The latest Institute for Supply Management ISM® Manufacturing PMI® Report has some genuinely encouraging news: manufacturing is growing. Yet, at the same time, input prices are surging.

The Manufacturing PMI registered 54 percent in May, 1.3 percentage points higher than in April and its highest reading since May 2022 (55.9 percent) – and the fifth consecutive month of expansion. New orders climbed to 56.8 percent, and 16 of 18 manufacturing industries reported growth.

This is a moment manufacturers have been waiting for after years of contraction.

But here’s the tension hiding inside that headline: input prices are simultaneously surging, with the ISM Prices Paid Index hitting 82.1 in May — the second-highest reading since 2022. Tariff-driven cost increases, supply chain pressures, and slow deliveries (the Supplier Deliveries Index held at 60.6, signaling persistent delays) are squeezing margins even as order volumes climb.

In other words, manufacturers are busier and more pressured at the same time. Selling more shouldn’t feel this costly.

For manufacturers running Epicor ERP — and frankly, any ERP — the margin protection playbook runs through the same move: connecting your ERP to a modern eCommerce layer and giving your customers, dealers, and distributors the self-service portals they already expect. The manufacturers doing this are handling more volume with the same teams. The ones who aren’t are hiring to keep up. Here’s how to get it right.

Why Manufacturers Are Under Pressure to Modernize — Right Now

The ISM data makes the macro case, but there’s a micro reality playing out inside sales and operations teams at manufacturers across the country every day:

• Inside sales reps spend hours fielding “Where’s my order?” calls that a self-service portal would eliminate.
• Quoting cycles stretch from days to weeks because configurations, pricing, and availability live in disconnected systems.
• Dealers and distributors can’t place orders or check inventory without calling a rep.
• Manual order entry introduces errors that create costly back-and-forth with customers.

A 2025 Aleran survey of 200 B2B manufacturing decision-makers found that integrating CRM and ERP systems with sales processes was a top priority for 56% of respondents when it came to streamlining sales and quoting — and self-service customer portals were cited by nearly half (48%). The pressure to act isn’t theoretical. It’s coming from customers, sales teams, and the P&L simultaneously.

What Is Epicor B2B Portal Integration, and Why Does It Matter?

An Epicor B2B portal integration connects your Epicor ERP (Kinetic, E10, Prophet 21, or Eclipse) to a customer-facing digital portal where buyers — whether direct customers, dealers, or distributors — can self-serve without involving your internal team.

Done right, a portal gives your customers and channel partners the ability to:

• Browse product catalogs with real-time, contract-specific pricing pulled directly from Epicor
• Request quotes and configure products without calling a rep
• Place and reorder without friction
• Check order status, track shipments, and view order history on demand
• View and pay invoices, download statements, and manage account information

The core requirement is a real-time, bidirectional API connection between your portal and Epicor. This is what separates a true Epicor B2B portal integration from a disconnected storefront — data doesn’t batch-sync overnight; it reflects what’s actually in your ERP at any given moment.

eCommerce Platforms That Integrate with Epicor ERP

One of the most common questions manufacturers ask when starting this journey is: which eCommerce platforms actually integrate with Epicor ERP?

The good news is that the market has matured significantly. Here are the main categories of options:

Epicor’s Native Tools Epicor offers its own integration ecosystem, including Epicor Commerce Connect for unified digital storefronts, Epicor EDI for structured document exchange with trading partners, and Epicor Integration Hub for connecting Epicor to third-party applications. These are solid starting points, particularly for Kinetic users already invested in the Epicor ecosystem.

Purpose-Built B2B eCommerce Platforms Several platforms are specifically designed for complex B2B manufacturing environments and offer pre-built Epicor connectors:

• Aleran Connected Commerce — A unified platform that combines CPQ, eCommerce, and customer portals with a pre-built Epicor ION integration, eliminating the need for custom middleware. Designed specifically for mid-market and enterprise manufacturers selling through dealers, distributors, reps, or direct channels.
• ROC Commerce — Built for B2B eCommerce with specific support for Epicor Eclipse, offering real-time data synchronization, customer-specific pricing, and customizable storefronts.
• Nomad eCommerce — Integrates with Epicor Kinetic, E9, and E10, with tools for enriching ERP product data for customer-facing use and handling account receivables self-service.
• Parttrap ONE — Real-time integration with Epicor Kinetic, E9, E10, and iScala, focused on eliminating duplicate data management.
• Channel Software WebAlliance — A purpose-built B2B eCommerce platform for distributors and manufacturers with Epicor Kinetic integration.

The right platform depends on the complexity of your product catalog, your channel structure (dealer vs. distributor vs. direct), and whether you need CPQ capabilities alongside eCommerce and portal functionality.

Best Practices for Integrating Epicor ERP with eCommerce Platforms

Getting integration right is what separates manufacturers who see real ROI from those who spend 18 months on an implementation and end up with a static product catalog. Here are the best practices that matter most:

1. Keep Epicor as the System of Record — Always Your ERP is the source of truth for pricing, inventory, customer accounts, and order data. Any eCommerce or portal platform you choose should pull from and write back to Epicor, not duplicate that data in a separate system. The moment you have two systems “managing” the same data, you have a problem.

