Epicor Kinetic vs. JobBOSS

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

Time management and inventory control are great. Awesome investment for small business owners for everything from services like plating, or anodizing, to keeping track of our suppliers. Wish it integrated a decent label program with it also.

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

• Timekeeping. Clocking in and out.
• Inventory control.
• Travelers or job sheets that keep track of operations.

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

• The reporting is through Crystal Reports which is cumbersome to work with and requires someone who knows what they are doing. If you're moving from something like Quickbooks with built in report editing, you're going to be frustrated with creating custom reports.
• If you run mutliple jobs on a single machine or use multi-pallet machines scheduling can get frustrating, and you will have to come up with your own solutions to schedule those machines. (This is not unique to JobBOSS scheduling. We tested several ERP systems in this range and most were lacking in this area).
• Even with the 12.0 update, the interface is still rather dated for the onsite version. The online version looks much better.

Incentivized

Why fix what aint broken

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

Love the templates we were able to make and add to the program to work specifically for what we need to put on our certifications. We went from typing out each certification on a printed form to being able to work from templates and it was a serious time saver.

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

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

JobBOSS is the centralized solution that has helped us consolidate nearly every process within our company. It's ability to create routings and calculate material by building a job saves us hours every day compared to Quickbooks. Its inventory management is faster and tracks more information than Wasp and its ability to understand raw stock and material shapes makes life so much simpler in a manufacturing environment.

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

• 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

• We were using several pieces or software that have all been replaced by just JobBOSS. Inventory, routings, inspections, floor tracking, accounting are now all in a single place.
• It helped us to reorganize our document server and consolidate files. Its ability to link files has created an environment where nearly every piece of information on an order can be found in a centralized single location.
• The quoting module has improved our decision making and ability to see where we were right or wrong on costing.

Incentivized