Overview
What is Epicor Kinetic?
Epicor Kinetic (the name of the former Epicor ERP) presents a wide feature breadth, customizability, and scalability, typical product-centric cloud ERP offerings. It is meant as a single, end-to-end software solution for businesses, and is available on-premise, hosted, or in…
Epicor by Bob
Epicor streamlines all activity and helps communicate between …
A solid foundation on which to grow.
Material accountability
Epicor ERP Review
Epicor ERP in a manufacturing environment
Epicor for ERP only
Epicor ERP works for us!
Epicor is a great all-in-one data management program
There is always light at the end of the tunnel...
Epicor Cloud Software
Epicor Cheerleader
Epicor our information central
Epicor ERP 10 Considerations for Mid-Market Manufacturers considering the next ERP Solution
Epicor ERP, a great choice for manufacturing companies.
Awards
Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards
Popular Features
- Cost of goods sold (38)8.989%
- Order entry (39)8.080%
- Dashboards (36)7.979%
- Role-based user permissions (37)7.070%
Pricing
What is Epicor Kinetic?
Epicor Kinetic (the name of the former Epicor ERP) presents a wide feature breadth, customizability, and scalability, typical product-centric cloud ERP offerings. It is meant as a single, end-to-end software solution for businesses, and is available on-premise, hosted, or in the cloud as a software…
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Alternatives Pricing
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What is SIX ERP?
SIX ERP is an enterprise solution used to manage a company with a single solution incl. It includes modules like CRM, HRM, Project Management, Warehousing, Sales Management, Invoicing, Accounting, and Payroll. Every SIX ERP module is fully integrated, so data is centrally accessible and connected.…
Product Demos
Epicor Collaborate - Software Demo | ERP | Epicor Kinetic
Features
Payroll Management
Provides for pay calculation and benefit plan administration, in addition to managing direct deposit, salary revisions and payroll tracking.
- 7.7Pay calculation(13) Ratings
Pay calculation provides for computation of employee pay with state and federal deductions.
- 7.7Benefit plan administration(9) Ratings
Benefit plan administration is administration of health insurance plans and 401k plans, and other benefits.
- 6.3Direct deposit files(9) Ratings
Direct deposit is the ability to electronically transfer pay to an employee’s personal bank account.
Customization
This addresses a company’s ability to configure the software to fit its specific use case and workflow.
- 6.1API for custom integration(24) Ratings
An API (application programming interface) provides a standard programming interface for connecting third-party systems to the software for data creation, access, updating and/or deletion.
- 6Plug-ins(22) Ratings
A number of third-party plug-ins are available to expand the core functionality of the software.
Security
This component helps a company minimize the security risks by controlling access to the software and its data, and encouraging best practices among users.
- 8Single sign-on capability(30) Ratings
The software system supports a centralized authentication mechanism allowing the user to access multiple systems with a single, centrally managed password.
- 7Role-based user permissions(37) Ratings
Permissions to perform actions or access or modify data are assigned to roles, which are then assigned to users, reducing complexity of administration.
Reporting & Analytics
Users can report on and analyze usage, performance, ROI, and/or other metrics of success.
- 7.9Dashboards(36) Ratings
Users can create, customize and share dashboards, which provide an overview of the most important metrics.
- 9Standard reports(36) Ratings
The software offers pre-built reports with metrics standard to the category.
- 8.3Custom reports(32) Ratings
Users can create custom reports.
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Financial management solution, including capabilities for general ledger and configurable accounting
- 7.3Accounts payable(34) Ratings
This includes the automation and tracking of payment to vendors and suppliers, with features such as payment scheduling, check printing, open purchase order alerts, document management, direct ACH bill payment, and vendor records.
- 7.2Accounts receivable(35) Ratings
This includes the management and automation of invoices and collections, with features like statements, invoices, receipts, payment reminders, customer records, auto billing, and refund checks.
