Epicor Kinetic
7 Reviews 4.4/5 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★Formerly Epicor E10 ERP. A manufacturing ERP software for managing operations and profitability.
Our Rating: 9.1
Our Verdict
We like Kinetic for its extensive product configuration, discrete manufacturing capabilities, and powerful customizations. Kinetic offers comprehensive business rules to manage sub-assemblies and other aspects of product configuration. It also provides the option to make limited code adjustments to the software to avoid over-customization.
However, we found Kinetic’s customer relationship management and human resources modules lacking. Additionally, though it offers multi-company management capabilities, Kinetic is not the best-equipped option for multinational organizations with numerous product lines and locations.
We found Epicor Kinetic to be a sophisticated, tier-two ERP solution offering a modular manufacturing and distribution approach. Features include compliance management, planning and scheduling, supply chain management, quality assurance, and maintenance management. It’s available in both cloud-based and on-premises deployment models.
Who Is Epicor Kinetic For?
We recommend Kinetic for small to enterprise-level businesses in mixed-mode, make-to-order, engineer-to-order, and discrete manufacturing environments. Its functionalities best serve the manufacturing, distribution, and retail industries. Epicor Kinetic is browser-based and compatible with Windows and iOS devices.
| Pros | Cons |
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Our Ratings
| Usability - 8.1 | Sophisticated global search function to access various manufacturing operations; modern user interface; some workflows are cumbersome; high learning curve associated with navigating system. |
| Support - 8.8 | Unlimited online, chat, and phone support 24/7 through EpicCare; some user reviews report slow response times to support tickets. |
| Scalability - 9.4 | Low-code customizations allow users to configure Epicor to business processes without changing source code; provides multiple options for deployment; responsive design adjusts for tablets and mobile devices; may not keep up with multinational manufacturers. |
| Security - 10 | Compliant with corporate and financial governance (IAS, IFRS, GAAP) and international trade standards (RoHS, WEEE, NAFTA, ITAR); permissions limit access to certain features and data based on user roles, groups, etc. |
| Value - 8.8 | Generally higher starting price compared to SMB ERP solutions like xTuple; user reviews suggest high implementation expenses; low-code customizations help companies save on costs of rolling out new functionalities in the system. |
| Performance - 9 | Platform experiences lag when loading dashboards and shop floor maps; customizing homepage and work views is fast and intuitive. |
| Key Features - 10 | Strong product configuration provides business rules to manage sub-assemblies; in-depth reporting with drill-down capabilities; purchase order entry is standardized for inventory, MRO, job materials, etc. |
What Features Are Missing?
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Low learning curve: Like many ERP solutions with a robust feature set, Kinetic might overwhelm new users. Navigating different workflows in the system can be tedious, and employees will likely require extra training to grasp all Kinetic truly has to offer.
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Customer relationship management: Kinetic focuses most of its ERP capabilities on discrete manufacturing and distribution. However, customer relationship management and human resources modules are more basic than you might find in other systems. Kinetic does offer the SyteLine Customer Portal to help clients check order statuses, outstanding estimates, and item catalogs.
Kinetic Pricing
Epicor does not provide specific pricing for Kinetic on its website; potential clients will need to contact Epicor directly for a quote based on business size, deployment type, ongoing maintenance and support, user count, and implementation complexity.
Because ERP onboarding is generally a complex, long-term process, you can also work with a VAR or reseller to get started. Additionally, a VAR will reconnect with your company after implementation to provide additional support.
What Does Kinetic Do?
Kinetic is an enterprise resource planning software designed for discrete manufacturing scenarios. The platform provides a full range of material requirements planning (MRP) services, advanced planning and scheduling, inventory control, accounting, compliance, and supply chain management.
Is Kinetic Web-Based?
Yes, Kinetic is browser-based, meaning you can access it anywhere from your desktop or mobile devices. Its responsive design and button-based navigation ensure ease-of-use, with no loss in functionality even when you’re away from a computer.
Alternatives
Summary
We recommend Epicor Kinetic for small to enterprise-level organizations in distribution, manufacturing, and retail. Kinetic has deep functionality in discrete manufacturing. Its sophisticated product configurator is perfect for make-to-order and engineer-to-order scenarios. Finally, its low-code customization options allow companies to tailor the platform to their business workflows without altering the source code.
