QMS Software - Epicor Integration

Kinetic ERP
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1

Currently we’re on Epicor 11.2.300.0 and have 4 sites with various certifications (ISO9001, ISO13485, and AS9100). I’m looking for a QMS software that will seamlessly integrate with Epicor and support our various compliance requirements. The few demos I’ve had so far only can offer vague custom options for Epicor integration which is not something I’m interested in risking.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

2

Hi Zach,

Have you looked at the Epicor Advanced Quality Management Module (Powered by ETQ)? It is a stand-alone system, but they have a prebuilt integration with Epicor for several processes, including non-conformance processing and suppliers and materials. We are in the middle of this integration now, and like you, have multiple companies/sites in Epicor with different compliance requirements. So far it has been relatively painless, but we are cloud and are pretty close to out of the box with Epicor.

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Hi Heather,

I’ve reached out to ETQ and was going to set up a demo, my biggest concern so far was I asked them what compliance requirements they supported they responded “We don’t have a list (of certifications they support) but using ETQ would provide you the framework to comply with any standards you are required to comply with”.

This reads to me like we’d have to build out our own requirements for each standard which scared me a bit. I’d welcome any additional feedback you have on your integration experience. Maybe you’d have time for a quick call sometime in the next few weeks? I’m sure you’d be able to provide far more constructive feedback than their sales team.

4

ETQ looks awesome, but after getting all excited about it, I have heard some negative implementation stories.

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Certainly willing to help answer any questions from the implementation side.

6

It has been a while since I looked at AQM.
At that time, the level of effort to support the system would be to almost have one person dedicated to make sure that all of the rules were being followed.

I also saw several instances that the data wasn’t getting passed back and forth.
Hopefully Epicor has addressed these issues.

I would definetly insist on seeing a company that has implemented, because Epicor does not offer trials of software. They don’t believe in allowing a customer to return a product that they are not statisfied with.

Bruce

7

Heather,

Here’s a bunch of questions my team and I have put together. We’re going to schedule a demo but as I mentioned earlier, I’m sure you’ll have much more insightful feedback than their sales team.

	○ Extent of integration with Epicor? 
	○ How is document management handled?
	○ Out of the box support for AS 9100 and ISO 13485 and AS 13100?
	○ Customizable forms and options?
	○ Multi-site support with connectivity to corporate high level docs/procedures?
	○ Audit Management effectiveness - external/internal 
	○ CARs, how they function, connected to Epicor, etc. 
	○ Risk assessment, is it addressed within the QMS?

If it would be easier to connect via email/phone feel free to reach out to me at Zach.Fecher@princeind.com. Otherwise, any feedback you’re able to provide here would be a huge help!

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Zach,

What are you looking for the QMS software to do out of the box to help with your compliance to AS9110/13100, and IS 13485? They are so broad and generic that every company has their own (hopefully efficient) way of meeting the standard. You’d likely have a big effort to change your entire QMS to match a software out of the box. If it’s a new company building one from scratch, that’s a different story…

I’d think any of them would have features built in to handle the various standard equirements, but will need a lot of work to integrate with Epicor.

You could do a lot with customizations too (like add UD fields for CAR’s on specific parts, link to details & CA, splash it on the job traveller op, etc…).

In a perfect world, how what are you looking for it to do, and how would you want it to work?

Calibration?
Auditing?
CAR’s?
Risk Mgmt? FMEA’s, PPAP’s, etc?

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Hey Zach,

  • We currently are integrating NCR/DMR, Internal Audits (AS9100, ISO14001, and Nadcap), Corrective Actions, and Suppliers/Materials. In the attachment, the dark blue are modules that have some integration with Epicor. I was initially under the impression that the integration was prebuilt and standard, but that is not necessarily the case. They do have an Epicor layer of sorts they apply, but the integration itself is more the most part tailored to your specific business use of Epicor.
  • We briefly looked at document management but was not yet in a place to do anything with it. Currently, our document management is with on-premise share drives, and we would have to create a process from scratch to migrate it here.
  • The internal audit process does have a prebuilt checklist for AS9100, but was on version C. I asked them to upload Rev D and they said that was no problem. I assume they have several prebuilt specs/checklists that they can load up at customer request but I am not sure of the extent. Other checklists can be uploaded and customized for whatever spec you need or added ad-hoc. The system itself is specification agnostic. There is nothing in it that will specifically say “AS9100 compliant” but here is everything we have licensed as an aerospace manufacturer:

image001.png1837×858 116 KB

  • Each window/form is customized per your specification. At the beginning, you do a demo of the out of the box module. Your team will take 3-6 hours on each process and review specific changes you require with the solution consultant. They document this into a spec document, your team will review and sign off the document, and then the consultant will build, preview and release for testing with your team. Once you test, the customized screens will be put into validation (highly regulated industries), or straight to production. You can also take the expansive training that teaches you how to make these modifications on your own. There is a requirement to have at least one individual in your organization complete all of this training before the project will be handed over as complete.
  • For multi-site/multi-company, they use location codes for this in ETQ. You can link these to different sites/companies within Epicor or create a location not tied to anything if you wish (example: corporate). From there, you indicate on all records which location they apply to. Security is to these locations can be applied, so some team members can access one location or multiple locations as you determine.
  • With the audits, we have just started testing this functionality but it is built to support internal audits mostly, with easy reporting and documentation for external audits with links to CAPA as necessary.
  • We do not use the CAR module within Epicor currently, so we are using this module as a standalone. According to their documentation though, this can be fully integrated with the Epicor CAR process.
  • There are a couple of ways to do risk assessment in ETQ, so short answer it is handled. We are customizing our CAPA process to include a risk assessment that is different than the out of the box risk assessment process. We have not scratched the surface on the actual risk register yet, but at first glance, this is what the risk item entry screen looks like:

image002.png956×954 51.7 KB

I am happy to do a call and discuss any of these things further. Let me know!

ETQ + Epicor QMS Core Plus.pdf (129 KB)

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@HeatherM, that is an AMAZING post. I’ve never had to implement the module, but I’ve had questions that the marketing information doesn’t come close to answering. I’ll keep this information as a reference.

Thank you!

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@HeatherM ,

Thanks again for your detailed response. Using this and a few preliminary calls with the ETQ team we’ve been able to gain a much better understanding of the software. The biggest thing we’re still trying to understand is the actual integration between Epicor and ETQ. The base structure and modules were very well detailed, and we are comfortable moving forward with them. However, their sales team wasn’t able to elaborate nearly as much on Epicor integration which is critical to us.

I’m wondering if you’d have time in the next few weeks for a quick call to explain how the Epicor integration end of thing has gone for you?

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@HeatherM I know this was an old post but I am now in a similar situation that Zach was, shopping and hoping to provide analysis to MGMT for a choice; I wanted to reach out about ETQ and your experience with it now that time has passed and maybe your company has matured its usage. Are there more insights, new pro’s discovered, new limitations uncovered? Sorry to bump. I did not see a way to message alternatively.