- 9Global Financial Support(16) Ratings
Account using multiple ledgers, multiple currencies, and multiple entities
- 6.3Primary and Secondary Ledgers(16) Ratings
Record and report across multiple currencies and accounting standards with primary and secondary ledgers
- 7.3Journals and Reconciliations(19) Ratings
Automate and synchronize ledgers and processes
- 7.9Configurable Accounting(17) Ratings
Configure accounting rules and segments for each chart of accounts
- 8Standardized Processes(18) Ratings
Centralize financial management to facilitate standardized financial processes
Inventory Management
The ability to track and manage the flow of goods or materials into and out of an inventory.
- 9.9Inventory tracking(35) Ratings
The software syncs orders and stock to maintain a real-time picture of inventory and supports multiple methods such as LIFO and FIFO.
- 9.9Automatic reordering(21) Ratings
The software can be set up to automatically reorder a good when it falls below a certain threshold.
- 9.9Location management(28) Ratings
The software can track multiple goods across multiple locations.
Order Management
The ability to process orders, and track them from quote to cash.
- 9Pricing(36) Ratings
Users can set up complex and unique pricing requirements.
- 8Order entry(39) Ratings
Users can enter an order once, and the data flows to all the necessary units such as fulfillment and billing.
- 7.2Credit card processing(19) Ratings
The software facilitates credit card processing.
- 8.9Cost of goods sold(38) Ratings
The software calculates the direct costs attributable to a finished product, such as materials and labor, and includes roll-up pricing.
- 9.9Order Orchestration(16) Ratings
Define and execute order fulfillment processes for products as well as services on the same order.
Subledger and Financial Process
Revenue management solution including capabilities for subledgers and financial processes
- 9.9Billing Management(17) Ratings
Access role-based billing work area, perform discrete and recurring billing
- 9.9Cash and Asset Management(18) Ratings
Manage liquidity and cash requirements, asset transfers, disposals, reclassifications, and financial adjustments
- 5.7Travel & Expense Management(13) Ratings
Enter expenses from mobile devices, integrate credit card and travel booking, configure policy enforcement
- 8.9Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting(14) Ratings
Control spending at any budget level or time interval
- 8.2Period Close(18) Ratings
Sustain fast close with integrated subledgers, intuitive dashboards, embedded collaboration
Project Financial Management
Project financial management solution including capabilities for project budgeting, cost control, billing and contract management.
- 9Budgeting and Forecasting(15) Ratings
Establish project budgets and forecast future project financials
- 8Project Costing(16) Ratings
Standardize, track, and control costs at all project phases
- 10Cost Capture(17) Ratings
Capture costs including those for procurement, financials or time and labor, including from external systems
- 9Capital Project Management(11) Ratings
Track and manage capital asset costs
- 9Customer Contract Compliance(9) Ratings
Associate projects or tasks with customer contracts, and lines within contracts, to meet billing terms
- 9Project Revenue Recognition(12) Ratings
Recognize project contract revenue in line with accounting policies and regulations
Project Execution Management
Project execution management solution including capabilities for project scheduling, resource management, and team member task management.
