Epic Pressures Vendors to Drop WMC

This is interesting.

Epic Systems Corp., the Verona-based electronic medical records company, is threatening to pull its business from local vendors who support the state’s largest business lobby over a political disagreement with the group.

In a statement to the State Journal, the company cited concern over Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce’s spending this year on behalf of state Supreme Court candidate Michael Gableman, estimated at $1.8 million, as a reason for working only with vendors whose officials oppose WMC’s agenda.

“We believe that what we tolerate is what we stand for, and as corporate citizens, we stand for the preservation of the foundation of the judicial system,” said the statement, attributed to the Epic Management Team. “… After careful consideration, we made a decision to try to work only with vendors that do not support WMC with its current management. This was not a decision we made lightly, but believe it is the right thing to do.”

Obviously, the folks at Epic can do whatever they want.  If they disapprove of WMC and want to cut off support for them, that’s their prerogative. 

But if I were an investor in Epic, I would seriously evaluate my investment.  Whenever a company starts to make decisions based on emotion or politics instead of what make the most financial sense for the company, it’s bound to impact the bottom line.