How do other Companies use ECM?

ECM
1

I am looking to see how some other companies use ECM as a central storage for files.

I believe that ECM should be used for all files regardless of what the file is. We are a sheet metal shop and have programs to run the machines. I would like to save these programs in ECM since all files can be downloaded through Epicor. I am not expecting anything “special” to happen, just straight file storage and retrieval.

Do other Companies do this? Would this actually be a bad idea because of something that I do not know about?

1 Like
2

I envision this too.

3

Well…you’re not really reaping the benefits of an ECM if this is all you are doing. An ECM also:

  • Provides Versioning for your documents
  • Provides Document Types that can have user defined meta data attached
  • Provides workflow capabilities like check out/check in/approvals/etc
  • Provides more flexible security access over your content
  • Provides a better search experience for your content
  • Provides set checking capability to make sure that multiple documents exist (e.g. PO, Receiver, and Invoice)
2 Likes
4

Thanks @Mark_Wonsil . That comment was in reference to using ECM to store programs. I was trying to convey that I was not expecting anything crazy like the operator could press a button and the program would download and start the machine up automatically. I’m sure that “could” be done, but not what I was looking for at this point.

This was something I had not heard of before! Can you elaborate on a use case? I see you are referencing a 3-way match, but not getting how this would work.

1 Like
5

Employee onboarding is usually the example the ECM folks show. Have to make sure you have all those signed documents before they get paid! :wink:

1 Like
6

But this is where document control is important, right? If the code is checked out, do we want to run parts? Maybe, maybe not. Meta data on the program showing the rev, programmer, diffs to what was changed, etc. And, if your loader can access an HTTP resource, I guess you could click and download.
:person_shrugging:

OTOH, this may be a job for git/GitHub/GItLab/etc.

7

Cool. Thanks @Mark_Wonsil

8

We dont use Epicor ECM. We use Hyland OnBase. But we started attaching https links to Epicor which open up the document in your browser within our ECM.

The other big part of it is the OCR. All Invoices & Checks simply get scanned and OCR runs Epicor REST API calls and creates the Invoice, Cash Receipt among other things. We wouldn’t be able to keep up with 1000 Invoices, Partial Payments per day, among other things without it.

4 Likes
9

We don’t do this yet, but we will. We’re using it for HR documents, and ERP attachments now, but we’ve got multiple file types in there already and ‘programs’ for CNC machines is just another file type. We intend to link them to Jobs so the OPs can pull them down to the machine center - but we’re not setup for all that yet.

3-way match is part of the standard AP invoice approval process and is the verification of PO, Receipt, and Invoice quantities and dollars. This is part of the workflows delivered by Epicor if you go that route.

The ‘set checking’ Mark is referring to is the Package module (I assume). You can set up a package like Employee On-Boarding and have the workflow(s) wait for all the documents that belong in a package. They can come from multiple directions and trigger a workflow after the package is complete - it’s pretty cool.

All the other functionality of ECM that @Mark_Wonsil listed, plus workflows, DocuSign, almost freeform integration data access (read & write), and multiple input streams - let alone two different OCR options with barcode scanning - all make for a superb content management system and not just a document repository.

I think going the route of storing everything might not be the best way, as certain things are purpose built for certain content types. For various files of code, GitHub or others source control systems might be best. In our case, Autodesk has a product called Vault that is perfect for what we need to do with our drawing library - I’ll probably never consider bringing that into ECM.

1 Like
10

how are you doing this?

1 Like
11

We use the Attachment Link Storage Type in Document Type Maintenance.

image

(Not a real document type, just one I created for demonstration)

2 Likes
12

We are looking at transitioning off our current DMS to ECM. Does anyone have a recommendation for implementation and conversion assistance?

13

@MikeGross and @gpayne are good people to speak on this. They helped me out a lot. I will say, I would recommend planning for a long install if you have epicor do it. Are you on prem or cloud?

14

We are on prem.

15

That will definitely make life easier for you. I hope that the install goes well for you.

16

Be happy to chat with you guys if you want. I actually just got off a call with another company moving from Doclink to ECM about an hour ago. I’ve done sessions before, so if your team want to set aside an hour, I can cover almost everything you’d want to know and some tips/tricks on implementing. Jsut reach out :slight_smile:

@gpayne and I have mildly different way of using ECM so cover a lot of ground and play off each other a lot. I’m sure he’d have a conversation with you as well.

17

@SarahCrews I actually abandoned the DocLink to ECM conversion and just moved the documents to a new server and wrote a baq to search and open the old documents.

You can get an implementation done quickly, but you will sometimes have to drive the bus.