WorkWise vs aPriori

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

WorkWise Software Tool
aPriori Software Tool

Product Basics

WorkWise ERP is a role-based software for discrete manufacturers that use engineering to produce their merchandise. It assists from conception and design to manufacturing and delivery. It automates the tedious manufacturing tasks and allows manufacturers to focus on optimizing the production, marketing and the financial sides of their businesses. For example, it ensures that employees are always aware of inventory locations and levels, so they’re able to focus on more complex manufacturing tasks.

It can deploy in the cloud or on-premises. Comprehensive implementation and support services are available. It’s built specifically for make-to-order, configure-to-order, engineer-to-order, build-to-stock and mixed-mode manufacturers.

Pros
  • Intuitive interface
  • Improves inventory visibility
  • Streamlines production scheduling
  • Solid customer support
  • Flexible customization options
Cons
  • Steeper learning curve
  • Limited reporting features
  • Occasional bugs and glitches
  • Can be costly for smaller businesses
  • Mobile app could be more robust
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aPriori offers advanced software designed to streamline and optimize manufacturing processes. This platform is particularly well-suited for industries such as automotive, aerospace, and industrial equipment, where precision and cost-efficiency are paramount. By leveraging real-time data and predictive analytics, aPriori enables manufacturers to make informed decisions, reduce production costs, and enhance product quality. The software's unique benefits include its ability to provide detailed cost analysis and manufacturability insights early in the design phase, which helps in identifying potential issues before they escalate. Popular features include automated cost estimation, design for manufacturability (DFM) analysis, and comprehensive reporting tools. Users appreciate the intuitive interface and the actionable intelligence it delivers, which sets it apart from similar products. Pricing for aPriori is typically customized based on the specific needs of the user, and it is advisable to contact SelectHub for a tailored quote. This ensures that the pricing aligns with the unique requirements of each manufacturing operation.
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Product Assistance

