Vault and Epicor

[sam_m]

The powers that be have decided to implement Epicor 9 as an ERP system - this is expected to go live in 3-5 months.  I have been asked to see how we can implement a data-flow between our cad systems (Invenotr) and Epicor, so all the BOMs ripple through from cad -> erp.

I am trying to use this as an ideal time to bring Vault into the company, so we can gain some control of our cad data.

What Vault is needed to allow us to export BOMs to Epicor?  The only posts on this forum mentioning Epicor suggest Productstream (which i think is now Vault Pro), so is Pro needed or will any of the lower tiers still export BOM data in a format usable by an erp system?  Obviously cost will be an issue and we wouldn't want to be paying for the premium pack if it is not needed.

Without wanting to sound too vauge/confused - how can this be automated?  I'm presuming something needs to sit between Vault and Epicor but what?  Will we need the reseller to code us something specific, or is there an off the shelf solution?  Apparently our Epicor supplier has offered us something from a company called Procad (presuming it's Pro.File after looking at the Procad website) but it almost looks like it is a full Vault alternative instead of just a Vault -> ERP tool.

Thanks for any help, Sam

[Anonymous]

Hi Sam,

I'm not going to be able to help you with what you want but I thought that I would give to some info.

I are on Epicor 9.05 and just starting to install Vault.

Epicor will sell you things all day but when you need support it's like pulling teeth. We have been with them for many years and we have spent countless money on custom patches and upgrades and we still don't get want we want.

If you do find something that will help you get BOM's into Epicor please let me know.

[Anonymous]

Hi Sam and Douglas. 

We are 1 year into our E9 rollout and have been running Vault for about 6 years

Douglas you are correct about the E9 sales stream, we are experiencing much the same effect here. 

I'll let you know where we are at with our integration plans. 

Firtsly we run Vault Pro, and I would agree with others that tell you it is the only real way to approach an ERP integration project, as you can take the Inventor BOM then massage it for MOM formats ( addition of electrical items, consumables etc. for others reading this a MOM is Method of Manufacture, which is a BOM and operation routing combined) . We are itemising our models to make the structure as E9 like as possible. 

We spoke with our reseller and there is a method of bringing  an exported BOM in to E9, but is is quite a few manual steps to complete and there is no automation interface fort his, like no one else ever does it I suppose 🙂 

So we are looking into Service Connyear this year. This will allow ous to write our own importer, and be able to respond. To external triggers ( so when an item is released we can trigger the export/ import of the BOM to E9. 

If you like up feel free to email me direct at g.heeley@temperzone.co.nz , and we can investigate theis further

[BLHDrafting]

Hi Sam.

We started down the Epicor path but came to an abrupt halt when they suggested that thier product (can't remember the name) was a "direct replacement for Vault". It sounded good at the start but when questioned about how things like Copy Design were done there were blank stares and no comment.

We came to the conclusion that Vault and only does Vault stuff and that a 3rd party 'connector' was needed to get data from Vault to ERP. After much searching I came across Elmo Solutions (http://elmo.irisco.com/). This connector sits between  CAD/Vault and ERP. Epicor had never heard of it and had no idea how to configure it. From the Elmo side the costs were not too bad.

End result was that we shelved the ERP integration until the ERP software and communication with Vault is more mature.

[sam_m]

thanks for the replies and the unanimous praise towards the ERP package we are stuck with 😉

While trying to get some idea about the Vault versions, their benefits and ultimately any possible solution regarding integration with an ERP system I found Aras VLPM: http://www.aras-vplm.com/vplm-technology.aspx  It seems to be a system tailored to Vault which offers "Pre-packaged connectors are available for many ERP systems" - not seen anything specific to Epicor, but I spotted this comment about the Aras package: http://www.aras.com/Community/wikis/faq/can-your-system-be-setup-to-integrate-into-an-erp-through-wh...

Does it look like Aras might be able to offer a Vault -> ERP solution?  Or could it be a costly option if it's intended to be a PLM package?  Has anyone used Aras with Vault?  Does it need the pro version - can't see any hardware requirements but I can only assume it needs Pro for the functionality it claims.

I've also spotted "Autodesk Vault Connect" - could that do the job (without all the PLM overhead)?

http://underthehood-autodesk.typepad.com/blog/2009/09/autodesk-vault-connect-integration-with-axapta...

I just keep thinking that we're going down an expensive route, if the cad data could be managed fine with say Vault Workgroup but we suddenly need Pro (and another package) for "automated" data input into Epicor.

[g.heeley]

Hi Sam

Have you spoken with your Autodesk VAR about this?. Perhaps they may be able to offer more insight.

I was a Autodesk Application Engineer for VAR's in the UK and NZ, and have consulting when integrating different DM packages with ERP/MRP. I honestly believe in taking baby steps in these situations.

So your first step is Can I export the data out of vault in the structure I want? With all versions of Vault upto and including Collaboration, you are limited to the same data structure as the BOM in Inventor, hence you could do all testing by exporting the BOM data from Inventor (no costly customisation at this point.) Then with E9 you can test the import function that already exists (I would hope your E9 tech support would be able to help with this. If not let me know and I can try and get the process we were shown and document it for you). These steps will at least allow you to prove that your process flow is valid and you will not waste too much money (maybe just a bit of time).

Once you are satisfied that the data in Inventor is in the correct structure for ERP (sometimes you may need to do a bit of massaging with assembly structures in Inventor to match Production requirements as far as MOM structures are concerned) then you can start looking into automating the process.

Looking at ARAS VLPM, you would have to Upgrade to Vault Pro, the same applies for Vault Connect. You would then have to Investigate whether the connection has already been made to E9. If it has then there should be a flat fee, if not then there would be a professional services fee to consider as well as the software.

If you decided to upgrade to Vault Pro anyway (this would enabe much better BOM Management) there is an Export for BOM data that you can also use to manually push data out that can be imported to E9.

Another option would be to look into PLM 360.

Hope some of teh above is of some assistance

Cheers

Greg

[Mark.Lancaster]

@ricardot

This posting is over 3 years old..  Hopefully Brandon has moved on since that posting..