Engineering to order (ETO) processes can be complex and difficult to manage for companies in the manufacturing industry. These types of processes involve customizing and designing products based on specific customer requirements rather than producing standard or pre-designed components. This requires careful coordination and communication throughout the production process, as well as effective management of inventory, resources, and costs.

With these unique challenges for businesses, it is critical to have a comprehensive and reliable enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This is where the Epicor P21 comes into play. Epicor P21 is an advanced ERP solution designed to streamline and support manufacturing processes, including made-to-order workflows. Let’s take a closer look at how Epicor P21 meets the needs of companies with complex design-to-order processes.

Efficiently Create Quotes and Estimates: The first step in the custom design process is to provide the client with a quote. This can be a time-consuming and labor-intensive task because it involves collecting accurate material and labor cost data, as well as estimating lead times and delivery schedules. Epicor P21 allows companies to automate this process, generating quotes based on predefined rules, customer-specific pricing, and other factors. This saves time and reduces the risk of errors, ensuring accurate quotes and satisfied customers.

Streamlined Engineering Processes: ETO projects typically require custom designs and engineering to meet each client’s unique needs. Epicor P21 helps companies streamline these processes by providing tools for engineering change control, version control, and document management. This ensures all changes are tracked and approved, minimizing the risk of errors and reducing the time and effort required for manual documentation.

Real-Time Inventory and Resource Management: ETO processes involve managing a wide range of components, materials, and resources, making it difficult to track inventory levels and availability. Epicor P21 addresses this challenge by providing real-time visibility into inventory levels, tracking and managing various items, and automating the purchasing process. This helps companies avoid out-of-stocks, shorten order fulfillment times, and ensure on-time delivery to customers.

Accurate Costing and Job Tracking: For custom manufacturing companies, accurate costing and job tracking are critical to staying competitive and maintaining profit margins. Epicor P21 provides robust cost features that enable companies to track costs from initial quote to final delivery. This enables companies to make informed decisions and adapt pricing strategies to remain competitive in the market.