Home > Manufacturing Software > Plex Systems > Plex Systems vs Epicor Kinetic

Plex Systems vs Epicor Kinetic

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Our analysts compared Plex Systems vs Epicor Kinetic based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Manufacturing Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Overview Pricing Benefits & Features Analyst Ratings Comparison Charts User Ratings Analyst Summary Screenshots
Plex Systems Software Tool
SelectHub Award Winner
Epicor Kinetic Software Tool
SelectHub Award Winner
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Product Basics

Analyst Rating

57 Detailed Analysis

User Sentiment

Good User Sentiment (32 Reviews)

Analyst Rating

60 Detailed Analysis

User Sentiment

Good User Sentiment (935 Reviews)
Plex Manufacturing Cloud uses real-time data to connect and facilitate operations among various business aspects such as finance, distribution and production. It has built-in compliance and approval monitoring tools to ensure that your products are created accurately and with regulations in mind.

With Plex software, you also have the ability to develop customized reports and dashboards to make visualization easier and more streamlined. These reporting tools can make developing insights faster and easier, especially when considering the program’s use of actual minute-by-minute data.
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Kinetic (formerly Epicor ERP) is a cloud-based ERP that supports on-premise and hybrid deployment. It connects diverse production workflows and departments into one focused hub for medium and enterprise-level companies. Top modules include project management, project contracts, data analytics, accounts management, core financials and IoT.

Its flexibility and connectivity reduce communication issues and human mistakes while automating processes. The cloud-based deployment option allows employees to leverage its capabilities regardless of physical location. It contains advanced reporting and analysis tools that enable users to develop actionable insights to improve day-to-day operations with real-time information.

Positive user feedback highlights its manufacturing-focused configuration and functionality, with support for financial accounting. There are some negative reviews about poor tech support and limited learning materials, however, overall user sentiment is positive.

In terms of pricing, Kinetic offers a flexible subscription model based on the modules and features required by each business. Specific pricing details may vary depending on customization and implementation needs.

To explore other popular solutions that Epicor offers, visit our Epicor company page.
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Boyer Machine and Tool Company

