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One of the advantages of Kerrie Jordan’s 15-plus-year career in marketing is that she has seen technology revolutionise the industry firsthand. Thanks to that experience, Kerrie knows exactly where AI can make the most impact.
For a start, she believes we need to overhaul of traditional integration of ERP systems in favour of more advanced, AI-driven models. It’s this philosophy that drives her work now as CMO at Epicor, where she’s pushing new forms of ERP integration that let the client stay more in-the-loop than ever.
As Kerrie explains in this interview, ERP systems have always offered the ability to navigate the business efficiently, consolidating data across branches into a single source of truth to act as an “operational foundation” for business decisions. In increasingly volatile markets, having a centralised source of information like this only becomes a greater asset, allowing companies to operate “proactively rather than reactively, even in periods of disruption”.
For all of their potential benefits, however, Kerrie makes it clear that the true success of ERP systems come from their execution. Oftentimes, companies bite off more than they can chew, as “what seems at first like a straightforward infrastructure upgrade quickly becomes a deeper operational transformation”.
In recognition of these risks, Kerrie presents her own vision for how to put control back into the hands of businesses. To her, the future of ERP integration comes in the form of user-driven, low/no-code environments. With the best fitting software always differing between industry, size and stage of growth, Kerrie argues that it’s only natural to integrate “natural language prompts” into the process, allowing for “fully customised ERP functionality” for the client at a fraction of the execution time.
With Kerrie’s beliefs laid out, we thought it best to get a clearer picture of her journey so far to get there, and how her experience has informed her vision for the future of the industry.
I joined Epicor nine years ago. As Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Product, I lead Epicor’s global go-to-market efforts, bringing together deep product innovation and strategic marketing experience to drive brand growth and customer engagement across the make, move and sell industry communities.
Prior to my appointment as CMO, I served as GVP of Product Management and ISV Partner Programs at Epicor, where I drove the company’s Cognitive ERP roadmap, an AI-driven approach that transforms ERP from a system of record to a system of action and insight.
Before joining Epicor, I held product marketing leadership roles at Oracle, and earlier in my career, I also drove strategic marketing programs for enterprise technology clients as part of my consulting work with global marketing firms.
My Epicor podcast, Manufacturing the Future, explores key technology trends through in‑depth conversations with manufacturing and supply chain leaders, experts and influencers. I am also a frequent contributor to the Forbes Tech Council, where I write about the evolving intersection of ERP, AI and industry modernization.
I received my Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Santa Clara University in California, which laid the foundation for my passion for technology‑driven business transformation.
The biggest advantage a well‑implemented ERP system brings to an organization is the ability to navigate the business in a better, faster and more efficient way. When ERP is done right, meaning it has been configured thoughtfully around real workflows, and adopted fully by both leadership and users, it becomes more than a system upgrade; it becomes the operational foundation that helps teams make smarter decisions, remove friction and move with greater confidence.
A strong ERP system consolidates data into a single source of truth, removing the friction caused by disconnected tools and manual workarounds. This gives leaders and frontline teams immediate visibility into what’s happening across finance, inventory, production, supply chain, customer operations and more. With that much clarity, businesses can respond more quickly to changing conditions, reduce errors and create greater alignment across departments.
An ERP system’s level of visibility and connectedness gives organizations the confidence to operate proactively rather than reactively, even in periods of disruption, such as geopolitical events or natural disasters. Ultimately, giving businesses the resilience and adaptability needed to stay competitive. It’s this combination of clarity, speed and operational cohesion that allows a well‑implemented ERP system to become a true catalyst for long‑term growth.
Migrating to the cloud can be a game-changer for organizations seeking greater efficiency, scalability and alignment with modern technologies. Often, what seems at first like a straightforward infrastructure upgrade quickly becomes a deeper operational transformation that affects processes, people and long‑established systems. However, understanding the full scope of the migration is a key component in ensuring a successful implementation. This means thoroughly mapping out all data sources, identifying which customizations still add meaningful value, and eliminating those that no longer serve the business or support future goals.