2. Use Real-Time API Integration, Not Batch Syncing Batch syncing — where data refreshes every few hours or overnight — is a recipe for customer frustration. A dealer who checks inventory at 9 AM and places an order at 11 AM deserves to know if those units were sold at 10. Real-time, bidirectional API connections between Epicor and your portal or eCommerce platform are non-negotiable for a professional B2B experience.

3. Avoid Heavy ERP Customization One of the biggest implementation traps is over-customizing Epicor to serve the eCommerce layer. Heavy customization makes upgrades painful, increases IT dependency, and often reflects a platform mismatch rather than a genuine business requirement. The right eCommerce platform should flex to meet your business rules — not require you to bend your ERP to accommodate it.

4. Unify CPQ, eCommerce, and Portals Under One Platform Manufacturers often buy a CPQ tool, then a separate eCommerce platform, then a portal, and end up with three disconnected systems that each require their own integration to Epicor. Buyers, meanwhile, don’t experience your technology stack — they experience the journey. A unified platform that handles quoting, ordering, and self-service through a single Epicor-connected layer reduces cost, complexity, and friction for everyone.

5. Prioritize Fast Deployment and Minimal IT Dependency Implementation timelines that stretch to 12–18 months are common with heavy custom-build approaches — and by the time you go live, requirements have changed. Pre-built ERP connectors and platforms designed for business-team administration (no-code catalog, pricing, and portal management) dramatically shorten time to value.

6. Support Customer-Specific Pricing and Complex Configurations B2B manufacturing rarely involves a simple price list. Dealer tiers, contract pricing, volume discounts, and configured products are the norm. Your integration needs to surface the right price to the right customer at the right time — pulling that logic directly from Epicor rather than managing a duplicate pricing layer.

Self-Service Portals: The Margin-Protection Move Manufacturers Are Overlooking

Here’s a math problem worth solving: if each inbound customer service call costs your business $8–$15 in labor and overhead — and your inside sales team handles hundreds of them per week — what is the cost of not having a self-service portal?

Self-service portals for manufacturers aren’t just a convenience feature. They’re a margin protection strategy. When your customers, dealers, and distributors can handle routine interactions on their own, your sales and service teams redirect time toward activities that actually grow revenue: new account acquisition, strategic account management, and complex deal support.

Specifically, a well-implemented Epicor B2B self-service portal eliminates cost pressure in several distinct ways:

Order Management Without Sales Involvement Reorders, standard configurations, and repeat purchases are handled directly by the customer or dealer through the portal. Order data posts automatically back to Epicor, eliminating manual entry and the errors that come with it.

Real-Time Order Visibility When customers can check their own order status, track shipments, and see fulfillment updates, the volume of inbound “Where’s my order?” calls drops dramatically. This alone can free up meaningful hours per week across your inside sales team.

Self-Service Invoice and Payment Management Customers can view account balances, download invoices, review transaction history, and make payments — all through the portal, with reconciliation back to Epicor. This reduces accounts receivable overhead and accelerates cash collection.

Dealer and Distributor Portals For manufacturers that sell through channel partners, a portal gives dealers and distributors a professional, branded experience for ordering, quoting, and account management. This reduces the friction that causes channel partners to shift volume toward competitors with easier digital access — a competitive dynamic that is increasingly decisive as B2B buyer expectations continue to rise.

The Business Case: Reducing Cost Pressure While the Market Grows

The current manufacturing environment creates a specific strategic imperative. The ISM data tells us demand is expanding — new orders have grown for five consecutive months. But price pressures are simultaneously at near-record highs, and employment remains in contraction, meaning manufacturers are being asked to serve growing order volumes with lean teams.

This is exactly the environment where automation and self-service create disproportionate value. When your customers and channel partners can manage their own ordering, reordering, quoting, and account management through an Epicor-integrated portal, you capture revenue from expanding demand without a corresponding increase in headcount or manual process costs.

The manufacturers who will protect — and grow — margins through this cycle are the ones who treat their Epicor ERP investment as the foundation of a modern customer experience, not just a back-office tool. The technology to do this exists today. The integration patterns are established. The business case is compelling.

Why Aleran for Epicor ERP eCommerce Integration

Aleran’s Connected Commerce Platform is purpose-built for mid-market and enterprise manufacturers and offers pre-built Epicor integration through real-time APIs — no custom middleware, no months-long IT projects. The platform unifies CPQ, eCommerce, and self-service customer portals in a single connected layer, with business-team administration that doesn’t require developer involvement to manage catalogs, pricing rules, or portal experiences.

Whether you sell direct, through dealers, through distributors, or across all three, Aleran connects every channel to your Epicor ERP data and automates the order-to-fulfillment workflow — so your team spends time growing the business, not managing manual handoffs.

With manufacturing demand at a four-year high and cost pressures at a near-record, the window to modernize without disruption is open. The manufacturers who move now will be the ones who emerge from this growth cycle with stronger margins and a customer experience that creates loyalty, not just transactions.

Ready to see how Aleran integrates with Epicor ERP to enable self-service B2B portals for your customers and channel partners? Schedule a demo →

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