Tips to Use Epicor® BPMs for System Notifications and Alerts

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Learn how to use Epicor® BPMs to automate system notifications and alerts. Epicforce Tech shares expert tips to boost efficiency, reduce errors, and ensure timely responses across your ERP workflows.

Tips to Use Epicor® BPMs for System Notifications and Alerts

System alerts and proactive notifications are essential in a fast-paced ERP environment. When leveraged correctly, Epicor® BPMs (Business Process Management) can help automate these alerts, reduce manual oversight, and ensure nothing critical falls through the cracks.

In this guide, Epicforce Tech outlines practical, non-technical and technical tips for using Epicor® BPMs to manage system notifications effectively—so you can enhance operational responsiveness and data integrity without creating workflow clutter.

Why Use Epicor® BPMs for Notifications?

Epicor® BPMs allow you to customize and control system behavior in real-time. One powerful use case is setting up notifications and alerts based on field changes, exceptions, approvals, and transactional anomalies. These can trigger automated emails, in-app messages, or dashboard indicators.

Benefits Include:

Faster response times
Greater process accountability
Enhanced visibility for key stakeholders
Improved data accuracy and compliance

1. Start with Use Case Mapping

Before jumping into BPM development, define:

What type of events require alerts? (e.g., PO above threshold, failed GL posting)
Who needs to be notified? (e.g., sales managers, finance teams)
What action is expected after the alert? (inform, approve, intervene)

2. Use Method Directives for Transactional Events

For alerts that trigger on data changes or transactions (e.g., invoice posting, shipment), use Method Directives.

Example:

Trigger an alert if a Sales Order is created with a discount over 20%.

Steps:

Use SalesOrder.Update method
Add a condition on the Discount field
Send email using BPM workflow with custom message

3. Use Data Directives for Static Field Monitoring

If your alerts depend on field-level changes in a table (like changes in customer credit limits), Data Directives are better suited.

Always use pre-processing conditions to reduce unnecessary triggers and ensure alerts only fire on true business events.

4. Build Reusable Notification Templates

Instead of hardcoding each email or alert:

Create UD tables to manage message templates
Reference template IDs in BPM actions
Make subject lines and message bodies dynamic using tokens (e.g., [CustomerName], [OrderNum])

This makes alerts easier to maintain and localize.

5. Include Actionable Context in Alerts

Avoid vague messages. Your alerts should answer:

What happened?
Why it matters?
What should the recipient do next?

Example:

"Order #12345 for Customer XYZ exceeds the approved discount threshold. Please review and approve before processing."

6. Group Alerts by Priority Levels

Use UD fields or BPM flags to categorize alerts:

Critical: Requires immediate action
Informational: For awareness only
Escalation: Send to next-level approver if no action in X hours

7. Use Conditions Wisely to Prevent Alert Spam

Alert fatigue is real. Only trigger alerts when they matter.

Avoid:
if true = true then send email
Better:
if OrderAmt > 50000 and Approved = false then notify

Add "Do Not Alert Again" flags where possible.

8. Leverage BPM Logging for Alert Audits

Maintain a UD table or use Epicor® logging to capture:

Alert sent timestamp
Recipient
Message content
Trigger conditions met

This helps in troubleshooting, compliance, and proving SLAs.

9. Secure Sensitive Alert Content

For alerts related to financials, payroll, or customer info:

Mask sensitive fields
Send alerts only to authorized users
Use encrypted email if needed

Reminder: "Always align alerts with your internal data privacy policies."

10. Test in Pilot Environment First

Before pushing alerts into production:

Simulate all conditions
Validate trigger accuracy
Check user roles and delivery timing
Get feedback from pilot users

11. Integrate with Dashboards for In-App Alerts

Combine BPM logic with BAQs and Dashboards:

Use BPM to flag exceptions
Show alerts on user-specific dashboards
Filter based on department or priority

This reduces inbox clutter and improves visibility inside Epicor®.

12. Create a Central Notification Management Workflow

Instead of scattered alerts, consider:

A single notification handler BPM
Centralized logging and template control
Workflow approvals via Task Maintenance

This approach is scalable and easier to audit.

Conclusion

Using Epicor® BPMs for system notifications and alerts is a smart way to enhance visibility, reduce manual tracking, and ensure critical business events get timely attention.

At Epicforce Tech, we specialize in helping organizations design intelligent, non-intrusive BPM alerts tailored to your business rules and compliance needs without bloating your system or over-alerting your users.