Product Assistance

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Product Insights

  • Increased Efficiency: Plex Manufacturing Cloud uses real-time data and set parameters to maximize production capabilities. Its Advanced Planning and Scheduling tool uses information such as inventory levels, amount of production floor space and maximum productivity levels to generate a best-fit manufacturing schedule. 
  • Accessibility: As a cloud-based manufacturing software, Plex is available anytime and anywhere as long as a user has internet access. This is especially beneficial in the manufacturing center considering manufacturing managers and production line employees can access real-time data from internet-enabled devices while they’re actually on the floor working. 
  • Improved Customer Experience: Customers are the backbone of your business, and Plex software capitalizes on this fact through its customer portal, which provides visualization as a product moves throughout the supply chain. Shipping notifications are also included so that clients have an accurate expectation as to when an item should be delivered. 
  • Heightened Visibility: With increased visibility, you can develop insights more quickly. Plex Manufacturing Cloud contains the ability to use customizable dashboards to reflect minute-by-minute information such as inventory levels and labor allocation, which enables you to make informed decisions based on current processes. 
  • Collaboration: Plex allows for collaboration with clients through the customer portal. It also contains internal collaboration tools that are emphasized through its multi-site functionality for supply chain and financial processes. 
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  • Chronicle Cash Flow: Save project fees and allocate on-time invoices to manage costs and ensure clients receive their bills. Boost cash flow forecasting via effective financial management.
  • Access In-Depth Business Analytics: Make wiser business decisions based on company-specific profit margins, sales information and workflow performance data. Access dashboards and custom reports that analyze real-time data and present actionable insights.
  • Simplify Demand and Order Management: Capture customer orders, manage product configurations and automate order fulfillment with a tightly integrated CPQ and eCommerce platform.
  • Use Simple MES Data Exchanges: Reduce double-data entries, leverage accurate data between interfaces consistently, and import and export information for advanced MES practices for easier data collecting and transfers.
  • Deliver Centralized Client Management: Govern contacts, leads, patrons and more from any mobile device, making it easy to maintain and manage relationships and data anywhere. Supervise region, team and proposal insights in one centralized location instead of traveling to all worksites.
  • Exhibit Supply Chain Visibility: Use advanced electronic data interchange (EDI), material requirements planning (MRP), and advanced planning and scheduling (APS) to review inventory levels, manage demand fluctuations and ensure on-time deliveries.
  • Access Resources From Anywhere: Review operations, dashboards and vendors on the go with mobile access. Monitor processes on your preferred iOS or Android device via the CRM mobile app.
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  • Inventory Management: Plex Manufacturing Cloud allows you to track the quantity and location of your inventory, whether you want to look at raw materials, WIP or finished goods. It also supports barcode scanning and label printing in an effort to improve the accuracy of reported inventory levels. Controls are also in place to ensure that products are always developed using the right materials, therefore improving inventory viability. 
  • PLM Functionality: Built-in revision control workflows allow for approved changes to be reflected across the entirety of the product lifecycle. Product specifications can also be developed to expedite processes. 
  • Quality Management: Plex software helps to ensure that you are retaining compliance with standards such as ISO, TS and QS. You can also use supplier scorecards to look at your entire supply chain. For example, your suppliers can use checksheets to validate the quality of their materials before the goods reach your facility, therefore hastening the quality analysis process on your end. 
  • Management of Shipments: The shipping management system ensures that only products that meet acceptable quality specifications are sent to customers and that they are sent to the intended recipient. Plex software's manufacturing system also contains a labeling feature that automatically prints labels using customer information in order to avoid shipping errors. ASNs are automatically sent and formatted as products leave the production facility. 
  • Real-Time Financial Management: Plex software contains continuously updated information on components such as labor hour utilization and point-in-time inventory. The financial management system is designed for order-to-cash and procure-to-pay processes and includes multi-site functionality. Financial reports are also easily accessible with this tool. 
  • Customer Relationship Management: This program includes a customer portal that provides visibility of a product as it moves throughout the supply chain and allows for enhanced collaboration ability. Important components such as quotes, estimates, issue resolution and order management are built into the tool along with an integrated EDI. 
  • Advanced Planning and Scheduling: The Plex Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) solution allows you to account for constraints in your workplace such as amount of resources and maximum production capacity to develop optimized production runs. Finite Scheduling includes the ability to plan your development schedule based on factors such as resources, tools and space. The program also allows you to level-load production across different manufacturing centers. 
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  • Project Management
    • Planning and Analysis: Leverage user-established cost analytics throughout work breakdown structures (WBS), defining all project components and creating WBS templates for quick reference. Record all general ledger and project transactions in one centralized ledger for base reconciliations and reporting.
    • Contract Management: Meet contractual obligations while protecting profitability. Rely on the system to define source cost rates across levels, monitor resource ceilings, link planning contracts with projects and seamlessly develop claims for any or all contract lines on one screen.
    • Billing Types: Obtain several billing types, such as progress, fixed price, milestone and quantity. Use bill plans, recurring payment, subscriptions, time and expenses, part price lists, and markups.
  • Manufacturing
    • Lean Manufacturing: Optimize production processes, reduce waste and manage manufacturing operations by incorporating lean principles. Apply Kanban systems, enable manufacturing without work orders and automatically process material flow.
    • Job Management: Access detailed job tracking and reduce overproduction with drag-and-drop planning and material availability checks. Ensure quality and production with job manager assistance and production planners.
    • Manufacturing Execution System (MES): Monitor production activities and automatic data collection from equipment via touchscreen interfaces. Support operators in making smart decisions regarding productivity, waste reduction and risk mitigation.
    • Quality Assurance: Enhances quality control by providing tools for managing quality processes, inspections, supplier returns and automated debit processing within the manufacturing environment.
  • Analytics and Reporting
    • Sales and CRM: Uncover more detailed business patterns and obtain deeper awareness of accounts, regions, orders and more. Review net sales, shipped and ordered quantities, material costs, fixed and variable burdens and labor fees.
    • Materials Management: Optimize purchase spending and evaluate vendor performances. Track shipment progress and review costs, on-hand amounts, in-transit, bill of lading information and shipped on time, amongst others.
    • Financials: Govern cash flows for more trends with a holistic filter for payables, receivables, customer payment cycles and vendor payment conditions. Drill down into organized accounts and payments on income statements and balance sheets.
    • Production: Verify high-quality, manufactured products for the ideal client at the right time. Monitor tool quantities, good values, actual setup hours, defined labor rates, production run standards and more.
    • Preventive Maintenance: Employ the EDA equipment maintenance data and dashboard to inspect maintenance data for suppliers, tasks, plants and open and closed requests. Boost preventive maintenance services and average response times for obstacles so managers can catch production bottlenecks.
    • Field Service: Use EDA data to oversee consumers, parts, service call types and warranty eligibility linked with service requests. Summarize totals, call counts for each service representative and other relevant indications.
  • Data Exchange
    • Integrations: Import and export data quickly to avoid manual data entry mistakes while maintaining data integrity. Manage specific information, data amounts and file formats for easy storage and sharing. Allocate data expeditiously and handle detailed tasks for IT teams and administrators.
    • In and Outbound Data: Import master information from ERP systems and send production details between MRP and ERP solutions. Regulate where data goes and how to handle it with ease.
  • Financials Core
    • General Ledger: Process and post all purchases made across this and other solutions. Manage manual entries, meet economic compliances, boost productivity and push enterprise efficiency.
    • Accounts Payable: Implement petty cash to manage in and outbound cash activities, employee fees and advances, vendor expenditures and customer receipts. Track promissory notes, post-dated checks and other credit tools.
    • Accounts Receivable: Establish coherent tools to monitor invoicing, credit, cash and client requirements. Create automatic invoices via order releases to reduce more work and typos.
    • Business Architecture: Use the data discovery function to access pre-made financial management, accounts receivable and payable content. The human capital management link transfers information to payroll providers, benefit vendors and more.
    • Global Engines: Support financial management across locations, vendors and global boundaries with country-specific implementation packs. Support multi-currency transactions, automate conversions and accurate financial reporting.
  • Epicor Automation Studio: Let users connect data and automate workflows across various apps with Epicor Automation Studio, a built-in low-code iPaaS solution. Access an integration marketplace, pre-built workflow automation templates and other native tools.
  • Virtual Agents: Rely on chatbots to pinpoint supply chain disruptions and recommend sourcing options based on predictive events.
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Product Ranking

