17 years helping New Zealand businesses
choose better software
About Kinetic
Kinetic is an AI-infused end-to-end ERP solution for manufacturers needing real-time access to decision-making data anytime, anywhere.
I like the flexibility to customize the software to fit your business. There are many features which can be incredibly useful.
Several modules are included for improving requirements and are very weak. Example: Integration to Salesforce.
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Filter reviews (177)
Full-featured mid-tier ERP based on Microsoft Stack (or cloud option)
Comments: Very simple to implement. Training people was the hardest part. We upgraded from a 20 year old ERP which was not WYSIWYG but users liked new formats. As usual customers wanted every option but after implementation realized that they could live without it since there were similar features in the existing software. We have a factory with about 40 office workers, 400 on factory floor, two distribution centers and main office. Factory in Mexico, others in US. Project management support from Epicor was great. Not impressed with support. Often had to wait long time for solutions and it required a lot of data on our part to answer their questions. The MS Stack was easy to configure, secure and administrate. We purchased our own servers and hosted them in a shared DC. Performance was good once we figured out how to configure everything including firewalls, WAN and various remote servers. No problems migrating data to new environment but we kept the legacy system for queries. We added a 3rd-party EDI solution and it worked well to reduce Order processing issues. The Epicor software was rarely the problem. Mostly project and training issues that delayed the effort.
Pros:
The MS stack makes it easy to customize for reporting, data storage. Multi-tier configuration with database, application server and options for web-clients, fat clients and terminal servers. Many options for customization in addition to code development. Multi-everything. Relatively easy to upgrade and stay on current releases. Great administrative tools and ability to add resources as demand grow, including localizing servers for better performance.
Cons:
Nothing really. There are lots of modules and each has a lot of simple to understand configuration options.
Epicor Software Response
4 years ago
Hi Rob, thank you for your feedback about Epicor ERP. We're glad to hear you find the ease of customization beneficial. Your feedback is invaluable. Please email us at [email protected] to share additional comments and learn about the program.
ERP for Medium-sized manufacturers
Comments: Epicor ERP is the lifeblood of our company. It has all the transactional records and ensures items are produced, delivered, and invoiced efficiently. Requires a large up-front investment of time and energy to get set up, but once it has gone LIVE, you won't be able to imagine running your business without it.
Pros:
Epicor ERP is an all-in-one solution for medium-sized manufacturers. It covers everything needed and has lots of optional modules. We use it for: Quoting Orders Jobs/BOMs Product Configurator Dashboards Reports Purchasing Inventory Production AP & AR invoicing The Epicor team has worked hard to improve the software over the years, and it is now 100% Microsoft Stack. The SQL database can be queried from within the software using reports and dashboards, or externally using Business Intelligence software such as Power BI or Tableau. The price point is better compared to some of its larger competitors in the ERP space. If you have less than 200 users, Epicor will be a much more cost-effective ERP than the ERP leaders. The opportunities for customisation and personalisation are very high.
Cons:
Earlier versions of Epicor ERP were slow and clunky, but the new version is really fast. Also, you need experts to help you implement the software, and a dedicated team to maintain it. This is not an "out of the box" solution. It requires you to map your business processes and then implement the software carefully to suit the way your business works. You can customise almost anything you want in the system, but greater customisation brings with it added complexity and possible issues when upgrading point releases and versions.
Do not buy this program!!!!!
Comments: My company thought we were moving up in the world. Our last system only did half what we needed and had a lot of bugs, but it was cheap. The sales team at Epicor really sold us on what this will do, told me I would not spend nearly as much time in the office and could be out running my company more. HA! I spend 3 times as much time in the office and still can't work this program half the time despite months of expensive training. And this program doesn't do half what the sales team said. We used to have hand written invoices we manually entered into QuickBooks. I would take that again over Epicor in a heartbeat. I don't even want my money back. I just want to convince my business partners to ditch this mistake! I wish I read more reviews. I have never reviewed ANYTHING online before but I had to for this.
Pros:
Written for hardware stores. Sales people really do their job well.