- 7.6Project Planning and Scheduling(12) Ratings
Interactive Gantt chart for establishing tasks, durations, and delivery schedule
- 5.4Task Insight for Project Managers(7) Ratings
Project manager visibility into task progress of team members
- 7.2Project Mobile Functionality(5) Ratings
Capabilities for project functions such as updating and monitoring task progress and timecards from mobile devices
- 7.3Definable Resource Pools(6) Ratings
Definable and hierarchical resource pools of potential project resources
Grants Management
Grants management solution for higher education, public sector, or non-profits with capabilities for managing financial awards for program and project funding
- 8Award Lifecycle Management(3) Ratings
Manage the life of program funding awards from initial funding to close-out
Procurement
Procurement management solution with capabilities for sourcing, contracting, procure-to-pay and supplier management
- 8.7Bids Analyzed and Compared(5) Ratings
Evaluate, compare and recommend across multiple bids in real-time using diverse user selected criteria and graphical analytics
- 9Contract Authoring(4) Ratings
Document authoring with guided navigation, negotiation templates and productivity tools for reviews and collaboration
- 7.7Contract Repository(5) Ratings
Secure and searchable contract repository leveraging standard company language components, structures and formats
- 8.8Requisitions-to-Purchase Orders Integrated(7) Ratings
Create touchless purchases using purchase orders generated automatically per rules from approved requisitions
- 7.9Supplier Management(10) Ratings
Broadly manage and report comprehensive supplier profiles, capabilities and performance; identify bottlenecks; balance allocations, workloads
Risk Management
Risk management solution with capabilities for managing controls, assessing control effectiveness, certifying controls, and addressing deficiencies
- 8Risk Repository(2) Ratings
Idenity, document, and manage business risks in a unified repository
- 8Control Management(3) Ratings
Establish and update risk and controls matrix, control test plans, and instructions
- 8Control Efficiency Assessments(2) Ratings
Assess control effectiveness on criteria such as geography, business unit, compliance requirements, etc
- 8Issue Detection(2) Ratings
Detect and create issues as part of the assessment flow
- 8Remediation and Certification(2) Ratings
Create and update remediation plans and certify controls
Logistics
Logistics solution with capabilities for transportation planning, transportation execution, trade compliance, customs management, warehouse management and warehouse workforce management.
- 7.7Transportation Planning and Optimization(5) Ratings
Plan shipments across all modes of transportation via lowest costs/highest service
- 7Transportation Execution Management(4) Ratings
Execute and track shipping orders
- 7Trade and Customs Management(4) Ratings
Manage duties, tax rates, customs documents, and other data required for products shipped in and to specified countries
- 5.1Fulfillment Management(8) Ratings
Support for multi-channel demand and execution fulfillment processes
- 7.7Warehouse Workforce Management(6) Ratings
Set goals, measure actuals, and analyze productivity for warehousing tasks and activities
Manufacturing
Manufacturing solution for managing manufacturing processes and costs.
- 7.9Production Process Design(15) Ratings
Define data for plant hierarchy, process standards, work areas, calendars and standard operations
- 7.6Production Management(19) Ratings
Centralized critical status information for production supervisors
- 8.1Configuration Management(13) Ratings
Capture and process customer configuration orders
- 7.7Work Execution(15) Ratings
Monitor procution status, manage work orders for standard and non-standard production, enforce tight controls on serialized products
- 9.3Manufacturing Costs(19) Ratings
Estimate, plan and monitor costs and variances by plant. Capture resource costs using standard, actual, LIFO, FIFO or multiple costing methods.
Supply Chain
Supply Chain Planning solution with capabilities for planning, performance monitoring, change responses and execution.
- 8.9Forecasting(17) Ratings
Statistically forecast based on historical patterns and sales input, monitor accuracy and estimate new demand
- 8.9Inventory Planning(20) Ratings
Establish projected inventory levels, monitor actual levels and compare with projected levels
- 9.9Performance Monitoring(15) Ratings
Analyze business metrics and compare actual performance to plans, identify issues, prioritize demands and respond to changes
Product Lifecycle Management
Product Lifecycle Management solution with capabilities for innovation management, product development
- 7.4Proposal Management(4) Ratings
Capture budget, resource, and benefit expectations for proposals
- 7Product Master Data Management(5) Ratings
Create, classify, and manage product items, BOMs and product changes
Product Details
- About
- Competitors
- Tech Details
What is Epicor Kinetic?
Epicor Kinetic software offers a modular approach with robust capabilities focused on reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving customer responsiveness across the enterprise. Given its modularity and customizability, Epicor Kinetic is able to solve a wide variety of business problems and needs.
