Aras vs Epicor PLM

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

Product Basics

Aras enables efficient control of the entire product lifecycle. It contains change management tools that can provide notifications to relevant users when adjustments are made to ensure consistency throughout the lifecycle. It also accounts for a variety of regulatory standards to help with product compliance.

The included visibility capabilities are robust, and user access is definable based on what’s relevant to each individual person. Multiple sources can be leveraged to develop insights, and multi-level bills of materials can be created as well.
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Epicor PLM is a software solution designed to streamline the entire lifecycle of a product, from conception to manufacturing and beyond. It caters to mid-sized and upper mid-sized manufacturers, providing them with a centralized platform to manage product data, CAD designs, and technical documents.

This translates into several benefits, including improved collaboration between engineering, design, and manufacturing teams. Streamlined change control processes help ensure everyone is working on the latest version of a product. Additionally, Epicor PLM integrates seamlessly with Epicor ERP (formerly Kinetic), creating a unified system for product development and enterprise resource planning.

When compared to similar PLM products, user experience highlights of Epicor PLM include its ease of use and intuitive interface. Furthermore, its tight integration with Epicor ERP is a major advantage for manufacturers who already use that system.

Pricing for Epicor PLM is typically based on a per-user, per-year subscription model, with costs varying depending on the specific features and functionality required.


Pros
  • Easy use
  • Central data
  • Change control
  • ERP integration
  • Collaboration
Cons
  • Customization cost
  • Limited integrations
  • Scalability concerns
  • Learning curve
  • Subscription cost
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$2,500/User, Monthly
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$1,000 Monthly
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Product Insights

  • Control of Entire Lifecycle: Aras gives users control of the entirety of the product design lifecycle, from the time a product idea is conceptualized to final delivery. 
  • Adaptability: Users can tailor business processes within the system to adhere to their company’s unique requirements. 
  • Consistency: Information is centralized in Aras, making it easier for users to see the most up-to-date product specifications. This allows business processes and product development to become more consistent. 
  • Collaboration: With this program, users can track and manage changes while retaining visibility of product status. 
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  • Improved Collaboration Across Teams: Break down departmental silos by providing a single platform for engineers, designers, and manufacturing personnel to access and share product data. This fosters better communication and avoids errors caused by working with outdated or conflicting information.
  • Streamlined Change Control Processes: Effectively manage revisions and modifications throughout the product lifecycle. Epicor PLM allows you to track changes, gain approvals, and ensure everyone is working on the latest version, preventing costly mistakes and delays caused by implementing unapproved changes.
  • Enhanced Product Quality and Consistency: Ensure consistent quality by establishing clear design specifications and revision control. Epicor PLM facilitates the creation and adherence to design standards, minimizing errors and ensuring all manufactured products meet the required specifications.
  • Reduced Time-to-Market: Shorten the time it takes to bring new products to market by streamlining development workflows. Centralized data access, automated processes, and improved collaboration all contribute to a faster and more efficient product development cycle.
  • Boosted Productivity and Efficiency: Free up valuable resources by eliminating time-consuming tasks like searching for documents or manually tracking revisions. Epicor PLM automates repetitive tasks and centralizes information, allowing teams to focus on higher-value activities.
  • Informed Decision-Making: Gain valuable insights into the product development process with improved data visibility. Epicor PLM provides centralized access to product data, allowing for informed decision-making throughout the lifecycle, from design choices to material selection.
  • Lower Overall Costs: Reduce waste and minimize errors through improved product data management. Epicor PLM helps to avoid costly mistakes caused by using outdated information or miscommunication between departments. Additionally, by streamlining processes, it can lead to reduced labor costs.