Cons:
I am not a hardware store. This program is a nightmare. If you make a mistake be prepared to spend hours fixing it. Epicor's own help pages have fixes that do not exist in the program. This program has been overwritten so many times it makes no sense to use. Not at all intuitive. Incredibly expensive monthly support for absolute garbage!
Epicor ERP
Comments: Vast improvements in improving business speed and communication between different business units. User interface easily allows jumping to other areas quickly to enable improved speed in business decisions and customer service.
Pros:
Very flexible and powerful user interface. Software modules have extensive flexible options to tailor the configuration to work as desired. Most modules very integrated, allowing powerful user capability. User personalization is powerful and easy to administer.
Cons:
Customization is often too complex. Need C# programmer and still can be complicated. In V9 to V10 customization languages changed which required rewrite of previous customizations. This is very costly rather than tools being available to effectively migrate existing customizations. Upgrades of software modules is too complex and is being worked on to improve and focus more on ease, allowing companies to keep on the current release without seeming like a new implementation. More work than it should be. Several modules are included for improving requirements and are very weak. Example: Integration to Salesforce.
Manage your data with all-in-one tools.
Comments: I intuitively improve our own services with a large proportion of work, according to acquisitions, general accounting of our business establishment, forecasts of each product made for loyal and powerful customers, who are interested and in the production that we carry out daily, highlighting before this software, we used multiple databases with a particular platform, which caused us many constant delays and serious administrative problems, that Epicor ERP, solved these problems on a large scale, causing satisfaction, thanks to its integrated functions.
Pros:
Epicor ERP has incredible functionality for supply chain management, which is acquired by an entire organization, in order to maintain proper control, to classify appropriate use, that is, to know precisely where these will be used digital products, in the different departments that we acquire in executive disposition, mentioning that it allows us to modify their visual aspects, to establish them in our most conducive environment, being one of the tools that most attracts my attention, as it is one of the ones that I use for adequate familiarization, when executing the pending work to be done.
Cons:
It is important to note that many of the functions that most companies use must be added by users, which allows the process at work to be slower and delays the qualities in productivity, being a significant problem, since these working parts must be integrated. by the same software, for a majority management in the performance and profitability of the time, which requires an update in these sectors of the system.
Epicor Software Response
4 years ago
Hello Isabella, thank you for your feedback about Epicor ERP. We're glad to hear the integration functionality is working well for you and simplifying how you work. Your feedback is invaluable. Please email us at [email protected] to share additional comments and learn about our customer reference program.
Epicor for Order Entry and Financial Management
Comments: We currently uses Epicor ERP software to handle our supply chain and scheduling/manufacturing. We use it with Order entry by the sales team and for all of our financial management. Epicor gets the job done and it is easy to use and manage, however we suffer from performance issues all the time.
Pros:
Epicor is relatively easy to use and learn. Our whole organization rely on Epicor for order entry and accounting/ financial management. It is our main ERP software that we use 90% of the time.
Cons:
We have on premise Epicor and we struggle with some performance issues frequently. The communication between the app server and database server encounter a lot of issues from time to time and we end up having to reboot the systems to try to get us back working again.
Only used for 2 years. Easy to use but complicated steps for simple task
Comments: MRP functionality for our business. Better business tools . Improved processes. Increased communication because of shared information system provides.
Pros:
It is user friendly , and has good basic functionality . Structure of menu modules make sense and makes it easy to move in and out of different screens. Information at your reach with a key stroke. easy to download to excel for more customized usage.
Cons:
Some functionality which I feel is a basic process is complicated for the user . Some fields should default information instead of user having to key in. Needs more flexibility . Biggest issue is when a new version comes out.....something that was working before is no longer working. And its not a customization its core functionality.
Lots of customizations required
Comments: Overall, the software works as intended. If an issue comes up, it’s generally an easy fix even if it does take a bit of time. Much of what we do as a company can sometime require us to have to dig around in the system to find the information we need but the good thing is that Epicor allows for that digging thru it’s search fields.
Pros:
The very thing that kind of sucks about this software is also the thing that makes it “work” for our company. The ability to customize the software for our day to day business needs is awesome.
Cons:
Unfortunately, those customizations make fixing things a little more difficult than if we were able to use the software “out of the box.” Having developers in a different country also prohibits and lengthens “fix time” due to time difference.
