Likelihood to Recommend Among circuit design and printed circuit programs, it is ahead of other programs thanks to its accessibility and ease of use. Its most important feature is that it supports both the circuit design and the printed circuit program in harmony. This feature is not available in all programs. For educational purposes, students should be allowed to use it for a period of time. Especially if you do not have a license in program design devs with processors, you cannot try programs with more than 2KB.
Read full review Epicor is an excellent system for most manufacturing customers and offers several features previously only offered on the very large (e.g. Oracle,
PeopleSoft , etc) level platforms. Yet the pricing is mid-level, and the expandability through additional modules provides a great opportunity for future business growth. The architecture is easily scalable, fast, and offers great options for both on premise and hosted systems. Epicor is flexible, and large enough that regular updates and enhancements continue to be adopted to improve functionality and effectiveness. It is however, not for everyone. Competition in this sector is very good, with several mid-level systems being available at a similar price point. If you are considering adopting a new ERP system and are in the plastics space, you also owe it to yourself and your team to consider IQMS, which is becoming a de-facto standard in this segment. Also, for specific medical sectors, you will find that Epicor software validation for CFR Part 11 compliance can be quite costly-- although the software is capable of supporting this with modification. Overall, Epicor is a solid choice. Ultimately, it will be up to your team to determine what works best for your needs. You won't be disappointed with Epicor if you do the due diligence and take the time needed to properly review and demo the product. Remember though, demos are typically "best case" staged, so be sure to throw several curveballs at your vendor and bring out the unique requirements of your business.
Read full review Pros Thanks to the library support of processors, especially PIC microcontrollers, it becomes possible to verify the code you have written by uploading the HEX code before it goes into real production. It is quite easy to find and access many educational materials to learn the program. From the simplest circuit to the most complex circuit, it is quite easy to design and follow. Read full review Epicor has the best product configurator that I have seen on the market. This was one of the main reasons we went with Epicor, and have not been disappointed at all. Epicor is also one of the easiest ERP system to learn, and has many ways for users to get training. Epicor University, on-line courses, or class room settings, also user conference every year, and user support groups. The Enterprise search ability in Epicor is great, can find parts, customers, suppliers, etc. so easily. And if you can't remember where a report or task that you want to do is on the menu, you can search for that also. Read full review Cons Path deficiencies need to be considered when transitioning the program from ISIS circuit design to ARES printed circuit drawing. Especially if you are working on a processor design in ISIS, the external oscillator circuit does not pass when you transfer it to ARES. In LCD and motor applications, the circuit sometimes does not work. It changes according to the years in its own versions and old files are not opened in new versions. Read full review Consultants should be very well trained to make sure program integrity is maintained during challenging implementations. There should be an improvement on answering questions raised, especially upon migration issues. When is Epicor aware of improper/incorrect implementation they might proactively offer improvement support? Read full review Usability It is a good service to have people update and collaborate with I also like the ease of it. It keeps the stock of materials accountable
Read full review Support Rating If the answer to your problem is not readily available in an answer book, your response or solution will take months, if you get one at all. Problems need to be sent to support and duplicated by them before they try to fix it. This is extremely frustrating because you have to prove to Epicor that you are having an issue. If by some miracle you get by this barrier, your problem is submitted to development for review. You can't speak to them or communicate in any way directly. This group appears to be completely unconcerned about user issues or customer service. Our experiences have been negative across the board.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Eagle Technology ProTeus is quick and easy to use compared to other programs. There are many materials available (books, articles, videos) especially to learn how to use it. The interface of the program is quite plain and simple compared to other programs.
Read full review Everyone at our organization really appreciated "made 2 manage" because of all of the quick access and some of the capabilities in accounting. So far, Epicor is much more advanced but the two can stand side by side. These two programs cannot really be compared just because it's just not fair to compare an on-site server ERP system to a cloud-based one.
Read full review Scalability The software is pretty easy to use. Things are pretty clear on how to do them and if you don't know how to do something they have instructions on how to do them or you get an error code telling you exactly what to do. I have been satisfied with my overall experience.
Read full review Return on Investment Saving time and money by easily testing the circuits on the computer before physically installing them on the board. Easy transition from circuit design to printed circuit. Quick code testing in applications with CPU circuits. In the trial version, transferring a maximum of 2KB of data to the processors is considered negative. Read full review The ROI can be hard to quantify. We spend more time setting up and entering information up front, but we spend less time than before trying to track project costs so that evens out. Purchasing the system and implementing it was very expensive, but the benefit is the the better information can save money on projects as we know where best to spend our time and identify potential problems earlier on a project. We believe it will have a positive impact, but I'd say it will take a few years (3-4) to be worth it. Read full review ScreenShots