It is equally important to have a strong understanding of your key customizations before beginning the transition. Working closely with department heads and leaders across your organization to identify and disable unnecessary customizations not only reduces risk but also simplifies the overall migration path. In addition, setting clear goals, creating a detailed plan of action, thoroughly testing your system, and ensuring you have comprehensive user training all contribute to a smoother and more predictable migration experience.
Ultimately, progressing toward an ERP system deployed in the cloud requires buy‑in across the organization, including strong executive support and a clear vision for the future. When teams are aligned and expectations are well managed, the migration becomes far more successful and sustainable.
Over the next 5 to 10 years, ERP systems will evolve into faster, more adaptive and more user‑driven platforms powered heavily by AI. And further, time to value, meaning the time it takes from implementing new software to seeing real business benefits, will progress towards zero. Traditionally, an ERP implementation can take an average of 12 to18 months because every business requires unique workflows. Emerging tools like Epicor’s agentic AI, Prism, allow organizations to move from natural language prompts to fully customized ERP functionality in a fraction of that time.
This shift means implementations that previously stretched over a year can now be completed in just weeks or months. As a result, costs are significantly reduced, innovation accelerates and businesses gain the freedom to adapt their systems as quickly as their needs evolve. Customer feedback we’ve received already highlights how dramatically AI is improving time to value. AI-enabled ERP systems will continue to empower customers to iterate faster, experiment more freely and get exactly what they need without waiting for lengthy development cycles.
Perhaps most importantly, this evolution creates a healthy competitive pressure on service providers to deliver better, faster and more tailored solutions. In the long run, this competitive energy will strengthen the entire ERP ecosystem and redefine what businesses expect from enterprise software.
At Epicor, our perspective on customization versus out‑of‑the‑box ERP functionality is rooted in how we design and deliver our products. The right fit depends on your industry, company size, growth stage and digital maturity. We’ve always said that we fundamentally build things differently, and that philosophy comes through in how we balance configurable, out‑of‑the‑box tools with the freedom for customers to tailor the system to their specific needs.
Epicor’s low‑code/no‑code development environment, for example, enables organizations to personalize applications through visual tools rather than hand-programming complex code, allowing businesses to tailor our applications through graphical user interfaces and configuration while still working within the broader Epicor ecosystem.
This approach gives customers the best of both worlds: industry‑ready functionality that works on day one, paired with the flexibility to adapt the system as their business evolves. Many organizations start with out‑of‑the‑box capabilities because Epicor’s industry‑specific design already aligns closely with how those in the make, move and sell industries operate. As their operations grow more complex, low‑code/no‑code tools and open APIs allow them to extend workflows, add automations and create unique experiences without compromising system stability or upgradeability.
Ultimately, our goal is to empower organizations with technology that fits the way they work.
If I could give one piece of advice to a CIO about to embark on an ERP project, it would be this: treat agility as your most valuable strategic asset from day one. As CIOs continue proving ROI on their AI investments in 2026, the pressure to demonstrate measurable outcomes has never been higher. That means applying clear, standard measures of efficiency and top‑line value KPIs that directly reflect how the ERP and AI capabilities are transforming your business. But setting those metrics is only part of the equation.
The real differentiator is creating an environment where experimentation is not only allowed but actively encouraged. In the first months, and even throughout the first year, of adopting ERP and AI‑driven capabilities, CIOs must focus on removing bureaucratic barriers that slow teams down. Your employees need the freedom to iterate, test new ideas, fail quickly and try again. This kind of agility is what uncovers unexpected efficiencies, identifies new revenue opportunities and accelerates time‑to‑value across the organization.
ERP projects are complex by nature, but when paired with a culture that welcomes exploration, they become engines for innovation rather than long, rigid IT undertakings. Empower your teams early, measure impact consistently, and you’ll lay the groundwork for long-term transformation.