Alternatives Considered:
Epicor ERP
Comments: Good experience but I can be better, if you have a midsize company is a good option
Pros:
It's easy to implement and if you have an .NET team the knowledge curve is low and you can customize the modules by yourself
Cons:
CRM is not good, also the web version has so much problems when we compare to other competitors
Epicor Software Response
3 years ago
Hi there, thank you for your feedback about Epicor ERP. We're glad to hear you've found it easy to customize and would like to learn more re: your experience of the CRM. Your feedback is invaluable. Please email us at [email protected]
All in one!!
Pros:
We use Epicor for all the activities at work, from order entry, shipping all the way to invoicing. This system allowed us to keep track of inventory and was even tailored to our company needs, which helped pull real data to keep track of KPI’s. My department was in charge of the orders.
Cons:
Sometimes pulling reports could take longer than wanted/needed.
Epicor Software Response
4 years ago
Hello Yoseli, thank you for the feedback on Epicor ERP. We're pleased to hear you consider it to be an 'all in one system' and it helps you with your day to day activities. Your feedback is invaluable. Please email us at [email protected] to share additional comments and learn about our customer reference program.
Changed our company in 1996 and still improving how we serve our customers
Comments: Increased profitability, and the best record keeping ability I have seen in any software to date. I am confident I can get whatever my customer needs in less time than any competitor, especially if it isn't in stock. I can and do recommend this software, and I am involved with a number of user groups, IT groups, and machining groups who are always asking what we use and how we keep it functional.
Pros:
This software allows a quoter to include every facet of a project before it gets a customer PO. From that quote, every detail is able to be brought through to the order, the job, the packing slip, and the final invoice. There are so many different ways to track various phases of the project as it moves through. Every detail can be recorded if every employee is disciplined enough to make the input. Then, 10 years from now, when the machine finally has a hiccup, (and assuming everyone entered all the details) you know every purchased part and have a link to every drawing used in manufacturing. Your customer will be amazed when you can recite those part numbers and pull prints within minutes 10 years later with absolute accuracy. You will eliminate QuickBooks, sales force or any other CRM, MS Project, and a host of programs that are not integrated and require multiple entries once you are fully functional. This software will transform your company, and you will become more profitable than you were before. Your work week will never be under 50 hours again, and you will either learn very facet of the software of spend well over 100k every year to keep it running, but if you stay on every employee all the time to do their best and do YOUR best, you will realize some incredible benefits. Our company does more with 20 people than many companies do with 50, and we manufacture parts and machinery. We can credit a lot of that success to the Epicor ERP system.
Cons:
There are a few Caveats. There is no way you can employ a single person who is not college educated. Without math skills, great writing and data entry skills, and an exceptional amount of discipline, you will not get the quality inputs, and the software will not be able to give quality outputs. Slowly, over a period of about 3-5 years, you will come to the realization that people just cant come up to the level of inputting the information correctly, and you will have to decide if you want this software to work and be useful of if you want to eliminate these people. There is no other way, it simply cant work. Garbage in - Garbage out. The complexity of the entire computer industry has taken the decision that they are going to complicate every facet that they can to require you to hire consultants to do what for 20 years you could easily do yourself. Continual updates, incredibly complicated reporting that an average person used to be able to do, and a constant push to the cloud really get in the way of helping your customers at every turn. It is almost as if, as a machine shop in our case, your mission is to configure software all day and never deliver a single project. The pros outweigh the cons, but the cost of ownership and value of the effort put into keeping the software functional was less than 10% in 1996-2010 than it is today. If our company was looking at this software today, I really don't know if it would be possible to justify it.
Feature Packed but Cumbersome
Comments: The software is a total package for any type of manufacturing company. When i say it has it all, I mean it. However, it comes at a cost. The interface can be a bit clunky and there isn't always a great workaround for what should be a simple task. However, once you get it all figured out the sky is limit with this tool and it can be fully customized if you have someone on staff who can code and script.
Pros:
This software has a ton of features. From Quote to Invoicing and every piece of the production pipeline in between.
Cons:
It's not super intuitive and requires a bit of a learning curve to get it going in the right direction.
