Small Job Shop looking for feedback on ERP systems

Hope I am not beating a dead horse here but here goes. I currently am working for a 20 employee specialty tool job shop.{We do zero production work}. Our work load has increased to the point where we are shopping for an ERP system that could help us with real-time shop floor reporting.Our customers have become more demanding on knowing how close to completion we are on a specific tool, and wrapping this up manually gets time consuming. Currently we have a home built system made in access that does not have the real time reporting capability. The shop floor tracking wouldn't be the only reason for us going with new ERP software as we could use better reporting capabilities for tracking period spending etc.
It would be great to hear feedback from other job shops on which ERP system you chose and how it's working out for you. As everyone knows what you hear from the ERP sales folks is a very rosey picture and hearing real world feedback from users would be very valuable to us as we are trying to make the right decision for our type of shop. I have read a lot of the postings already made on the PM forum about ERP systems and it has been quite enlightening. Appreciate any help anyone can give, and will let folks know what we eventually choose and the ups and downs as we roll it out next year.

This one has definitely been kicked to death repeatedly, I would suggest searching the forum for ERP software and related topics and read through them.

I have ECi's M1, which is way overkill for what my shop needs, its similar size to yours, and strictly jobbing as well, although half the business is a foundry, so YMMV. I do really like it, and it has so much potential, but it's pretty daunting to think about how much work I'm going to have to do to make it really shine for my shop.

Im guessing Job boss or one of the other brands that are more focused on just workflow scheduling and job routing is a better bet, unless you wanted to go for full integration of your business - payroll, AP/AR, forecasting tools, etc.

The downfall of the workflow focused ERP softwares is that you may outgrow them, and find that they don't provide any value outside of the shop floor schedule.
The big ones like M1 will never be outgrown, but the bill at the end of the project for getting it dialed in sort of outclasses most small job shops, unless you're a programming whiz. I know many of the other M1 users have invested hundreds of thousands, if not millions into implementing the system.

We just switched from Epicor to E2 by shoptech. We like it so far. The worst part of going to a ERP/MRP system is the beginning. Getting it all setup and then getting everyone to stick with it. You will hear "the old way was faster and easier".

Every system has downfalls but they all do something great too. Beware of service fees, upgrade costs, and additional module costs. Make sure you can talk to some of their actual users by calling them directly.

Lastly, ERP and MRP are two different things that can be purchased/used separately or together. Make sure you know what you are getting and needing. Do a google search on ERP vs MRP.

You might consider...
http://www.qad.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw7..._EwaI9Pmk93BF1Hv-_c-LuWO7vHqhiPMe0aAuIU8P8HAQ

No I don't use it in my small one horse shop but I am a stock holder.

Wow.. I like the new web site...think they are he best out there .. seems like every company that goes with then does better and great.
Seems like they motivate a company.

Thanks for the replies! Mr bronze, TMP and michiganbuck. I agree that the trick is finding the sweet spot between shop floor tracking and down the road expandability. At this point with our shop we probably don't want to invest a huge amount of cash, and I can see that hours spent on customization can get very costly. We are tracking down some local shops now that use some of the more popular systems so we can get a look on day to day usability. I appreciate the feedback. Thanks.

Robert41 said:

Thanks for the replies! Mr bronze, TMP and michiganbuck. I agree that the trick is finding the sweet spot between shop floor tracking and down the road expandability. At this point with our shop we probably don't want to invest a huge amount of cash, and I can see that hours spent on customization can get very costly. We are tracking down some local shops now that use some of the more popular systems so we can get a look on day to day usability. I appreciate the feedback. Thanks.

Click to expand...

The ERP/MRP software companies can tell you what shops use it already so you don't have to search around on your dime. Then make sure you contact other shops you know and ask them what they use and why?