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  • ALM Integration: Aras can be integrated with existing ALM environments to develop a singular visualization of a variety of products. This feature is also connected to processes such as change management and BOM. With this connectivity, the source code is managed within the ALM program. 
  • Bill of Materials: The program controls the bill of materials across the entire supply chain. Aras Innovator provides visibility in a centralized location and leverages information from multiple sources to aid in the development of insights. With this tool, users can develop structured, multi-level bills of materials associated with each product lifecycle stage. The system also syncs with MBOMs and EBOMs to give users visibility of cross-disciplinary change statuses. 
  • Change Management: This tool controls assessments, change requests, orders and plans. It gives all users throughout the supply chain visibility of engineering change status through the automatic capture and recording of change histories. The program also contains automated impact analysis, group voting, escalation, delegation, standard best-practice templates created using CM2 principles and more. 
  • Component Engineering: The component engineering feature streamlines the approval, selection, compliance and sourcing workflows for electronic components. The program offers real-time technical data. It contains information on obsolescence and compliance from millions of board-level components gathered from global manufacturers as well. The system includes basic and parametric search functionality along with color indicators, alerts for aspects such as EOL and PCN, IPC 1752A material declaration and compliance with RoHS and REACh. 
  • Configuration Management: The system maintains a hierarchical set of data from the entirety of a product or system’s lifecycle. The program contains configuration identification, status accounting, control and verification. It can also track baselines at different lifecycle stages, including as-built and as-designed. It also sends users email notifications and reminders to keep them updated and on-track with product developments. 
  • Document Management: Aras stores all important documents in a centralized location that is both searchable and secure. The system supports multiple file formats, and version and change control are included for all documents. Some supported file types include PDF, Microsoft Office and TIF. Full-text search mode makes finding relevant information simpler, and user access can be restricted on a user level. 
  • Manufacturing Process Planning: This solution supports MBOM, graphical and concurrent process plans and work instruction authoring. It also offers automatic real-time reconciliation of EBOM/MBOM. Process plans are version-controlled through this tool and contain information regarding parts consumed, steps, skills, resources utilized, etc. MBOMs and process plans for specific plants are available as well. 
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  • Product Data Management (PDM): A central repository for storing and managing all product-related data, including CAD drawings, bills of materials (BOMs), and technical documents. This eliminates the need for scattered files and ensures everyone has access to the latest information.
  • Change Order Management: A streamlined process for tracking and managing revisions throughout the product lifecycle. This includes creating change requests, obtaining approvals, and automatically updating relevant documents like BOMs, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
  • Bill of Materials Management (BOM): Create, manage, and revise product structures with ease. Epicor PLM ensures BOMs are accurate and reflect the latest product configuration, which is crucial for accurate production planning and cost estimation.
  • CAD Integration: Seamless integration with popular CAD software allows for efficient data exchange between engineering and product lifecycle management teams. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and reduces the risk of errors.
  • Workflow Automation: Automate repetitive tasks such as document approvals, change notifications, and status updates. This frees up valuable time for teams to focus on more strategic activities.
  • Document Management: Securely store, manage, and control access to all product-related documents. Epicor PLM allows for version control and facilitates easy retrieval of past revisions, ensuring traceability and historical record-keeping.
  • ERP Integration (Epicor Kinetic): For companies using Epicor Kinetic ERP, Epicor PLM integrates seamlessly to create a unified system for product development and enterprise resource planning. This eliminates data silos and streamlines communication between departments.
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Product Ranking