Epicor Software Response
5 years ago
Hi James, Thank you for your feedback about Epicor ERP. We're glad to hear the solution has provided you with the proper features. We're sorry to hear the learning curve has been steep. We would like to learn more about the issue you are experiencing so we can deliver a solution. Please send us an email to [email protected] with your contact information, so we can assist you. Again, we are sorry for the inconvenience you've experienced, and we look forward to resolving it. Sincerely, The Epicor Social Team
Great for quoting engineered to order equipment and systems
Comments: Overall its been great. There is no perfect system so sometimes just takes getting familiar with to understand the full capability of the system.
Pros:
This ERP makes it extremely easy to quote items that do not have part numbers set up in the system. We fabricate custom designed process equipment which requires many purchased components. And often times our customers require us to follow their specific Approved Material List which could include components we have not purchased before. Epicor allows to quote parts, kits, systems without forcing us to create part numbers which makes quoting very easy and quick. No sense in setting up part numbers if we don't have the job yet.
Cons:
The CRM part is not the greatest. Needs to be improved or allow Sales Force or other leading CRM software to tie in to Epicor.
Epicor Software Response
5 years ago
Hi Peter, thanks so much for your feedback on Epicor ERP. It's great to hear that quoting engineered to order equipment and systems is working well for you. Your feedback is invaluable. Please email us at [email protected] to share additional comments and learn about our customer reference program.
Alternatives Considered:
Epicor
Comments: The Epicor ERP has been a very good upgrade from our previous system.
Pros:
We have used Epicor for about 3 months and so far it has went very well. Change over from our previous system went smoothly. Movement in the system is very simple, it is easy to find what you are looking for through the menu system. You are a click away from about any information you would need for planning and scheduling.
Cons:
In the beginning we had some issues with inventory suggestions, the system wanted everything at the moment it realized we were below minimums, but after a few weeks or research we were able to set the system to work as we needed it to. A few other small issues at start up, but over all not difficult implementation
Epicor Software Response
4 years ago
Hi Scotty, thank you for your feedback about Epicor MES. We're glad to hear you are finding it intuitive and easy to use. Your feedback is invaluable. Please email us at [email protected] to share additional comments and learn about our customer reference program.
Overall I have had very positive experiences with epicor. Customizations are easy to make.
Pros:
One of my favorite things about this program is the different levels of customization that it provides. Epicor allows for a range settings and customization's ranging from field security to changing how business objects interact this allows our company to really personalize and create our own version of Epicor (to a certain extent that is). I also really like how fast and efficient the technical support for Epicor is. Calling in to create a ticket for any issues that occur is always an easy process.
Cons:
Some custimaztions are harder to make then they should be and sometimes finding clear information about how to make certian changes can be hard to find. I think the two main things I currently do not like are the scheduling module it can seem clunky. Also the limited coding that is allowed due to being a multi tenant client however this is more about what we purchased then the product it self.
Good ERP system
Comments: Been a good experience. Since I help administer the software I have a good knowledge of how it works.
Pros:
For the most part easy to use. Has a lot of modules that you can use depending on your business. Can also integrate into your B2B webiste.
Cons:
Sometimes it takes awhile to get issues resolved through tech support. Costs a lot of money for maintenance, and they also charge for each module that you may need if you need it later on down the road.
Epicor Software Response
5 years ago
Hi Jim, Thank you for your feedback about Epicor ERP. We're glad to hear you are finding it easy to use and benefiting from your website integration. Your feedback is invaluable. Please email us at [email protected] to share additional comments and learn about our customer reference program. Yours Sincerely, The Epicor Social Team
Good Manufacturing system that won't bankrupt you
Comments: MIXED.there are a few really good people in support
Pros:
Good value for the money Good little manufacturing system They put on really nice annual conferences
Cons:
Epicor grew by acquisition so some of the interfaces are cloodgey (I think they are working o improving this with their cloud based systems). General maintenance in Mexico is very good, the US arm needs to help them more instead of tossing hard problems over the border without proper training. System is not user friendly, based on HUNDREDS of tables!!! US customer support is very good if you get the right people. Customer support for real issues (forex) is a cash sink hole - any time you have a bug or a real problem, they refer you to a consultant at per hour basis. Worse, they do not have many consultants who really know the product so you waste thousands of dollars getting them up to speed, only to end up with the problem not fixed. We have since learned some of these issues were fixed but only in the new version which costs us to upgrade.
