and enforce those rules in your integration logic.
Managing Order and Quote Handoffs
One of the most valuable integration use cases is syncing quotes created in Salesforce with orders in Epicor. However, the transition from a won opportunity to a sales order involves data validation, pricing approval, and product configuration steps that vary significantly between businesses. A quote that is perfectly valid in Salesforce may fail order creation in Epicor if required fields are missing or if product codes do not match.
Map the full lifecycle of a quote-to-order transaction before building the integration. Identify every field that Epicor requires to create a valid order and ensure those fields are captured in Salesforce at the opportunity or quote stage. Build validation checks into the integration layer so that incomplete records are flagged before attempting to create an order, not after.
Error Handling and Visibility
Integrations fail. API timeouts, data validation errors, and network interruptions are all common. Without a robust error handling and alerting system, failed transactions can go unnoticed until a customer calls to ask why their order has not been fulfilled.
Build logging and alerting into the integration from the start. Every transaction that fails should generate a notification to a responsible team member, include enough detail to diagnose the cause, and be stored in a log for audit purposes. Regularly review error logs even when no alerts have been triggered, since some issues surface gradually rather than all at once.
User Adoption on Both Sides
An integration is only useful if the people working in each system trust the data it surfaces. Sales reps who do not believe the inventory or order data in Salesforce is accurate will revert to calling the warehouse or checking Epicor themselves. Operations staff who receive incomplete order data from Salesforce will add manual review steps that undermine the efficiency the integration was meant to create.
Involve end users from both teams in the design and testing phases. Run parallel processes during the initial rollout so that users can verify integration data against known-good records. Communicate clearly about what data is synced, how often it updates, and where to report discrepancies.
Maximizing the Benefits of Salesforce CRM Epicor Integration
Finally, it is clear that the Salesforce & Epicor ERP Integrations using Middleware Ipaas connector can be leveraged to automate data management processes and streamline workflow collaboration between the systems by enabling visibility across your business processes. This can result in increased efficiency and productivity, without compromising the user experience.
By leveraging middleware or iPaaS, organizations have the opportunity to effortlessly integrate Salesforce CRM & Epicor ERP. You can easily gain the advantage of a unified system that surpasses manual integration processes, eliminating tedious manual efforts and data duplication.
Get in touch with the integration consultants and experts at DCKAP for technical support & learn how DCKAP Integrator can help you get the integration services with the most efficient results with minimal effort.
Top Epicor ERPs We Integrate With
Epicor offers a few ERP solutions, all of which we can cater to. Some of these popular ERPs include:
Epicor Prophet 21
Commonly known as P21, this is a full-featured ERP solution that helps distributors streamline their operations and improve customer service. It includes modules for inventory management, order processing, customer relationship management an finance. It also offers advanced analytics capabilities for insight into business performance.
Epicor Eclipse
Eclipse is a specialized ERP solution for the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC distribution industries. It is equipped with essential features in Prophet 21, plus additional functionality catering to the products and services of these industries. It also offers advanced analytics.
Related Read: Understanding Epicor ERP Pricing (2023)
Epicor Prelude
Epicor Prelude is an ERP solution that it ideal for mid-sized manufactuers and some distributors. It has modules for production planning, materials management, finance and HR. It also offers flexible manufacturing capabilities and real-time inventory visibility.
Epicor Kinetic
Kinetic is a cloud-based ERP platform designed to help businesses of all sizes, accelerate their digital transformation. It offers scalability and flexibility while leveraging data, analytics and AI to provide insights for improved decision making.
Other solutions offered by Epicor include Epicor iScala, designed for multinational companies, and Epicor Eagle, which caters to retailer business management requirements.
FAQs
What data is most commonly synced between Salesforce and Epicor?
The most frequently integrated data sets include customer and account records, product catalogs and pricing, quotes and sales orders, order status and shipment tracking, and invoice and payment information. Most businesses start with a subset of these and expand the integration scope over time as confidence in the system grows.
What are the benefits of Salesforce CRM Epicor Integration?
Salesforce CRM & ERP Integration gives businesses the ability to bring together data from multiple systems, streamlining processes and improving efficiency.
- Bi-Directional Data Sync: This integration accelerates the process by allowing the data to flow in both directions, from one software platform to another. Not only does this increase accuracy, but it thus helping your sales team pull out the right information at the right time.
- Improved efficiency: Integration duces manual effort, saving valuable time for employees by automating and streamlining operations, optimizing customer information and sales order data, unifying data sources, boosting productivity, and uncovering valuable insights, and more.
- Real-Time Data Sharing Across Omnichannel: It enables real-time data syncing with no need for additional development resources or coding. As such, companies can rest assured that their Salesforce CRM Epicor Integration is secure and up-to-date, meaning businesses always have access to the most current data to best meet customer expectations.
- Secure Connection Between Different Software Systems: It provides a secure environment with built-in authentication and authorization protocols, allowing companies to explore the opportunity of effortlessly integrating Salesforce CRM & Epicor.
- Better Forecasting Capabilities: Users gain a comprehensive view of the business operations to help monitor progress, improve workflow, and generate even higher returns on investments. Businesses can obtain an integrated view of their customer data from multiple data sources and take advantage of analytics to benefit from better insights and streamline sales order management.
Will the integration affect the performance of either Salesforce or Epicor?
A well-designed integration has minimal impact on system performance. However, poorly timed or unthrottled API calls can create performance issues, particularly in Epicor environments with limited server resources. Scheduling large batch syncs during off-peak hours, implementing API rate limiting, and using event-driven triggers rather than constant polling all help keep performance stable. Your integration platform should provide controls for managing call frequency and volume.