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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Improve Customer Service: The WorkWise CRM module provides users with the necessary tools for quickly delivering solutions to customers and increasing employee productivity. This can encourage employees to flourish in their roles and provide their best customer service. 
  • Optimize Supply Chain Management: Accurate, real-time data enables users to make decisions that shorten cycle times. For example, forecasting capabilities help users anticipate inventory demand, preventing disruptions in the supply chain.  
  • Cut Costs: Improved manufacturing efficiencies and financial analysis capabilities provide ample opportunity to cut costs. Additionally, improved employee productivity — which comes as a result of automating tedious tasks such as schedule building — reduces labor costs.  
  • Go Paperless: WorkWise ERP can assist in going paperless with electronic data capture and other document management features. With the implementation of WorkWise ERP, all business processes become completely digital, and any remaining paper legacy documents can be uploaded with the electronic data capture feature. 
  • Stay Informed: From the availability of real-time data to instant messaging and notifications, the system provides visibility and streamlines communication so you’re always informed.  
  • Ensure Compliance: Data journaling can help users maintain an audit trail and stay compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley reports. In addition, quality management capabilities that include a partnership with uniPoint Software can make it easier to ensure ISO compliance. 
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  • Cost Reduction: aPriori helps identify cost-saving opportunities by providing real-time cost assessments during the design phase, allowing for adjustments before production.
  • Time Efficiency: By automating cost analysis and manufacturing simulations, aPriori significantly reduces the time required for these tasks, speeding up the overall product development cycle.
  • Design Optimization: The software offers insights into design choices that can lower manufacturing costs without compromising quality, leading to more efficient product designs.
  • Improved Collaboration: aPriori facilitates better communication between engineering, procurement, and manufacturing teams by providing a common platform for cost and manufacturability data.
  • Risk Mitigation: Early identification of potential manufacturing issues helps mitigate risks, reducing the likelihood of costly production delays and quality problems.
  • Market Competitiveness: By enabling faster and more cost-effective product development, aPriori helps companies bring competitive products to market more quickly.
  • Resource Allocation: The software allows for more strategic allocation of resources by highlighting areas where cost savings can be achieved, optimizing budget use.
  • Supplier Negotiation: Detailed cost breakdowns provided by aPriori empower procurement teams with the data needed to negotiate better terms with suppliers.
  • Environmental Impact: By optimizing material usage and manufacturing processes, aPriori contributes to more sustainable production practices, reducing waste and energy consumption.
  • Scalability: The software supports scalability by accommodating the needs of both small-scale projects and large, complex manufacturing operations.
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  • Customer Relationship Management: The CRM manages marketing, sales and customer service responsibilities. It’s designed to provide exceptional customer service with several features, such as quoting and estimating, order management and returns and warranties. It also comes with an electronic data interchange feature and an e-commerce gateway for managing customer-facing applications. 
  • Engineering Application: The engineering application helps users maintain data and work with their CAD application. The system can integrate almost any CAD application. The bills of material application can work with every style of BOM and coordinate with all supply chain functions, from customer order processing to production costing. The routings application handles scheduling, work loading and cost planning. 
  • Planning Suite: The planning suite manages capacity requirements planning, material requirements planning and master production scheduling. The advanced forecasting feature can help with balancing supply and demand. 
  • Materials Suite: The materials suite provides users control over their materials-related tasks, such as purchasing and requisitions, mobile data collection and shipping. The mobile inventory control application is included in the solution and can deploy barcode enabled handheld mobile devices. The system integrates with major shipping carriers and can manage shipments with multiple carriers. 
  • Production Suite: The production suite streamlines ERP manufacturing processes to help users manage quality, schedule maintenance operations, manage shop floor changes and more. The suite comes with a visual scheduling feature as well as a Kanban visual communication system. Other features include shop floor control, production dispatch & reporting, equipment maintenance and quality management. 
  • Finance Suite: The finance suite monitors financial health with standard accounting features as well as more advanced capabilities. The system’s accounting features include a general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, fixed assets management and payroll management. Several features within the suite leverage financial data to create reports or conduct analyses, such as planned vs. actual cost. It also automates sales tax management. 
  • Documents Suite: The document suite provides paperless document management with the business process repository (BPR), barcode generator and a document linking application. It allows the user to capture information electronically and manage and archive data. Label management can create any type of barcode label and the BPR retains business process information for accessibility across all departments. 
  • Analytics Suite: The analytics suite provides access to graphs and data. It can enable desktop notifications and mobile alerts. The Workwise Event Manager allows users to communicate through instant messaging. The Data Journaling application can help with the collection and management of data for audit trails. 
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  • Cost Modeling: Provides detailed cost breakdowns for manufacturing processes, enabling precise cost estimation and analysis.
  • Design for Manufacturability (DFM): Offers real-time feedback on design choices to ensure they are optimized for manufacturing efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
  • Material Selection: Includes a comprehensive database of materials with associated costs and properties, aiding in informed decision-making.
  • Process Simulation: Simulates various manufacturing processes to predict potential issues and optimize production workflows.
  • Supplier Collaboration: Facilitates seamless communication and data sharing with suppliers to ensure alignment on cost and design specifications.
  • Cost Benchmarking: Allows comparison of costs against industry standards and historical data to identify areas for improvement.
  • Scenario Analysis: Enables users to model different manufacturing scenarios to evaluate the impact of changes in design, materials, or processes.
  • Integration Capabilities: Easily integrates with existing PLM, ERP, and CAD systems to streamline data flow and enhance productivity.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Provides robust reporting tools and analytics to track performance metrics and support data-driven decision-making.
  • Global Cost Database: Maintains an extensive database of global cost factors, including labor rates, material costs, and overheads, ensuring accurate cost assessments.
  • Customizable Cost Models: Allows users to tailor cost models to specific organizational needs and manufacturing environments.
  • Lifecycle Costing: Evaluates the total cost of ownership over the product lifecycle, from initial design through end-of-life.
  • Automated Cost Estimation: Utilizes advanced algorithms to automatically generate cost estimates based on design inputs and manufacturing parameters.
  • Geometric Analysis: Analyzes CAD models to identify geometric features that impact manufacturability and cost.
  • Cost Driver Identification: Pinpoints key cost drivers in the manufacturing process, enabling targeted cost reduction efforts.
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Product Ranking

#85

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Manufacturing Software

#152

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Manufacturing Software

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User Sentiment Summary

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Great User Sentiment 74 reviews
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89%
of users recommend this product

aPriori has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 89% when considering 74 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

n/a
4.46 (74)

