Using Epicor Kinetic with Merlin
Merlin works with Epicor Kinetic through exports, not a native connector. You build a Business Activity Query (BAQ) for your price list and one for open sales orders, export the results to CSV or Excel, and upload them to Merlin. If you can publish that export to a stable link on a schedule, Merlin refreshes from it every 6 hours.
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Buyers often go with the first solid quote they get. Merlin gets yours out in minutes, day or night, and follows up on the quotes that go quiet.
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Handle more requests with the team you already have, in English and French, while good inside-sales people are hard to find.
What does Merlin need from Epicor?
Merlin quotes from your own prices, so it needs one clean row per sellable item. For the Quote Desk that means SKU (part number), description, unit of measure, unit price, quantity breaks, lead time and stock on hand. Customer-specific prices can be a second file or extra columns.
For Order Status, Merlin needs open and recently shipped sales orders: order number, customer PO, customer email or company domain, status, ship date, carrier and tracking number. Merlin only answers the customer the order belongs to, matched on email or domain.
Which Epicor fields map to Merlin fields?
| Merlin field | Typical Epicor source (BAQ column) |
|---|---|
| SKU | Part number (Part.PartNum) |
| Description | Part description (Part.PartDescription) |
| UOM | Selling or inventory unit of measure |
| Unit price | Price list part base price, or part unit price |
| Quantity breaks | Price list quantity break rows (quantity + price) |
| Lead time | Part lead time in days |
| Stock | On-hand quantity by warehouse, summed |
| Order no / PO | Sales order number / customer PO number |
| Customer email | Customer or contact email on the order |
| Status, ship date | Open/closed flag, need-by or ship date |
| Carrier, tracking | Ship via and tracking number from the shipment |
Table and field names vary by version and setup. Confirm the exact columns in BAQ Designer with your Epicor administrator. *
How do you export an Epicor BAQ for Merlin?
There are two common routes. For a one-time load, run the BAQ or a dashboard grid and use the export to Excel option. Epicor users report that the Kinetic grid export to Excel is capped at 1,000 rows in some versions, so large catalogs are better served by the BAQ Export Process, which writes the full result to a CSV file. *
The steps below are the general pattern described by Epicor users. Menu locations differ between Epicor 10 and Kinetic releases.
- Build a BAQ that returns one row per part (price list) and another for open sales orders with shipment details.
- Open BAQ Export Process, choose the BAQ, enable output labels so the file has a header row, and set the Output Filename (for example PriceList.csv).
- To schedule it, save the export to a Process Set, create a schedule in System Agent, then attach the Process Set to the schedule (Schedule Process Set).
- On cloud (SaaS) Epicor, the file is written server side. Users retrieve it with the Server File Download utility, or call the BAQ's REST endpoint instead. *
- Upload the CSV to Merlin, or place it at a stable link that Merlin can fetch.
How does the 6-hour refresh work?
Manual uploads stay as they are until you upload a new file. If your export lands at a stable link, Merlin pulls it every 6 hours and replaces the old price sheet or order list. A price change made in Epicor at 9:00 is therefore in Merlin's quotes by the next refresh, which is fine for most price lists but not for minute-by-minute stock.
Getting a server-side Epicor file onto a link sometimes needs a small script or IT help. That setup can be done by JCube Tech as custom work if your team does not have the time.
What would a direct Epicor integration add?
The standard product has no native Epicor connector. A direct integration, built as custom work by our sister company JCube Tech, could read prices, stock and order status through Epicor's REST services more often than every 6 hours, or write approved quotes back as Epicor quotes. It is scoped and quoted separately, usually under the Enterprise plan on the pricing page.
Most teams start with exports during the shadow-mode weeks and only consider a direct integration once the drafts prove useful.
Frequently asked questions
Does Merlin have a native Epicor connector?
No. Merlin imports Excel or CSV exports, including scheduled exports published to a link. A direct Epicor integration is custom work by JCube Tech.
Will Merlin change anything in Epicor?
Not with the standard import. Merlin only reads the files you give it. Quotes are drafted in Merlin and approved by a rep.
How often are prices updated?
When you upload a new file, or every 6 hours if the export is published to a link.
Can I use Epicor customer price lists?
Yes, export them as a separate file or extra columns keyed by customer so Merlin can apply customer-specific pricing.
What if my catalog is larger than the grid export allows?
Use BAQ Export Process to CSV rather than the grid export, which users report is limited to 1,000 rows in some Kinetic versions.
