M1 ERP Erfahrungen

Vorteile

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

Nachteile

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.

Vorteile

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.

Nachteile

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.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

Warum M1 ERP gewählt wurde

Gründe für den Wechsel zu M1 ERP

Vorteile

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.

Nachteile

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.

Vorteile

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.

Nachteile

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.

In Betracht gezogene Alternativen

Warum M1 ERP gewählt wurde

Zuvor genutzte Software

Gründe für den Wechsel zu M1 ERP

Vorteile

Helps immensely with organization and the customization options are excellent.

Nachteile

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.

Vorteile

This software is very detailed and makes it easy to make changes that keep production going. There are a lot of different steps to assist with making sure changes are correct, which helps with accuracy and decreases human error.

Nachteile

I wish there was a grid in the Order Entry tab to search for the Part Number. When I need to see what orders are open on which parts, I have to use the binoculars to search and there is no part number available until I go into edit those orders.

Vorteile

M1 is incredibly visual; whether you prefer traditional forms or spreadsheet views, you can customize the navigation and data forms with ease. Search features are robust in the spreadsheet style views. M1 is also fairly flexible for customization regardless of programming skills. We can easily add fields to any module and forms can be manipulated to match our information flow. In our business every order is a custom order yet the straight forward manufacturing module makes planning and scheduling simple. Dashboards on the start screen are great to monitor daily activities. While most ERP implementations require significant work, the visual nature of M1 really helped us keep the project on track. The M1 implementation specialist spent time to learn our business and specific information needs. 9 months running and we are very happy. We have added several additional modules since the implementation and have linked M1 to our sales tax service provider. The suite of included reports are handy, though they need some customization when you start up. Export to Excel is very easy. We added Spreadsheet Server option to really increase the capability to share data with Excel. Security controls are very robust.

Nachteile

At times customer service response is a bit longer than we would like though once they are working on an issue, they are great at resolving. Some of the included reports are fairly complex yet require customization in Crystal Reports. Best to have some working knowledge of Crystal reports. Some modules in M1 are not consistent with others - probably different programmers or different schedules for upgrading - however that slows the process just bit when you move module to module.

Vorteile

The ability to bring everything together in one place, where all management and supervisors can access it has been great. I like to ability to use shop floor terminals for data entry and the ability to generate reports from that data.

Nachteile

A regular challenge I face is trying to figure out the right location or combination of steps it takes to change certain items within the system. There are not explanations of pathways. For example, the other day I wanted to pick specific lots of material for a job we were running. I thought I would be given the option right at job material processing. Nope. I can see the different lots, but the numbers are locked, I couldn't change them. After many failed attempts. I finally called support. Long story short. I have to process, go into details, unprocess the line, go into the sub-details and type in the amount for each lot. That's an example of a common frustration I find in the system. There are lots of locked numbers. I understand some are necessary, but others just don't seem to make sense. The process to then alter them does not always follow a discernible pattern. You can often find the same information in multiple spots, but finding the place it drives from is a shot in the dark.

Vorteile

Overall, the product is very easy to use. The modules "talk" to one another and the data flows with ease. Our A/R and A/P departments use the software in conjunction with purchasing and sales and their experience has been positive. The data collection system is very user friendly for the employees on the floor and provides great feedback and reporting for the management team. The quick analysis reports, or dashboard reports, provide a snapshot of what's going on in your business at a quick glance.

Nachteile

There are nuances to the software that only a "seasoned user" would know exist. If the user is unaware of the nuances, the data could be skewed, or the user could be stopped in their tracks, or worse yet, the action of the subsequent user could be negatively impacted. To that point, the overarching concern I have is that we have a lot of tribal knowledge when it comes to E2 MFG and if an employee chooses to leave our company, the next hire will "learn" the software, but they won't really "know" the software for quite some time.

Vorteile

All the data you could ever need about your business can be housed in M1, between the data and the custom reports that can be made, it is a valuable tool to have.

Nachteile

Its clunky to use, most things take too many clicks to find and it feels like you have to go out of your way to find what you are looking for. It takes some work to make it user friendly in the least bit

Vorteile

Technically it works and some of the functions are understandable. But the setup, service and basic norms affiliated with software are missing

Nachteile

Terrible service and backup. Only 1 technician that knows what he is doing and he is across NZ and AU and he is not allowed to give out his direct contact details. Recently logged a ticket on the 3rd of May and got first response on the 4th June! If you want to know your GP and other profitable forecasts or set up a half decent quote and reporting be prepared to have to spend a whole lot more.