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Improved Inventory Management: Real-time visibility and control over stock levels, reducing waste and optimizing production.
Streamlined Production Scheduling: Efficiently plan and track production processes, minimizing downtime and maximizing output.
Enhanced Quality Control: Integrated quality checks and traceability features ensure consistent product quality.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Gain actionable insights from production data to optimize operations and improve efficiency.
Scalable and Flexible: Adapts to your growing business needs and integrates seamlessly with existing systems.
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Rapid Cost & Manufacturing Optimization: aPriori allows users to quickly run multiple scenarios to optimize both cost and manufacturing processes, which is essential for efficient product development.
Detailed Process Modeling: The software excels in its ability to model unique manufacturing processes in a detailed and customizable manner, enabling accurate cost estimations even for complex parts.
Directionally Correct Costing: aPriori consistently provides directionally correct cost estimates. While internal costing may have slight variations, the software's ability to highlight cost drivers is invaluable for decision-making.
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Steeper Learning Curve: Requires significant investment in training and onboarding due to feature complexity.
Limited Reporting Customization: Predefined reports may not fully meet specific data analysis needs.
Occasional Bugs and Glitches: Users report occasional software bugs and glitches that disrupt workflows.
Costly for Smaller Businesses: Subscription fees and implementation costs can be high for smaller manufacturers.
Mobile App Limitations: Mobile app lacks full functionality and offline capabilities compared to the desktop version.
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Dedicated User Requirement: To fully leverage aPriori's capabilities, a dedicated user is needed to maintain proficiency, which can strain resources in smaller teams.
Licensing Complexity: Potential users have expressed concerns about the platform's licensing terms, finding them to be potentially rigid and complex.
Initial Cost Estimate Discrepancies: While aPriori excels at directional costing for design adjustments, initial cost estimates can differ significantly from a company's internal costing models, requiring further reconciliation.
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WorkWise user reviews offer a nuanced perspective on its strengths and drawbacks. For some, it's a game-changer: "Switching from Acumatica to WorkWise felt like upgrading from dial-up to fiber optic internet. Everything is so much faster and more efficient." The real-time inventory visibility and streamlined production scheduling are often praised, with users noting, "We used to spend hours manually tracking inventory with Epicor, now WorkWise does it all, giving us valuable time back." However, the complexity can be intimidating. New users often face an uphill battle: "It's incredibly powerful, but it took our team months to feel comfortable using it all compared to Acumatica's more user-friendly interface. The learning curve is definitely steeper than Epicor's." This complexity extends to the customization options, a double-edged sword: "You can tailor WorkWise to your exact needs, but if you're not careful, it can become a tangled mess like Epicor's overly-customized systems." Reporting leaves mixed reviews. While some appreciate the data-driven insights, others crave more flexibility: "The pre-built reports are useful, but I need to dig deeper into specific data points like Epicor allows, and WorkWise doesn't quite offer that granularity." Ultimately, WorkWise excels for manufacturers seeking robust control over inventory and production. Users who value ease of use and out-of-the-box reporting might need to look elsewhere. As one user aptly concluded, "WorkWise is like a Swiss Army knife – incredibly versatile, but requires some effort to master, unlike Acumatica's straightforward approach."

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Can aPriori really give you an edge in the competitive manufacturing landscape? Recent user reviews suggest that it can. Users consistently praise aPriori's ability to deliver accurate cost estimates early in the design process, which helps identify potential cost drivers and explore design alternatives before they become expensive problems. This granular level of insight is particularly valuable for comparing different manufacturing processes and materials, allowing for informed decisions that optimize both cost and performance. However, some users point out that realizing aPriori's full potential requires a commitment to training and ongoing user engagement. What truly sets aPriori apart, according to users, is its comprehensive approach to digital manufacturing simulation. Unlike some competitors that focus solely on cost estimation, aPriori delves deeper by simulating the entire manufacturing process, including factors like tooling, labor, and overhead. This holistic approach provides a more realistic picture of production costs and helps identify potential bottlenecks or inefficiencies. While the initial setup and customization can be demanding, users generally agree that the long-term benefits in terms of cost savings and improved collaboration outweigh the initial investment. aPriori is best suited for established manufacturing companies with complex products and a strong desire to integrate cost management into their design process.

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