Engineering
Panorama’s ERP consultants help engineering firms search for and select the best engineering software for their unique business requirements. While many ERP vendors offer engineering focused ERP solutions, not all ERP software packages can accommodate the needs of engineering companies. Panorama can help differentiate one ERP provider from another and match up a detailed requirements list to deliver a successful ERP selection and implementation project.
Engineering Software Requirements
- AutoCAD integration
- Revision level tracking
- Engineering change order tracking
- Engineer-to-order production scheduling
- Project management
- Project accounting costing
- Milestone based billing
- Quality control management
As we have discovered in our experience with more than 150 ERP solutions, each ERP software package has its strengths and weaknesses. We track our extensive selection and implementation experience with various enterprise systems in our proprietary ERP Solutions Database. Below is a summary of a small sub-set of data from that database, which our project teams use to help clients select the right ERP software for their organizations.
The below identifies the generalized functional strengths of each of the listed ERP solutions for engineering based companies. Our ERP software selection process leverages more detailed information from our database to conduct a more thorough assessment of software fit with each client’s business requirements.
ERP Software Packages for Engineering
| Engineering Software Functionality | IFS | ESS Finesse | Epicor | JD Edwards | Cincom | CIMA | Syspro | Deltek |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard ERP Functions | ||||||||
| Standard Accounting | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Payroll | Low | High | High | High | Low | Low | Low | High |
| Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Project Management | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Configuration Management | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | Low |
| Bar code and Label Printing | High | High | High | Low | High | High | High | Low |
| Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) | High | Low | High | Low | High | High | High | High |
| Reporting with Drill Down | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Quality Process - Non-Conformance Material | High | High | High | High | High | High | Low | Low |
| General Requirements | ||||||||
| Document Management and Version Control | High | High | Low | High | High | High | High | High |
| Roles-based Security | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Support Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Program-based Reporting for Procurement Status, kKtting, Build, and Test Status | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Capture as-built Configuration | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | Low |
| Job Costing within WBS | High | High | High | High | High | High | Medium | High |
| Key Differentiating Requirements | ||||||||
| Historical Labor Hours, Costs, and Bill of Materials | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Alternative Part Numbers | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Capture Kitted Part Traceability Data | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Engineer-to-Order | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Make-to-Order | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Make-to-Stock | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Consigned Kits | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| BOM Change Order Tracking (ECN Management) | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Shop Floor Movement and Tracking by Serial Number | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | High |
| Track Non-Conforming Materials with Full Audit Trail | High | High | High | High | High | High | High | Low |
| Functional Specific Requirements | ||||||||
| Manage Opportunities | High | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low | Low | High | Medium |
| Plan and Manage Program | High | High | Medium | High | Low | Medium | High | Medium |
| Design | Medium | Medium | Medium | High | Medium | High | Low | Low |
| Procurement | High | High | High | High | High | Medium | High | Medium |
| Manage Inventory | High | High | High | High | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
| Build and Test | High | Medium | High | High | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
| Financial and Cost Accounting | Medium | High | High | Medium | Low | Low | High | High |
| Non Conforming Material (NCM) | High | High | High | High | High | High | Low | Low |
Panorama’s ERP consultants are aware of the potential pitfalls of ERP selection projects and can help hedge against project cost overruns, software that is misaligned with business needs, and lack of return on investment. The ERP team has industry specific expertise that helps facilitate a successful ERP software selection project and measurable business improvements.