Vorteile

This software has a nice interface with easy to follow tabs.

Nachteile

Very limiting software. Certain processes are too rigid and do not follow company system. Constant need to call customer support due to glitches or other defects in code.

Vorteile

No ad-dons, no cost for view users, i.e. unlimited clock card entry PC's.

Nachteile

Absolutely poor support if any. Referred to external consultants as ECi M1 could not supply technical support.

Vorteile

Very detailed when planning jobs. Trackability of inventory is great.

Nachteile

I am not a fan of how once something has been linked it is not able to be deleted.

Vorteile

The training and implementation was fantastic. The product is well suited for our needs and the cost tracking functionality is great. The greatest strengths of the software are inventory control, cost/labor tracking, and reporting.

Nachteile

The accounting functionality and process can be burdensome. While it does get the job done, incorporating a FIFO system with real time cost of goods sold entry would be much more advantageous. Currently M1 only offers average, standard, or last cost of goods sold, which can really make things difficult if inventory costs change. Additionally, not having "real-time" financials is frustrating. You don't get the "actual cost of goods sold" until an accounting entry is made, so you cannot track financials daily or weekly unless your accounting department has time to make this entry and reconcile it on that same interval. Granted, moving to the COGS program could fix this issue, but the additional work and potential for mistakes makes it easier to wait for financials.

Vorteile

Ease of use, functionality, reporting, scheduling.

Nachteile

Nothing yet. We've been using V7 and are getting ready to switch to V9, looking forward to the upgrade.

Vorteile

Vendor has awesome support. We love how it brings all of our activities together in one program. We also like how we can customize the program to fit our needs since we are a very unique manufacturer that does many products under one roof. It has many 'cross checks' so we are making sure each department is doing exactly what they are supposed to which leads to accurate financials and job costing.

Nachteile

I feel like some of the modules we purchased were not fully explained enough or applicable to our usage. Fortunately, they recognized this and helped us to direct our purchases in a more advantageous direction for our business. There are also adjustments in the financials that everyone could benefit from and should not be made to customize it.

Vorteile

Customizable, easy to backup and restore databases.

Nachteile

Buggy, not maintained properly (outdated reporting, security practices), not user-friendly overall (they obviously do not have UX staff).

Vorteile

The low cost of overhead to run M1 is its best feature. It is very robust, and runs day after day with minimal support required. M1 is very user friendly and intuitive. Also, the use of Crystal Reports on an SQL database allows for easy modification and development of reports that then are easily run from inside M1 giving users a seamless feel. We have had excellent support during implementation and post implementation.

Nachteile

I am anxious for continued development of the manufacturing floor scheduling.

Vorteile

Built on SQL database so lookups are simple

Nachteile

We were sold a list of things during the sales cycle that they weren't able to make good on come implementation time. Then turned their back on me and ghosted me like I didn't exist. About as bad an experience as I could have dreamed up. Be very careful with this group. All sales are final, even if they can't deliver.

Vorteile

There are multiple ways to perform functions within the software. The access to data through QuickView and report hyperlinks makes finding the information very easy.

Nachteile

Once a job is "In Process" making changes becomes very difficult. The lack of being able to use UPS ground freight pricing has added extra work onto our Shipping department. Hopefully, the interface will be completed soon.

Vorteile

Ease of use. This software has all the bells and whistles that other ERPs have, but with an easier to use set up. If your system is too complex, or you have more than you need, it becomes difficult to use. I also appreciate that there are training sessions on line. Watching them has given me ideas about what else this system can do.

Nachteile

I would have liked an "old school" hard copy manual that I could read through and highlight.

Vorteile

Work stations and scanning job orders was good

Nachteile

Reporting and finance
Reporting difficult and Ul was not good

Vorteile

This ERP software is very intuitive and very flexible relative to the previous software from Made2Manage that my organization ran for the past 24 years. The input of transactions is straightforward with minimal training, and searching for almost any data is substantially easier.

Nachteile

The only issue we've had any challenge with so far is with the conversion of our old Made2Manage data, which was an old FoxPro version into a pure SQL format. Some data came across easily, and some data didn't come across at all. We could have come up to speed running the new software much faster if we'd have been able to convert our M2M data in a more timely fashion.

Vorteile

I will have to compliment the trainer and the ECI Conference held in Orlando. I felt that all areas were fully addressed. Obviously as time goes on, more comfort and trust is gain in the product. Having been on Sage previously, I like how this is a real financial package although it can be cumbersome at times. I still have lots to learn about the entire package.

Nachteile

There is no refresh button.