#14

among all
Manufacturing Software

#99

among all
Manufacturing Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

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Reports and Dashboards
Platform Capabilities

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Plex Systems
Epicor Kinetic
+ Add Product + Add Product
Bill Of Materials (BOM) And Routing Computer-aided Design And Computer-aided Manufacturing (CAD And CAM) Management Engineering Change Control Inventory Management Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Product Configuration Production Planning Production Scheduling Quality Management Recipe And Formula Management Reports And Dashboards Shop Floor Control Warehouse Management Work In Process (WIP) Work Order Management 43 0 56 71 80 67 79 36 67 70 80 47 100 70 44 0 44 76 20 56 71 75 47 100 40 79 62 80 13 82 40 59 33 22 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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User Sentiment Summary

Good User Sentiment 32 reviews
Good User Sentiment 935 reviews
74%
of users recommend this product

Plex Systems has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 74% when considering 32 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

78%
of users recommend this product

Epicor Kinetic has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 78% when considering 935 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

n/a
4.3 (11)
3.3 (17)
3.7 (409)
4.2 (11)
3.9 (175)
4.3 (3)
4.2 (229)
3.0 (1)
3.9 (111)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Plex Systems and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Reports and Dashboards.

Reports and Dashboards Award

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Epicor Kinetic and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Platform Capabilities.

