M1 ERP

I love how easy the modules link with each other

Comments: Very happy. I'm glad I have been brought in a job that chose this software. Everyone that I've met and spoke with through tech support is helpful and personable.

Pros:

The ability to drill down between modules is wonderful. I've never used a software that allowed this so seamlessly.

Cons:

The lack of online inquiries through the internet from fellow users that might have experienced something that isn't typical to help others figure it out. This can be technical or a way to resolve a process issue.

E2 First 6 months of use Survey

Comments: Overall we enjoy the product, it has helped us reach a new company milestone and will continue to help us into the next company leaps in the future.

Pros:

The Manufacturing organizational aspect of the software is great! Helps keep the manufacturing workflow running smoothly without much intervention from administrative staff. Once the software is learned, it is a pretty intuitive and easy to use product.

Cons:

Ability to modify standard document layout should be included in the software and should not be an add-in. Especially working from a French/English Province we need the ability legally to have 2 languages shown on the documents but shouldn't have to pay for it. It would also be useful to have a basic functioning walkthrough tutorial for when you first start up E2.

Alternatives Considered: SAP Business One and eJobsiteSoftware

Reasons for Choosing M1 ERP: We wanted both Manufacturing and payroll to be linked together more fluidly.

Switched From: QuickBooks Payroll

Reasons for Switching to M1 ERP: More manufacturing related suits our needs better but also ability to incorporate engineering tasks and finances together.

Do not buy this software in Australia - Dishonest business practices and terrible support

Comments: They installed the core system for one company to test, then couldn't get their optional modules to work, but still performed the agreed work to customize our installation (and charged us)... then finally gave up trying to get THEIR optional module to work in version 8, and told us that we had to upgrade to version 9 to get those modules to work. Then after we upgraded to version 9, they said that version 9 now no longer supported that optional module, or the custom work they had already been paid for. We have been promised repeatedly by their support team and management that they would fix the issues and get this up and working as soon as possible. Please don't fall for these lies like we did. Instead of trying to fix anything, their support department literally just 'solved' all of the 30+ support tickets in their system on with the same day with the message 'SOLVED: This function or a component that it relies on is no longer supported' with no option for further discussion... no refund for the optional modules or custom work we had done... and then they have the hide to say that they need to get us to sign off and accept the fact that they can't make that company work before they even install the core systems for any of the 6 other companies.

Pros:

Their sales team made a really good pitch, then went radio silent the moment we signed up, and quit 6 weeks later. Based on their pitch, we engaged them to provide version 8 of the core system seven companies, and a couple of optional modules for a couple of those companies, and a few custom modifications, we were assured this would be straight forward and ready to use in 8-12 weeks. It has been over 2 years and they been unable to even get one of those companies up and running as per the our agreement with them.

Cons:

The worst part about this experience? Everything that happened after they had our money... In all of my professional life I have never before experienced such intentionally dishonest behavior in a professional setting. Deciding to use ECi M1 has been the worst business decision that we have ever made. If you are in Australia, or if you intend to rely on the Australian support team, I cannot urge you strongly enough to stay away from ECi M1. They have repeatedly proved themselves incompetent and dishonest.

Transitioned from QuickBooks to E2 MFG

Comments: Having no prior first-hand experience with an ERP system myself, as a company we are overall very satisfied. The reduction in phone calls between offices throughout the day to gather bits of information, the elimination of duplicating work or "copy and pasting", the decrease in errors due to not having to transcribe information any longer are all very welcome improvements. We hired an outside consultant to help with our implementation project. While this had its benefits at times, the real strides and progress came when we would occasionally bring in a ShopTech employee for the day to help with troubleshooting, brainstorming, and otherwise "head-scratchers". Once you've had a session with an on-site ShopTech consultant that you like, only schedule that consultant for every other session! That being said, all interaction we've had with ShopTech support & sales staff, prior to and post Go-Live, has been positive, but our consultant was just top-notch during every single call, email, and visit.

Pros:

Improvement of inventory tracking coming from an Excel-based, manual process that'd grown to be quite cumbersome. MFG's capabilities eliminated many spreadsheets and many hours maintaining those spreadsheets. Visibility throughout the organization of order status; pieces completed, what's in-process, what's already shipped, etc. Searchable criteria in MFG is quite robust. Prior to MFG we were only able to search via customer part numbers, this left a lot to be desired. Now we can search based on many, many more variables.

Cons:

The biggest hurdle/challenge in learning and implementing MFG was understanding a whole new terminology; allocations, transfers, material/job requirements, processing, etc. and how those functioned in MFG specifically. As well sometimes, certain terms are used interchangeably in certain places and this can lead to temporary confusion. There are many ways to accomplish a single task. This flexibility is nice once you're used to the system but can be overwhelming in the beginning.

Alternatives Considered: Fishbowl and SAP Business One

Reasons for Choosing M1 ERP: Needed greater/easier visibility of inventory and stock, and more capabilities when it came to order status and tracking.

Switched From: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Reasons for Switching to M1 ERP: Cost effective. We didn't want to pay for a Rolls-Royce when all we really needed was a well made Chevrolet, or even a Cadillac.

Excellent product and service

Comments: So far it has been great. The support team in particular are amazing and they go above and beyond to make sure that any issues we have are taken care of.

Pros:

Helps immensely with organization and the customization options are excellent.

Cons:

It does not allow for a user to have more than one order open at a time, which makes it difficult for multitasking or referencing a previous order. This is one feature that we greatly miss from Job Boss. Also, the training provided could have been better, there was a lot of situations that the training did not cover and we had to learn on our own.