How Epicor and Concerti navigate cultural nuance, delivering manufacturing excellence in North America's most distinctive market
In the heart of French-speaking North America, a quiet manufacturing revolution is taking place. Here, where language is both identity and legislation, where tight-knit business communities operate by reputation as much as results, global software solutions don't simply translate — they transform.
This is Quebec's manufacturing landscape, where Epicor and gold-certified partner Concerti have built a partnership that goes far beyond language barriers to drive exceptional customer outcomes.
In a province with a unique culture, small-to-medium-sized manufacturing businesses (SMBs) in Quebec often operate in two worlds. According to Benoit Gagnon, President of Concerti, who has spent over 25 years navigating this unique market, “We have a lot of SMBs in Quebec, and most of them will sell outside the province. They will sell in Quebec, but they also export to markets like the United States and Europe. These companies are part of a global manufacturing world, but they also have their small ecosystem in Quebec.” Successfully bridging these worlds requires both the right software and a finely honed sense of cultural intelligence.
What makes Quebec's manufacturing sector truly distinctive is the significance of the language. More than a communication tool, French is the cornerstone of cultural identity, protected by legislation and woven into business relationships.
"The language is a key part of our provincial identity," Gagnon emphasizes. "It's not simply about understanding each other; it's emotional and political. Many people fear losing their culture and language."
Quebec's Law 101 mandates that all business communications — including software interfaces — must be available in French. This legal requirement creates a significant barrier to entry for many global software providers who view the translation investment as prohibitive for a regional market. The result? Many world-class solutions never reach Quebec manufacturers.
"That's why there is a lot of great software on the market that never makes it to Quebec," Gagnon notes. "Companies feel there aren't enough French-speaking people to justify the cost of translation. In Montreal, it's less of a concern, but in the regions, it's a significant issue. When I'm doing presentations, I had to adapt and demonstrate Epicor solutions in French. That's why I believe French is essential in the Quebec market and why many large global solutions who don't adapt will struggle to succeed here."
Quebec's manufacturing sector operates as a close-knit community, especially outside major urban centers. This interconnected network creates a business environment where reputation travels quickly and carries much weight in purchasing decisions.
"The Quebec industrial sector is a small ecosystem. Most of the business owners will know each other, especially in the region," Gagnon explains. "When you are successful, they know it. When you have a failure, they know it. So it's very, very important to be successful not only in selling Epicor, but in delivering a smooth implementation and providing great and ongoing support to your customers. One single failed implementation will be very known in our market and make future sales much more challenging.”
This reputation-driven environment amplifies the value of channel partners who understand local dynamics. Concerti has leveraged this reality by building relationships that transform into powerful endorsements.
"Here, it's not only about companies doing their research online," says Gagnon. “It’s, ‘I know the director and owner, and they say good stuff about you. So we already want Epicor because we know happy Epicor customers.'" This dynamic demonstrates the importance of the channel partner voice in serving as a bridge between Epicor and potential new Kinetic users.
Understanding these unique market dynamics, Concerti has developed specialized methodologies that address Quebec manufacturers' specific needs while accelerating implementation success.
“We have a starter kit, where we have a lot of data sets that we preload,” Gagnon says. “The starter kit streamlines the process. Instead of saying, ‘Well, configure it yourself, or I will train you or I will do it for you,’ it’s just, ‘We sell Epicor and we upload our kit so it's ready to use.’ This is very much appreciated among our customer base, and helps us to implement Epicor successfully with smaller accounts.”
For larger, more complex implementations, Concerti leverages their deep technical expertise alongside their cultural understanding.
“Most of the time, our large organizations have companies in other countries as well or other provinces. When it’s complex, this is where we shine. It's not only about functionality. It's about Kinetic, but it’s also about integrating with machines, automating activities—how to leverage technology to reach the goals of the customer. There are a lot of very complex organizations that we were able to implement successfully, and we’re very proud of that.”
As a vital channel partner, Concerti is able to demonstrate not only the value of Epicor solutions, but their own expertise at seamlessly integrating those solutions to drive success.
"For us, humans are at the center of everything. So it's not an IT project; it's a human project—where technology is at the service of humans, and not the opposite. We keep our employees and our customers at the center of everything we do."
Benoit Gagnon, President
Concerti
Concerti's partnership philosophy centers on creating enduring value rather than quick wins. “For us, it’s about long-term relationships with our customers. So sometime that means doing our part to be successful with things like CPQ. You know, we invested a lot of energy and dollars with CPQ and now we are completing a very difficult project, a 3D project that we are proud of. We always have a long-term ROI in mind when we do that, and not just the current year.”
This commitment extends to continuous learning and evolution. “We invest a lot—on training, on skill sets, on developing tools, making sure that we stay on top of everything. You know, with the cloud, the machine learning, the AI—I love the direction where Epicor is going and Concerti has already started to invest, and we'll invest even more—to reduce the amount of cumbersome tasks, or to find the right information faster. But I believe that even with machine learning and AI, the human will stay there. It’s part of our culture.”
At the foundation of Concerti's success is their deep partnership with Epicor. Having witnessed Epicor's evolution across decades, Gagnon recognizes the value of this collaboration.
“I have known Epicor for 25 years,” he says. “I saw the changes in terms of technology; it’s really another world. I saw how Epicor is investing in software and technology, and also in partnership. It was good at the time, but now it's really good. When it's time to receive help, to be able to get specific information or learn what we can do to sell in that specific market, we receive help from the Epicor community.”
This partnership allows Concerti to leverage Epicor's global expertise while contributing their specialized regional knowledge—a powerful combination that benefits Quebec manufacturers.
“We believe Epicor Kinetic is a strong product,” Gagnon says. “The technology is very up to date, and it’s well-positioned against the competition. So we believe that we have a lot of opportunities in Quebec, but also in other territories, to grow and expand.”
As manufacturing continues to evolve throughout North America, channel partners like Concerti exemplify how Epicor's partner strategy delivers exceptional customer outcomes by combining global solutions with unmatched local expertise. In Quebec's distinctive market, this essential approach makes every day easier for customers—now, and in the exciting future ahead.
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