Not Easy to Use or Setup
Pros:
you can control al you company with this software, from Sales to Shipments and billing, you can also control you shop floor (Manufacturing) know in what part of the process your finish goods are, inventory, wip, purchasing all your supply chain is cover with this software, very powerful tool.
Cons:
Extremely difficult to setup, and not very user friendly, you have to open a lot of windows to get some information, MES tool is not very friendly user has to enter a lot of data manually if you want to control all your process, causing users not to feed the system correctly.
Epicor provides a robust modular ERP that allows us buy and expand the system as our company grows.
Comments: The software tracks and reports on our production and performance. Integration across modules allows adjustments in one module to be appropriately communicated across the system.
Pros:
The ERP allows us to create dashboards to track company performance, includes good documentation and built in help (application level or field level), and we have access to a great user group to help us explore new modules before we buy and implement them.
Cons:
There are inconsistencies between modules or menus that are not intuitive. Support is expensive and oftentimes unresponsive.
Epicor is very competitive against SAP
Pros:
modular, you can add components to be what you want to use. The biggest pro is it has a really good BOM system for manufacturing - this is usually missed in ERPs
Cons:
it is expensive, and there is so much customization you can do so it becomes difficult to use. I have also worked with a system that Epicor bought, the product support on that was not very good because they were phasing the system out. Would have been better to upgrade us as the customer so they could provide better support.
Everything in one package
Comments: Been working with Epicor since 2005 and they have been making great strides to make the software more efficient, easier to update, and constantly adding new functionality to make it a real value! If you don't need all the modules, just purchase the ones you need and add on at anytime, perfect for the growing business
Pros:
Easy to update and use, navigation by pc or tablet makes it a portable solution on the shop floor as needed
Cons:
Some features are connected to others so to track labor you need to purchase payroll, even if you don't use payroll in Epicor
As a company we have been able to accelerate our reporting capabilities.
Comments: Extreme ease of access and effective and efficient customer support.
Pros:
The capability and functionality of the system is incredible and effortless once your are trained and have the knowledge on how to operate.
Cons:
Not necessarily a con with the system itself but if your current systems mode of operating doesn't easily transition with the way Epicor works it can create a few obstacles in how the functionality of Epicor can work for your company.
Everything in one package
Comments: Epicor buys up companies that can add value and functionality to the software, ever increasing the usefulness.
Pros:
The ease to customize multiple areas and still be able to update the software without losing everything you customized already!
Cons:
When you update the server, the client also use be updated. If the user doesn't have admin rights on the pc, this could be a problem. I've recently heard they fixed this in a future release of the software
Implementing Epicor
Comments:
First, our company didn't have a ERP software and use Quickbooks for P.O.'s and supplier payment and Excel to create a demand plan. Second the company was a true start up and hadn't released any products to production. So the Erp tool wasn't replacing an existing software. Overall I found the
majority of the implementation very restrictive to customize to our wants.
Pros:
The purchase order placement was reasonable but really are Finance got more out of it than procurement.
Cons:
No easy method to automate revision those had to be manually added to P.O's and constant error message when doing so. With Quickbook you just had to click on vendor to get all P.O. history with Epicor multiple screens and buyer specific. For components purchased per manufacturers part number it didn't upload those so they have to be manually added. Creating jobs even when we hired a more experienced planning manager it takes way more resources to create them seemed we spent 100's of hours just to get simple jobs created at sub-assembly levels. While we were able imput receiving parts to stock deleting it after consumptions is consistently manual reduction to update the balance.
Incomplete Product
Comments: Data is missing in certain tables, but is there in the regular version. Overall there are many issues and it makes our jobs harder. Once everything starts running smoothly it could be a powerful tool.
Pros:
The potential to be a great product is there.
Cons:
It is still incomplete, we've filled out many help tickets since we switched to the kinetic interface