However, Kinetic is not the best fit for multinational corporations with various product lines and locations. It’s more compatible with businesses that do not have a high need for advanced modules in human capital or customer relationship management.
Overall, we think Kinetic is the best ERP option for your company if you value a customizable and flexible system that still delivers the rich feature set required for fast, efficient manufacturing.
Product Overview
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User Reviews of Epicor Kinetic
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When we reviewed Epicor Kinetic, we quickly came to realize it was far bigger than we needed. We have a manufacturing small team of about 20-25 employees and Epicor told us their program is best for businesses in the hundreds of employees.
Strong Manufacturing program for larger operations
Not made for smaller companies with less than 500 employees
Service was great initially and now it’s all online don’t seem to know how to solve the problem. They never get back to you, and mind you there aren’t that many issues, but when we do have to use them their streamlining and support have not improved.
I have used and managed Epicor ERP installations since 2007 and I can’t imagine using anything else! From quote to manufacturing to sales and after sales service Epicor 10.1 does what you need it to do with real time reports that you can design and customize to fit your needs.
I love the way Epicor 10.1 has all the data at my fingertips. I can see it in a query, dashboard, report or extract the data to use in other reporting packages.
Epicor no longer releases individual patches to fix an isolated issue. They replaced it with bi-weekly releases of ALL the fixes that everyone needs. At times to wait for a patch may be more than 2 weeks.
We have been on Epicor 10.1 for over a year and it is a vast improvement from 9.05. Speed, layout, ease of use, reportability on anything that is tracked in the system is great. We use all of the modules that come with the basic software across all of our business and most of it works great.
I like the ease of use, readiness to train and find what you are looking for, especially with the new search function and how easy it is to get reports on anything
Scheduling seem very cumbersome and very hard to use, not user friendly and there seems to be some cases where orders or quotes seem to get stuck and you can’t do anything with them.
I use Epicor Eclipse ERP for wholesale. Very powerful package for inventory, sales, and warehouse management. Has a lot of extra add-ons available for state of the art wholesale business, and numerous third-party providers with good peripheral programs like B2B, B2C, invoicing, tax handling, and BI. Reporting is weak (although custom reporting can be done by a techie), and third-party dashboards are almost necessary for executive level summary information. We have had very minimal down time and fairly responsive support. If you are considering the package, just make sure you understand clearly what you need or want for your business—the add-ons can get expensive up-front and in monthly fees. Do good negotiations up front!
Powerful integration between all areas of inventory, order management, and warehouse management.
Cost of add-ons; many add-ons ought to be part of the core package.
Epicor Erp helps us to track all of our processes in real time. We can see how are costs compare with the price we are getting paid for each job. It also has functions to create purchase orders, shippers, and to do monthly finance reports and communicate with banks. Epicor does more than we even use at our business. But we can pull reports to help track progress on all the jobs in the plant and keep everyone informer. I enjoy using Epicor. It can take some getting used to as there are steps to get to your end goal and sometime it can be tricky but it is worth it.
I like how I can create a sales order and open a job and start tracking everything right away. I like being able to see real time costs so we can stay on target for our margins. Epicor also has many customization features so you can create whatever kinds of reports you want.
I don’t like how sometimes things get stuck and you can’t do what you want. Some things take multiple steps to get to your end result that seem so simple. But not too bad.
Epicor Eclipse is easy to use and easy to learn. I have only been with this company for about 8 months and had never heard of Epicor or Eclipse and I am getting around pretty good already. Actually I have been for a couple of months now. One thing I like is that there is a whole community of users that share their tips and tricks for using the system which helped. The representatives with the company (that I have spoken with) are patient. I do agree that the support fees are way to high, but, on the other hand, in my opinion they do a lot of behind the scenes work. We are using an older version and I am excited about the chance to move up to a newer, more aesthetically pleasing version in the near future. Epicor offers training after the installation (for a charge per person) in the form of classes held regularly, which is better than I can say from my previous experience with SAP. I can’t really say if I would choose this product again, because we are on an older version, which I don’t like. It looks too much like I am using a mainframe.
Epicor offers training after the installation (for a charge per person) in the form of classes held regularly, which is better than I can say from my previous experience with SAP.
I do agree that the support fees are way to high, but, on the other hand, in my opinion they do a lot of behind the scenes work.