Epicor Kinetic Competitors
- Infor CloudSuite Distribution
- Microsoft Dynamics GP
- Oracle Netsuite
Epicor Kinetic Technical Details
Deployment Types | On-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
---|---|
Operating Systems | Windows, Linux, Mac |
Mobile Application | No |
Comparisons
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Reviews and Ratings
(114)Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(1-25 of 39)Epicor ERP is Enterprise software for everyone
- Epicor does a lot of things and being such a massive software it's hard to talk about what it does well, but I would say from my perspective it is easy to manage and once set up it runs fairly consistently and has a good amount of uptime compared to previous versions.
- Epicor ERP is highly customizable and also has a new REST API that can be utilized to do even more than previous versions.
- Install is complicated and upgrading is a major event requiring all branches of your business to test and test and test some more.
- Support... It's kind of just ok, especially with more complex issues, a single call can drag out for months if they cannot find a fix right away.
Epicor by Bob
Epicor streamlines all activity and helps communicate between departments. Obviously, we couldn't run our company without Epicor.
- Handling all types of orders - jobs, purchases, and customer orders.
- MRP scheduling is very good and easily modified by part or group.
- Easily getting other info about a key field by right-clicking and traveling to a new form.
- RMA and DMR. Although it can handle these, the function seems like an afterthought. It isn't as smooth as the rest of Epicor.
- Reporting is ok but it runs slowly. We are still using Crystal.
- Barcoding in general but mostly the warehouse management part.
A solid foundation on which to grow.
- Querying data is very easy with the built in business activity query builder. Deploying the data in useful dashboards is easy and highly valuable
- It provides all the core functionality we need to run our engineer to order business
- Recent addition of the rest API allows integrations and querying of cloud data with 3rd party BI tools
- The shop floor data collection screens are not very intuitive and the gui is quite dated
- Report building in the SaaS environment is very clunky - it is hard to test as you develop reports
- It is still not fully mobile/web compliant - it is improving, but key functions like the manufacturing data collection still needs Windows based devices to work.
Material accountability
- User friendly
- Fast
- Good at finding what I need
- Way too many options
- Would like to see some drop downs
- The boxes move easily
Epicor ERP Review
- supply chain management (SCM)
- human capital management (HCM)
- Human Resources management should be improved
- Integration with other Financial and HR applications
- Overall security
The license price is well-positioned. Epicor provides good education and support.
It is a financial accounting software product designed for multi-user LAN-based environments.
Epicor ERP in a manufacturing environment
- Customization.
- Scheduling.
- Complicated customization.
- Many of the functions which are used by most companies need to be added by users.
Epicor for ERP only
- Inventory
- Scheduling
- Marketing
- Sales
Epicor ERP works for us!
- Streamline processes.
- Compliance.
- Cumbersome to implement.
- Cumbersome to upgrade.
Epicor is a great all-in-one data management program
- Connecting all features together and switching between screens.
- No glitches or unexpected crashes.
- Requires a very experience user/team to maintain.
- Some features are not flexible and require change of process to conform.
There is always light at the end of the tunnel...
- Epicor has a great dashboard and reports capabilities.
- Easily accessible from one module to the next, very user-friendly interface.
- Ability to setup MRP and extremely user Data Management Tool to import mass amounts of changes or updates to parts and BOM.
- Personalizations and customizations getting lost after updates.
- Webex's should be recommended more often for users having issues
- More tools for users to fix own issues
Epicor Cloud Software
- Ability to create custom reports
- Ability to tailor the software to current business practices
- User friendly
- Planning module is not intuitive
- Engineering workbench is cumbersome when doing repetitive entries. Should have ability to copy and paste entries on a mass scale.
- Whenever there is an upgrade there should be more detail on the changes.
Epicor Cheerleader
- Most important---Epicor ERP keeps technology up to date with meaningful updates and revisions so that we will never have another legacy system again!
