In a highly competitive market like professional equipment for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, maintaining steady growth is never a simple task. Yet Duncan-Parnell Inc., a company with more than 68 years of history in North Carolina, has managed to achieve just that. One of the key factors contributing to their success is their adoption of the Epicor Prophet 21 ERP solution.
Agility as a Strategic Imperative
Founded in 1946, Duncan-Parnell started out as a distributor of surveying, mapping, and design equipment for contractors, engineers, and designers. But the company didn’t stop at distribution. It expanded into service offerings such as digital and wide-format printing and customer training on equipment usage. In addition, Duncan-Parnell built large-scale service and repair centers for its geospatial equipment.
As Vicki Hafele, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, explains: “We are a 68-year-old company, but we’re among the fastest-growing in North Carolina. That’s the result of adapting to a changing market and having the right partners.”
The ERP Turning Point: Choosing Epicor Prophet 21
Before switching to Epicor Prophet 21 in 2012, Duncan-Parnell had used another ERP platform from Epicor since 1995. However, with operations expanding to 14 locations and a growing workforce, the leadership team realized they needed a more powerful system with deep integration of critical functions such as customer relationship management (CRM), service, and maintenance.
According to Hafele, the company’s senior management placed high importance on these applications because they were vital for future growth. Prophet 21 not only met those requirements but also delivered robust reporting capabilities.
“The Excel export functionality in Prophet 21 opened new opportunities for us—giving us better control over reporting and enabling us to do things we couldn’t before, like streamlining journal entries,” Hafele shared.
Illustration. Source: Epicor Câu chuyện thành công Duncan Parnell
Customizing the System to Meet Real Needs
One of the challenges Duncan-Parnell faced during implementation was the need to track historical inventory value over time—especially during year-end financial reviews. In response, the Epicor development team incorporated a new inventory value tracking tool into Prophet 21 version 12.11.
This tool allows the accounting team to check daily inventory value with flexible filtering options. Reports also show on-hand quantities, unit costing, and other critical metrics. “The report reflects changes made to inventory after year-end, allowing us to adjust the cost of high-value items post-closing, when we have more time to review. And we still get an accurate year-end physical costing report,” said Hafele.
Numbers That Speak for Themselves
Just three years after implementing Prophet 21, Duncan-Parnell saw impressive results. Profits rose by 133%, and sales increased by 58%. Although the number of employees also grew, sales per employee surged from $15,700 to $22,500 per month, reflecting major operational efficiency gains.
Inventory increased by 36%, but at a slower pace than revenue and profits—allowing the company to conserve cash. Another highlight was the shift to electronic invoicing: more than 62% of the company’s billing is now fully digital, significantly reducing processing time and operating costs.
Enhancing Management and Customer Service Efficiency
Beyond financial performance, Prophet 21 has delivered value for sales and service teams. Thanks to integrated CRM functionality, sales managers can monitor performance, track opportunities, and manage teams through a unified portal. “Our top sales manager is Prophet 21’s biggest fan—it saves him hours of data gathering,” Hafele shared.
On the service side, the Service and Maintenance module allows users to easily create and manage service quotes and orders at any stage. Managers can view technician notes post-service, while the system auto-fills key information like ship-to address, machine type, pricing, service agreements, and more—streamlining operations.
Even though Duncan-Parnell is only beginning to leverage Prophet 21 for equipment rentals, the system already enables quick conversion from quotes to rental invoices, retaining all related notes.
Prophet 21 also supports automation of warranty and annual service contracts. The company can track warranty expiration by serial number and update, extend, or cancel warranties at a detailed level—including individual parts and labor costs.
A Long-Term Technology Partner for Future Growth
Hafele concludes: “Because Epicor is developing the technology we’ll need 5 to 10 years from now, it allows us to focus on what we do best—serving our customers. We don’t have to worry about backend processes. We trust Epicor’s expertise.”
For Duncan-Parnell, an ERP system is more than just a piece of software—it’s a long-term relationship. And with Epicor, they’ve found a partner committed to their ongoing growth and profitability.
3S Software Co., Ltd.
To successfully upgrade a business, businesses need an experienced and trusted partner. 3S will be a partner accompanying businesses on their path of development, helping businesses become more comprehensive and increase productivity at lower costs. Along with compliance with the Epicor Signature Project Implementation Methodology, it will help businesses increase production efficiency and improve profits at a very reasonable cost. 3S believes that it will always bring the most satisfaction to customers.
The 5 main solutions of 3S include:
Epicor ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning
Epicor MES – Manufacturing Execution System
BPM XSOL Solution – Business Modeling Solution
ECM DOCSTAR Solution – Digital Content Management Software
Epicor CADLINK solution – The solution allows transferring information from CAD drawings such as AutoCAD, Solidworks to Epicor ERP
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