Epicor, a global leader in industry specific enterprise software, has announced it has become one of the first external shareholders in Building Materials Digital Services Ltd (BMDS).
BMDS is an industry owned venture developing the Data Yard – a centralised Industry Data Pool (IDP) designed to accelerate data quality, compliance and sustainability across the UK construction ecosystem.
With its investment, Epicor joins merchant powerhouses Bradfords Building Supplies Ltd, Fortis Merchants Limited, h&b Buying Group LLP and National Buying Group LLP, helping BMDS reach 50 per cent of its funding target just four months after launch.
Together, the four merchant shareholders represent £5.6bn in annual turnover, equivalent to 21% of the UK merchant market.
“Epicor has been at the heart of the ‘make, move, sell’ industries for more than five decades,” said Michael Kirkham, Product Management Director, International, at Epicor.
“By backing the Data Yard, we are putting that heritage, and our cloud-first Cognitive ERP innovation, to work for the thousands of British manufacturers, merchants, and distributors who rely on accurate product data to trade safely, sustainably, and profitably, he said.
The Data Yard will provide suppliers with a single, secure location to upload enriched product data, ranging from safety credentials to embodied carbon metrics, while giving merchants and their ERP systems real time access via open APIs.
As a shareholder, Epicor will collaborate with BMDS to embed seamless connectors into its Kinetic, Prophet21 and BisTrack platforms, ensuring customers experience rapid time to value with minimal custom development.
Gareth Thomas, Managing Director of BMDS, welcomed Epicor’s commitment.
“Their technology leadership and customer community will be invaluable as we onboard suppliers ahead of the Data Yard’s public launch at the BMF Members Conference on 18th September,” he said.