- Epicor ERP gives you the opportunity to have access to your data and just about do anything with it so that you can see and format how you need it.
- Access other areas needed without having to find and open more menu options. Just right click and open with.
- Being able to see and have excel manipulation and capability within Financial reporting instead of having to use Excel Connect.
- Having to close the entire program to see new Menu items or data pool refresh.
- Some windows need to be saved after each box within the window before you can continue-instead of one save per window when complete or auto save.
Epicor our information central
- Ease of use
- Information availability
- The different modules available for our business
- Some of the logic on how things are calculated or updated
- The SSRS reporting system
- How each program or file interfaces within the system
- The accounting, manufacturing, quoting, scheduling, quality, and sales [options] are suited for us.
- The service option is not suited for us.
Epicor ERP 10 Considerations for Mid-Market Manufacturers considering the next ERP Solution
- Epicor's user interface is easily customizable so that users can focus their main access screen to support just those functions that are relevant to their work day; helping to avoid menu clutter and confusion.
- Epicor advanced scheduling provides true drag and drop customizable dashboard with real-time updates to allow users to easily track jobs on the shop floor in an easy to understand Gantt-style (MS Project style) graphical interface.
- Epicor's customizable dashboards are also updateable, adding the ability for real-time collaboration and updates. From nearly every key field in Epicor, even on dashboards, the ability to drill down to source data is one "right click" away.
- Epicor reporting uses standard Microsoft SQL SSRS instead of 3rd party add-ins such as Crystal Reports. This improves speed significantly during report generation, and ensures a common platform for upgrades without concerns about rewriting reports to incompatible versions.
- Epicor has a "Google-like" search feature (Enterprise Search) that is top notch. It literally allows you to search on any key word in your data set and brings back relevant results in various groupings to make it simple to quickly get to the data you need. This is the favorite feature of new users.
- Epicor's costing features could use improvement. Although excellent in either a make to order or make to stock environment, Epicor has trade-offs when used in a mixed-mode environment. Of particular concern is when partial shipments are made during a production run without the job quantity being changed when closed short and a new job issued. Unless this is done, Epicor may under or over-cost early shipments and then "reconcile" this at job closing, resulting in erratic financial results on 2 shipments from the same job.
- Epicor's gross margin report stops updating with actual costs as soon as a "ship" transaction is created. For most companies this will not be an issue, however, in an environment where shipments may take place before all costs are in, this skews the margin reports greatly, resulting in much higher margins from the manufacturing reports than what can be expected on the financials. Fortunately, the production detail report will always be correct; however, there is no reason why the gross margin report can't be modified to include "ADJ-CST" transactions which would correct for this, however, by default, Epicor's standard margin report does not use this functionality.
- Epicor has great flexibility in screen customization, however, it isn't intuitive in making these changes, therefore, this feature set, which could significantly reduce data input times, goes mostly unused.
- Epicor has a built-in ability to generate quick queries, however, fails to take advantage of recent innovations in query development that would make it easier for novice users to generate their own results without IT help. With the advent of AI, this is a future improvement opportunity.
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.
Epicor ERP, a great choice for manufacturing companies.
- 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.
- It is hard for me to think of something I don't like. However, the physical inventory process could be done better. It doesn't work for us as we use what are called phantom assemblies, and I have not found any ERP system that handles that out of the box correctly.
Epicor ERP Review
- Out of the box functionality -- one program with everything you need to run the business
- Ability to build BPMs rather than full-scale customizations
- Knowledgeable implementation team
- More robust in-program training features
- Better coordination between operational and financial implementation consultants
- More robust purchasing/materials procurement module with an out-of-the-box capability to manage purchases by PPV
Epicor ERP REview
- Manufacturing and shop floor activities
- Inventory
- Quoting
- Implementation was hard, but newer versions of Epicor are better.
Epicor Review
- Provides mostly error-free key functionality.
- Provides tool kit to enable us to develop our own queries and reports.
