Spruce vs. SAP Manufacturing Execution

I think my single most surprising and satisfying experience with ECI and its RockSolid Maxx and then Spruce products was the ease of implementation and rollout -- both on the hardware and software side. ECI seems to have mastered the idea of using an integrated team along with robust tutorials to make that process easy.

Incentivized

SAP Manufacturing Execution is suitable for desecrate manufacturing. For the complex routing of the product, this software ensures users do not by mistake start executing the wrong steps. This is the best tool to track and work on nonconformance and rework scenarios. This is most suitable when the landscape has SAP ERP in place.

Incentivized

• lumber management.
• purchasing and receiving.
• Cloud based.

Incentivized

• Visual routing ensures the production line layout is as appropriate as shown on the application.
• Production house needs a lot of data to do an in-process inspection of the product. ERP might not need that. SAP ME provides that place to do every data collection.
• Nonconformance functionality ensures when needed the product goes to the appropriate station to get repaired. Also, data collection can raise NC and can move the product to a particular station to get an issue corrected.
• All the information is well integrated with SAP ERP and makes SAP ME more valuable for the organization.
• SAP MII also comes along with SAP ME helps to get the application well integrated with the shop floor equipment.

Incentivized

• Point of sales
• P&L usability

Incentivized

• ODS or the BI part of the ME needed more improvement.
• The archiving job needs to be more robust.
• Database indexes need to me more analyzed and setup as per the organization requirement.
• SAP MII UI integration plugin to be developed for increased usability of this application.

Incentivized

For the most part when there is internet, we are able to log in and proceed to do our daily tasks which is very helpful, but we have also encountered a glitch on our laptop that we use to do inventory that switches to the last branch that was used. This, in combination with Spruce logging out of the remote connection daily, can cause issues if the person accessing Spruce does not have the remote connection password.

Incentivized

Spruce is possibly just above average. Not super impressed with usability and especially not impressed with tech support who is rarely able to answer questions on the first call.

Incentivized

There was no product evaluated before using SAP ME. This replaced the custom homegrown MES system. The custom MES system had a lot of issues with the integration with SAP ERP. While evaluating the situation, SAP MII was the initial tool used to create the integration of the custom MES. We later found the fully functional tool SAP ME off the shelf had several functionalities out of the box.

Incentivized

• With $13 million in gross and 40 employees I'm able to run a full back office with a staff of two. In today's tight labor market that is invaluable.
• Being able to implement Spruce with almost no upgrading or replacement of existing computer hardware represented a huge cost savings to us. I'm not even sure what dollar amount I could attach to that.
• Dealing with both a wholesale and retail customers requires that we provide different levels and kinds of reporting and documentation. Spruce has made it easy to respond to the different demands that those customers place upon us.

Incentivized

• Production house is more efficient now.
• Less paperwork improved means less unproductive work on the shop floor.
• Regulatory audits are more efficient.

Incentivized