Aptean Intuitive ERP vs. Epicor Kinetic

Intuitive ERP is particularly well suited to be used for small to mid-sized manufacturers. It has enough complexity to handle most any business process yet is simple enough to not be cumbersome. It is probably not appropriate for a very large organization or enterprise, or to non-manufacturing related businesses

Incentivized

Epicor ERP is great for manufacturing companies, whether you make the same widget every time or if you a make custom widgets, this ERP system can handle it. If you have multiple plants, or multiple companies, Epicor ERP can handle it. Works in the US and internationally also. I do not think the EPR system would be the best choice if you are a distributor or a retailer.

Incentivized

• Easily allows adding fields to the database. The data manager reads all fields, so just adding a field automatically brings it over.
• Optionally purchasing a tool called "Form Wizard" allows non-programmers to add new fields to a form and move around existing fields freeing up the developer to work on other things.
• They have a wrapper for the DevXpress grid which allows individual users to add and remove columns pertinent to their specific job.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• Lack of consolidations between systems
• No APIs yet

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

We have a lot invested in this from user education to customizations. It would be hard to justify the cost for changing.

Incentivized

I give this rating because the software has good functionality and usability. The system does not crash and can also be maintained under overall conditions in any business function. We utilize this to communicate effectively in various areas and make informed business decisions. This is highly rated as we make other changes to our organization

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

We select Aptean 19 years ago, most of the other SMB packages back then no longer exist. While we have discussed whether to consider other ERP systems here an there over the years we have always come back to the fact that our existing ERP system is well established and easy enough to maintain, and is cost effective

Incentivized

Epicor ERP has similar functionality to Made2Manage, but is much more flexible and has significantly more additional modules and support available. Versus PeopleSoft, it becomes an unfair comparison, as Epicor is mid-market and PeopleSoft is large-market. Having said that, Epicor is easier to both implement and use, but has far less flexibility. IQMS is the biggest competitor if in the manufacturing space, particularly injection molding, as IQMS is fast becoming a de-facto "standard".

Incentivized

At first, it is difficult to convince every one of its immense capabilities but once the scalability is tapped into some it becomes easier to show and convince how well suited the system is for many disciplines. With constant upgrades and updates, there really just isn't a limit to what can be accomplished.

Incentivized

• Runs well without a ton of support
• One server license required for site, can run several businesses
• Concurrent licensing keeps costs down for global business

Incentivized

• Getting better information from custom reports
• Getting better information from modules because they require employees to enter more information and have more fields for them to enter information
• Making some repeat processes quicker, so users can get done with tasks quicker

Incentivized