- Consultancy - we are still suffering from the poor advice by Epicor consultants we were given during our implementation.
- Consultancy - it is near impossible to get prompt consultancy support from Epicor.
- Account Management - I don't feel like a valued customer of Epicor and my requests are not dealt with promptly.
- Epiccare - some tickets are handled promptly and well, but sometimes the responses feel like delaying tactics e.g. we report a problem that has caused a data anomaly that we say we cannot replicate and the reply comes back to ask us to replicate it!
Epicor from the sales chair
- Cloud storage
- Frequent updates and fixes
- Configurator for production is a plus.
- VIN generation
- Closing of orders to invoices at month end would be better than daily
- Smoother updates for custom modules
- Cloud is a little slower than the server-based system was
Proper implementation is vital
Also, a new product configurator is under development and scheduled for release by Q4-2018.
- Our version evolved from Vantage, and to be honest, I'm not really impressed yet. I've seen good examples so am aware it's due to implementation errors, rather than Epicor shortcomings.
- Unfortunately, our version of the product configurator is very slow.
- The need for well educated/trained consultants to get a proper implementation should be addressed well by Epicor, as this also determines user experience to a great extent. There is no true fall-back for improper implementation.
- 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?
Understanding the question very well and think to know Epicor pretty well too, this highly depends on whom is asking.
When a medium to large size OEM company would be asking, I'd probably agree (with the right consultant!).
I believe the package offers too many options (too complex) for small project-oriented companies though. At least in Holland, there are better alternatives readily available.
Good Data, Poor Usability
- Allowing access to the back-end data through BAQs and MSSQL is very important for pulling reports and making sense of data
- Epicor DMT Tool for importing data is very important because manual entry is time-consuming
- Make customizing screens easier. Epicor places importance on the fact that Epicor is very customizable, however, it is very hard for the average user to customize anything. You need a programmer/admin and it's very costly to hire someone to do it. Needs to be easier.
- The whole Epicor experience is not very user-friendly. i.e. why is there a customer entry and customer tracker screen? That's 1980's thinking. It should be one screen with permissions based fields.
- Epicor's search feature is not very good. They call it the "Google" search for Epicor. It's nothing like Google. It doesn't provide suggestions, you have to select menu search or enterprise search. It only updates once a day. It's not even accessible from the home screen!
- The menu is a waste of time. Like I said before, who uses a menu these days? Since when did you go on Amazon.com and drill down to the products from the menu? Google killed menus years ago.
- The SSRS reports are garbage. Ugly and unusable out of the box, and very hard to customize.
Epicor- the good and the bad
- Giving the users the ability to customize. This helps because everyone likes to see different things.
- The scheduling Modules. The ability to global schedule gives the shop a better look at real time information.
- The ability to create custom dashboards and reports. It lets a company look at information that means more to them. The standard reports don't always give the best information or the detail that is needed.
- Lack of detail in reports. Some reports don't show all the detail that is needed.
- The time it takes to get support. They take a couple of days to respond to issues the are a high priority
- List views having too useless information in the default view. Some of the list views in some modules have a lot of useless information, but don't include some of the more useful information. This is just for our company though could be different for others.
Epicor without a net
- Inside out architecture provides consistent and required function integration (ie. no bolt on's) while providing integration with most popular software where required.
- Fairly robust and flexible material (MRP) and job scheduling functionality. Provides flexibility to use many key scheduling criteria to fine tune capabilities to match business/site requirements.
- Flexibility to enforce same or modified business rules, security model, reporting, etc for each business/location.
- Job costing and analysis is flexible and easy to set up and maintain.
- Standard implementation methodology needs to be modified to better address use of company data for robust testing and improved data migration.
- Consulting bench (a number of highly experienced and available consultants) not large enough. Some third-party implementation partners need better and more up to date training.
- Data collection very tailored to discrete manufacturing; need more flexibility to meet specific requirements/processes for business with other manufacturing and/or services models.