Platform Capabilities Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Improved Shop Floor Visibility: Users praise Plex for providing real-time insights into production processes, enabling better decision-making and quicker responses to issues.
Streamlined Inventory Management: Plex helps manufacturers optimize inventory levels, reducing waste and ensuring materials are available when needed.
Enhanced Quality Control: The system's quality management features help track defects, identify root causes, and improve overall product quality.
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Modern Interface: Approximately 52% of users say this solution has a flexible, user-friendly UI.
Flexibility and Customization: Approximately 87% of the users said Kinetic is easy to configure and has great customization options for multi-mode manufacturers.
Modules: Of the users who discussed features, 60% said this system offers a wide range of practical tools (i.e., KPI dashboards, accounting and financial management, part tracking and more).
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Reporting Limitations: Users express frustration with the inflexibility and limitations of Plex's built-in reporting features, making it difficult to extract and analyze data in ways that suit their specific needs.
User Interface Complexity: The system is often described as being difficult to navigate and non-intuitive, especially for new users who require extensive training to become proficient.
System Rigidity: Plex is often criticized for its lack of flexibility in adapting to unique or evolving business processes, requiring workarounds or customizations that can be time-consuming and costly.
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Overall Performance: Roughly 40% of users indicated that the system is buggy, cumbersome and has a clunky UI.
Customer Support: About 55% of users agree that the support team is ineffective and has poor quality.
Training: Approximately 77% of users mentioned a steep learning curve and limited training resources.
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Want to know if Plex Systems is truly complex or simply complexly awesome? Recent user reviews suggest the former might be closer to the truth. While Plex Systems is praised for its comprehensive suite of features covering everything from planning and scheduling to supply chain management, users often highlight a steep learning curve and a sometimes clunky interface as drawbacks. This complexity can make it challenging for smaller businesses or those with less tech-savvy teams to implement and utilize effectively. However, Plex Systems shines in its ability to connect different aspects of a manufacturing operation, providing real-time visibility into production processes, inventory levels, and quality control data. This end-to-end integration is a key differentiator, allowing businesses to streamline operations and make data-driven decisions. For example, users cite the ability to track production in real-time and identify bottlenecks as a major advantage, leading to improved efficiency and reduced downtime. Ultimately, Plex Systems is best suited for larger, established manufacturing businesses with the technical resources and expertise to navigate its complexities and leverage its powerful features for maximum impact.

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Kinetic offers a comprehensive ERP solution designed for multimodal manufacturers. It offers a robust combination of core financials, extensive integrations and country-specific implementation support. The advanced overlaid manufacturing module addresses future scalability needs. Its modern interface supports various business models through manufacturing processes.The user-based subscription model lets businesses adjust costs based on their specific needs. The solution is available in both perpetual and subscription licensing models, providing businesses with the flexibility to choose the most suitable option.Features like MES data exchange and Kanban systems manage production processes and reduce waste. Additionally, in-depth business analytics provide valuable insights into sales, profit margins and workflow performance for informed decision-making.Users praise this vendor’s configurable options and range of functions that cater to their unique business needs. Positive feedback also includes mentions of a unified platform for customer interactions. Despite its robust customization and integration options, many users report a steep learning curve and limited training resources.Overall, Kinetic is a comprehensive ERP solution that offers significant benefits to manufacturers looking to improve their operational efficiency, decision-making and profitability.

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Screenshots

Top Alternatives in Manufacturing Software

Acumatica
Aptean ERP
Cetec ERP
DELMIAworks
Dynamics 365 Business Central
Dynamics 365 SCM
Epicor Kinetic
JobBOSS²
Katana MRP
MIE Trak Pro
MRPEasy
NetSuite
Oracle Fusion Cloud
Sage 100 Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SYSPRO
SyteLine
Visibility ERP

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3D Printing Software
Additive Manufacturing Software
Aerospace Manufacturing Software
Apparel ERP Software
Apparel Manufacturing Software
APS Software
Automotive Manufacturing Software
Bill Of Materials Software
BPM Software
Business Management Software
CAE Software
Capacity Planning Software
Chemical Manufacturing Software
Discrete Manufacturing Software
Electronics Manufacturing Software
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Food Safety Software
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Manufacturing Inventory Software
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MRP Systems
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Head-to-Head Comparison

Plex Systems VS Acumatica
Plex Systems VS DELMIAworks
Plex Systems VS Dynamics 365 Business Central
Plex Systems VS E2 Shop System
Plex Systems VS ERPNext
Plex Systems VS Epicor Kinetic
Plex Systems VS MIE Trak Pro
Plex Systems VS MRPEasy
Plex Systems VS NetSuite
Plex Systems VS ProcessPro

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