Epicor has announced it has acquired Acadia Software, which provides connected worker solutions for the manufacturing and other supply chaiun industries. Terms were not discolsed, but Epicor noted in a statement that the new technology will augment Epicor's ability to equip front line workers with the knowledge and tools, as well as intelligent task management, to promote a safer and more optimized work environment.
“Frontline workers need the digital tools and knowledge necessary to perform their roles efficiently and safely,” Epicor CEO Steve Murphy said in a statement. “The acquisition of Acadia furthers Epicor’s commitment to helping businesses across the make, move, and sell industries move beyond simply telling workers what to do, but showing them how to do it effectively to drive stronger productivity and efficiency.”
On the surface this seems like just another workflow addition to Epicor's portfolio. But the specificity of how it is designed for front line workers is unique, and can add value for manufacturing and related industries as they look to both hire more effectively (read: save costs by ramping less experienced workers at lower wages, as well as retain employees thus reducing turnover costs) but also improve the overal quality of product and customer experience. With more engaged and knowledgable workers, products are manufactured with less errors and on time for customers. This in turn drives both cost effeciencies but also the ability to increase customer satisfaction in a manner that opens up more expansion and cross sell/upsell growth opportunities - in short, improving both top and bottom line metrics.
Epicor also laid out a list of benefits in its acquisition announcement:
Real-Time, Actionable Insights: Acadia’s platform is designed to integrate easily with existing enterprise systems, allowing businesses to dynamically combine workforce performance data with other operational metrics.
Skills Management and Development: Acadia provides tools aimed to help workers quickly adopt new processes, software, and equipment that fosters employee growth, skills development, and career progression.
Driving Continuous Improvement: Aligned with Epicor’s focus in helping businesses optimize operations and achieve sustainable growth, Acadia enables workers to identify inefficiencies, suggest improvements, and execute tasks according to best practices.
Epicor users with large shop floor employee bases should consider Acadia's functionality, when Epicor announces formalized pricing for the integrated feature set. The functionality should be part of an overarching strategy of workforce transformation that includes packaged and other AI solutions to drive the right knowledge, task management, etc. to the right front line worker at the right time, and provide telemetry for continuous improvement of the "who, what, when, and where" around the workforce.