Less suited for: Engineered to order, straight services model (no inventory & different costing)
Epicor Customization Review
- Epicor has a pretty good project management module. We are able to set up projects with multiple phases as needed and track costs at both a phase level and top project level. You can use the system to assign tasks to employees working on the project and track assignments that way. Under each phase we create an Epicor "job" that can store all the parts that we need to purchase or fabricate for a project. Then we can track what parts have been purchased, received, and shipped for the project.
- Epicor is set up to have a lot of features that most users probably aren't going to use, but it is convenient to have most of what you need available. Then, you can hide parts of the program you won't need.
- Possibly the best thing about Epicor is that it has a lot of customization tools, and the system allows you to customize it in a lot of ways so you can make it look and behave how your organization needs. One very strong area of the customization is the ability to create information dashboards where you can show any type of data that you like to see. A great example of this is a Project Management Dashboard we built that allows all our employees to see how the projects are doing and what their assigned tasks are.
- Expandability. This is another great way that Epicor is customizable. As an ERP system Epicor is primarily a bunch of tables. And thankfully, Epicor allows you to add new fields to the tables, so when we want to show what kind of paint goes on our parts, or if a part is purchased or fabricated, we can add fields for those items to the part table, and use it as if those were built in fields. You can add new tables, so we have a place to store lists of all the paint choices (or anything else you want to keep track up).
- Maybe this was really smooth, but it seemed like implementation was a lot of work. As part of a 4 person implementation team, it took us a month or so of going through tutorials, the help files, and meeting with Epicor consultants to learn how we wanted to use Epicor (that month was pretty light, maybe 5-6 hours per week for each of us). Then it took about 3 months setting up Epicor to meet our needs. (The 4 of us each worked 25-30 hours a week during those 3 months on the implementation since we still had production work to do)
- Epicor can be overwhelming for new users. Our normal users have a hard time at first getting used to it because there is so much to see, learn and do in it, epecially for people with less technical expertise.
- As the person on the implementation team in charge of customizations, my biggest complaint is the lack of documentation on programming in Epicor. While they do have great documentation on how to use many of their built in customization tools, they give you the ability to write code in C# that should allow you to do anything. But, there is very little to no documentation on the API (Application Programming Interface). Most other programs will have a large help file where users can see the thousands of functions available to program within the system with info on what the functions do, how they are accessed and what inputs they need and sample code for each function. With Epicor.. nope, nothing. Maybe if you buy their SDK for another $24,000 they will have a help file included with that. I don't know.
Epicor ERP - Make it what you need it to be
- Customization - extremely flexible ways to make the system fit any environment. In particular forms and user interface optimization.
- Query and reporting tools (like dashboards) for getting information (and knowledge) out of the system that is needed for real-time operations decision making.
- New with Epicor ERP 10 the "all Microsoft stack" of ICE 3.0 tools and MS SQL Server are very fast and a much more standard development platform. Epicor has gone to great lengths to streamline and simplify the underlying architecture. Moving to SQL server has yielded 4X performance.
- Epicor has a long history of supporting manufacturing and has evolved the ERP system from its job shop roots to accommodate many different manufacturing modes.
- The switching from Crystal Reports to SSRS reporting was a real setback. SSRS has its place but in some cases Crystal is clearly superior. It CAN work with ERP 10 but takes more effort and has loss of access control if using ODBC.
- Support has limited to no access to developers (the "wall" as they call it) so for new and very technical issues Supports response is limited. Escalation can be difficult for highly technical problems that don't fit their knowledgebase.
- Search function in EpicWeb (customer portal) is limited and often produces wildly off-target results.
- Job BoM/MoM structures that are very complex (thousands of assemblies and levels) can get corrupted using tools built in to the system (like drag & drop) and whole sections can become unlinked and disappear. More typical assemblies of a few dozen components are fine but very complex jobs push the limits.