#3

among all
PLM Software

#53

among all
PLM Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Bill of Materials Management
Compliance Management
Deployment Options
Design Management
Document Management
Deployment Options
Document Management
Platform Capabilities
Reporting and Dashboard
Part Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Aras
Epicor PLM
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Bill Of Materials Management Change Management Compliance Management Design Management Document Management Packaging And Label Management Part Management Platform Capabilities Project Management Quality Management Recipe And Formula Management Reporting And Dashboard Requirements Management Supplier Management 100 93 100 100 100 91 91 83 98 100 100 100 100 100 70 90 66 92 100 31 95 100 94 74 9 100 53 66 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 29 reviews
we're gathering data
74%
of users recommend this product

Aras has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 74% when considering 29 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

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3.9 (11)
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3.43 (7)
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4.0 (5)
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3.4 (6)
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Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Aras and concluded it deserves the award for the Best Overall PLM Software available today and earns best-in-class honors for Bill of Materials Management, Design Management, Quality Management, Recipe and Formula Management, Requirements Management and Deployment Options.

Analysts' Pick Award
Bill of Materials Management Award
Design Management Award
Quality Management Award
Recipe and Formula Management Award
Requirements Management Award
Deployment Options Award

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Epicor PLM and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Deployment Options.

Deployment Options Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Centralized Platform: Aras provides a single, unified platform for managing all product data, eliminating data silos and ensuring consistency across the organization.
Customization and Flexibility: Aras's modular architecture allows users to tailor the system to meet their specific needs, providing flexibility to adapt to changing business requirements.
Enhanced Collaboration: Aras facilitates collaboration among cross-functional teams by providing a shared workspace for real-time communication and document sharing.
Traceability and Compliance: Aras's robust traceability features enable users to track changes and maintain compliance with industry regulations, ensuring product safety and quality.
Scalability and Performance: Aras is designed to handle large volumes of data and complex workflows, providing scalability and performance to meet the demands of growing businesses.
Intuitive User Interface: Aras's user-friendly interface makes it easy for users to navigate and access product information, reducing training time and increasing productivity.
Open Architecture: Aras's open architecture allows for seamless integration with other enterprise systems, such as ERP, CAD, and CRM, streamlining data exchange and eliminating manual processes.
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Centralized Data Management: Eliminates scattered files and ensures everyone has access to the latest product information, reducing errors and rework caused by outdated data.
Improved Collaboration: Breaks down departmental silos by providing a single platform for engineers, designers, and manufacturing to collaborate on product development, fostering better communication and streamlining workflows.
Streamlined Change Control: Tracks revisions and change orders efficiently, preventing costly mistakes caused by implementing unapproved modifications and ensuring everyone is working on the latest version of a product.
Enhanced Efficiency: Automates repetitive tasks and centralizes product information, freeing up valuable time for teams to focus on higher-value activities like design innovation.
Integration with ERP Systems (Epicor Kinetic): For companies using Epicor Kinetic ERP, Epicor PLM integrates seamlessly to create a unified system for product development and enterprise resource planning, eliminating data silos and improving communication across departments.
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Complexity: Aras can be complex to implement and use, especially for large organizations with complex product development processes.
Cost: Aras can be expensive to implement and maintain, especially for organizations with limited budgets.
Limited Integration: Aras may not integrate well with other enterprise systems, such as ERP or CRM systems.
Lack of Flexibility: Aras may not be flexible enough to meet the specific needs of all organizations.
Steep Learning Curve: Aras can have a steep learning curve, which can make it difficult for users to get up to speed quickly.
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Customization Cost: Extensive customization to fit unique workflows or complex product structures can be expensive, potentially outweighing the benefits for some users.
Limited Integrations: While it integrates well with Epicor ERP (formerly Kinetic), Epicor PLM's integrations with other business systems can be limited, creating challenges for companies reliant on third-party software.
Scalability Concerns: Some users with very large enterprises or intricate product lines report concerns about Epicor PLM's ability to handle the size and complexity of their data, potentially leading to performance issues.
Learning Curve: New users might find the initial setup and learning curve steeper compared to simpler PLM solutions, requiring additional investment in training and user support.
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Aras is a cloud-based PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) software solution that is trusted by users for its ability to connect people, processes, and data across the entire product lifecycle. Users rave about its strengths, such as its adaptability, ease of use, and robust capabilities. Aras outshines similar products with its ability to be customized to fit specific business needs, making it an ideal choice for companies looking for a tailored solution. It also offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies adoption and training, reducing the time and effort required for implementation. Additionally, Aras's comprehensive capabilities cover the entire product lifecycle, from design and engineering to manufacturing and service, providing a single source of truth for all product-related information. These strengths make Aras a valuable asset for businesses looking to improve collaboration, streamline processes, and drive innovation. However, some users have expressed concerns about the complexity of the software, particularly for users with limited technical expertise. Additionally, the cost of implementation and maintenance can be a barrier for some businesses. Despite these drawbacks, Aras remains a top choice for companies seeking a powerful and flexible PLM solution. Its ability to connect people, processes, and data, combined with its adaptability and robust capabilities, make it an ideal choice for businesses looking to optimize their product lifecycle management. Overall, Aras is best suited for medium to large-sized businesses with complex product lifecycles and a need for a customizable and comprehensive PLM solution. Its ability to connect people, processes, and data, combined with its adaptability and robust capabilities, make it an ideal choice for businesses looking to improve collaboration, streamline processes, and drive innovation.

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Recent reviews of Epicor PLM highlight its strengths in centralizing product data and streamlining workflows, especially for users in complex manufacturing environments. One key advantage is its ability to manage revisions and modifications effectively, preventing costly errors caused by outdated information. This is particularly valuable in industries like aerospace, where even minor design tweaks can have significant consequences. However, some users with very large or intricate product lines mention concerns about scalability, suggesting Epicor PLM might be a better fit for mid-sized manufacturers. Another common theme in reviews is the ease of collaboration fostered by Epicor PLM. By providing a central platform for engineers, designers, and manufacturing personnel, it breaks down departmental silos and improves communication. This can significantly reduce rework caused by miscommunication or conflicting information. However, some users found the initial setup and learning curve steeper compared to simpler PLM solutions. This highlights the importance of considering the technical expertise of your team when choosing a PLM system. Overall, Epicor PLM appears to be a well-regarded solution for mid-sized manufacturers seeking to improve collaboration, manage complex product data, and streamline product development processes. However, its cost of customization and potential scalability limitations for very large enterprises are important factors to consider before implementation.

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