Learn how developing an Available-to-Sell module with Epicor helped streamline processes and fuel growth
Interfor did not become one of the world’s largest lumber producers by accident. The company continues to make ongoing strategic capital investments, acquiring lumber operations and sawmills to increase production capacity. The goal: to maximize mill performance, delivering top-tier margins.
As part of Interfor’s operational excellence, the company regularly evaluates internal business processes and existing technology to assess what is working and what is not, asking: How do we deliver even more value to customers worldwide?
An Epicor customer since 2007, Epicor LumberTrack came under that evaluation microscope, with Interfor taking a hard look at the ERP platform to determine if the solution could keep pace with current and future growth.
Interfor has experienced consistent growth, and the standard processes they had in place required review. The reality: The company had to reference too many systems to complete certain tasks and wanted users to operate within a single more streamlined and automated system to carry out day-to-day supply chain functions.
“We took a hard look at our supply chain systems to determine where improvements could be made,” says Colette Bettencourt, Senior Director, Supply Chain for Interfor. “We wanted to focus on automation and integration to help support future growth.”
Interfor has used LumberTrack for nearly two decades, but the company required additional functionality to core areas of the product. The writing was on the wall, with Interfor clear about the options: Epicor could enhance LumberTrack to support business needs, or the company would start fresh with a new solution.
Interfor had an Available-to-Sell system which resided outside of LumberTrack and was not integrated with order entry processes. With each region handling order entry a bit differently, employees had to toggle between many systems to see what products were available, which led to some inefficiencies. As a result, the time to enter an order was too time-consuming.
“We wanted a fully integrated Available-to-Sell module within LumberTrack that our sales team could live in,” shares Angus Ker, Supply Chain Manager with Interfor. “We needed an ERP foundation to streamline order entry to fields that could work across multiple operating and sales regions.”
Interfor reviewed alternate ERP solutions, to assess what other options could support the desired supply chain ERP capabilities. However, Interfor chose to enhance their current LumberTrack platform to avoid extensive re-work, time, and resources.
“The knowledge the Epicor team has about the lumber industry was helpful when discussing system requirements,” Bettencourt explains. “Our alignment with Epicor on the future vision for our supply chain systems helped us in our decision to continue investing in our long-term partnership.”
The backbone of what Interfor wanted to achieve lived within LumberTrack, but the Available-to-Sell functionality had to be built and customized to meet Interfor’s requirements for each sales region. Interfor also wanted a high level of automation to further streamline sales processes.
The knowledge the Epicor team has about the lumber industry was helpful when discussing system requirements. Our alignment with Epicor on the future vision for our supply chain systems helped us in our decision to continue investing in our long-term partnership.
“The LumberTrack development process was collaborative. Epicor worked closely with the Interfor team to understand our requirements and shared development updates along the way for fine-tuning and feedback,” adds Bettencourt.
Interfor took a methodical and best practices approach to implementation. The new ATS module was part of a deployment to integrate their Eastern Canada operations to LumberTrack, taking nearly a year to prepare for the go-live date. The company had a team of people dedicated to ensuring a smooth migration, with support from Epicor. Interfor took advantage of many tools available to them to assist with setting up master files and other data integration requirements.
We are now able to operate more efficiently by having all sales regions in one integrated platform within LumberTrack.
The new Available-to-Sell module was designed to be implemented in the East region first, with regional rollouts to follow in Interfor’s South and West sales regions. Interfor also needed additional enhancements to accommodate region-specific requirements. The South region has since been rolled out, with their West region scheduled for early in the second quarter of 2025.
“We went big with our go-live event, integrating nine sawmills and one sales office on the same day,” shares Bettencourt. “Training was a key ingredient, and we had Epicor resources in place to help make the integration a success.”
“We are now able to operate more efficiently by having all sales regions in one integrated platform within LumberTrack,” Ker shares.
The company’s fully integrated Available-to-Sell system includes forecast import capabilities, streamlined order entry, and automated freight and pricing capabilities—leading to improved operations. Streamlining order entry can save time and help reduce the risk of human error by reducing manual entry.
