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M1 ERP
Manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software
Last updated: October 2024
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Reviews by rating
NetSuite
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Recommended
Daniel K.
IT Director
Information Technology and Services, self-employed
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Transcript
Daniel K.: Hi, I'm Daniel and I'm the IT director for a manufacturing company. And I give M1 ERP a five out of five stars. The main problems that we're solving is we were able to eliminate a lot of the paper trails that we had in the office. Prior to using M1, we had a traveler that was printed out and went from station to station in the assembly process of the products that we make. And we were able to eliminate that, and it just goes workstation to workstation and everything flows much smoother. Our records get updated immediately instead of the stuff having to be filed and attached to the customer records. And then, a lot of that transfer back and forth running from the computer to a filing cabinet to get stuff because everything's stored within the program itself. Pretty much the problem that it's solving for us, the fact that it does a great job of attaching our documents to the different projects that we're working from. There's not a lot of going back and looking stuff up. If we have to go back to a previous project, all of the documents, drawings and worksheets that we use for that are all stored right there with the order. We can go and see everything that it took to go and make the previous order, and any adjustments that we make in a new order gets added to. And just does a fantastic job of keeping that record for us of what we do for our clients and how we build the different products that we make. Probably the one thing that I would change about it is that some of the screens are a little slow to go and load, but I know it's due to the complexity of the queries that it's drawing from. It's like it's drawing a lot of data out of the database to go and populate the information on the screen. Some of them take a little bit more time than what I'd like. If there was a way to magically do that, that would be fantastic. But I know we're just at the limits of what the program's capable of doing with the hardware resources we've got in place.
Danny K.
Machinery, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Overall a decent program. I think it would definitely work better for a larger company with multiple divisions.
Very detailed when planning jobs. Trackability of inventory is great.
I am not a fan of how once something has been linked it is not able to be deleted.
Eric S.
Industrial Automation, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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It has worked as we need it to do full manufacturing management.
It Will do virtually anything that we need it to do.
Not very good support for the product, ie having to call or e-mail someone to call back, maybe within a couple of days. Manuals are very generic. Online info is very limited too.
Joe S.
Machinery, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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If you are able to deploy, implement and customize M1 for your company without any support from ECI this is a good option.
Support is terrible - ECi was unwilling to respond to any of my questions on the software's functionality. I have paid for maintenance and support on 9 licenses for over 15 years and they will not even respond to my online request. When I finally called in and waited for a live person they insisted that I needed to pay for training in order to get answers to general use questions about how to setup and use different functions in the software. After 2 hours of paid training I had very few answers to my questions and my trainer "[SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]" had a list of questions he was going to "get back to me on". It has been several weeks and once again I have no answers and "[SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]" is ignoring my emails.
Bill P.
Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, 201-500 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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For the most part, E2 does all we want it to.
Great support from knowledgeable employees at Shoptech
The level of user customization could be a bit more in depth
Salvatore F.
Defense & Space, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Since 2009 and going
The software allows you to quote and then enter and order using that quote and then invoice right in one platform, easy peezee!
The RMA portal needs a little revamping
Mackenzie W.
Machinery, 51-200 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
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I love using E2! Literally the easiest and quickest software I've ever used. There has been times E2 has froze up on me, but the Support team has helped me through it in timely manner, and for that, I am grateful.
I like the speed and the accuracy of this software. Its easy to navigate through and get the job done a lot quicker than other software(s) I've worked with in the past.
Sometimes can be not so user-friendly, I often get confused when orders don't want to "Process".
Benjamin B.
Construction, 51-200 employees
Used daily for 1-2 years
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The software makes it easy to find a lot of data that can be exported and used as necessary
It is more difficult to set up reports and customize fields for users that do not want to see all fo the background data and only want specifics
Stephanie M.
Aviation & Aerospace, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Excellent customer service with support on software and hardware questions. I have had consistently outstanding support from the customer service group supporting the E2 MFG system. Good value for the product provided. Accounting module works well for us and allows us to use one system for our manufacturing processes and our accounting functions.
Some of the changes made through upgrades have been pretty frustrating and seem to be focused on a select few customers and don't make sense for the rest. (most recent example: Purchasing Module - addition of required Location entry for Receivers as a default instead of a choice to be made within the company preferences.)
Raven S.
Defense & Space, 51-200 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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E2 Manufacturing System has helped to bring the company into the technology age. E2 MFG is better for a simple manufacturing shop rather than a multi-layer full business. Unfortunately, we have outgrown E2 and are now having issues with certain aspects.
This software has a nice interface with easy to follow tabs.
Very limiting software. Certain processes are too rigid and do not follow company system. Constant need to call customer support due to glitches or other defects in code.
Jeremy B.
Building Materials, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 1-2 years
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Ease of use. Navigation of windows. Ability to run many custom reports in Hotspots.
Cost of additional users can be expensive.
Steven K.
Oil & Energy, 51-200 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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We love the order, purchasing, inventory and accounting modules. We just started exploring the quality module. Also the support is top notch. They always take time to review the question or issue with you can provide the best possible solution.
We struggle with the MFG Shop and Scheduling as its not easy to manage and requires a full time person to manage. Also the shop users found it slowed down their efficiency as they scan, job, employee, pieces accepted, etc.
Aron S.
Aviation & Aerospace, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Crescent has had a great experience with E2. I feel like we are uncovering new functionality almost every day. The whiteboard and scheduling module has helped us greatly.
E2 is a huge step forward from where we were as an organization. The powerful features and endless options make the possibilities for this software seem endless. If you want to perform a particular function odds are E2 has a way to do it.
E2 was such a drastic shift from where we came from that eployees took a long time to adjust, Those that are willing to experiment with the software and its capabilities have had a much easier transition than those who are not.
Vanessa M.
Defense & Space, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Visibility is key for us, and with this software you can follow an opportunity through from initial stages of quoting through final stages of billing and everything in between. And Customer Service is Top Notch!
It can be difficult to make changes to orders once in process, but hopefully that is something their team recognizes and will help to rectify in the future.
Glen C.
Oil & Energy, 51-200 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Due to the poor / complete lack or support and problems with the installation we are about to change to a new ERP system. This would be the worst investment my company has ever made.
No ad-dons, no cost for view users, i.e. unlimited clock card entry PC's.
Absolutely poor support if any. Referred to external consultants as ECi M1 could not supply technical support.
Joshua Z.
Industrial Automation, 51-200 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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E2 has helped us be able to reign in hundreds of variables and see an organized shop floor and schedule. It takes dedication to learn and upkeep, but well worth the time and cost.
It is very intuitive and extremely detailed. Nothing is missed.
Hard to learn at first, but customer support more than makes up for it. Very helpful and professional.
Cassie p.
Oil & Energy, 51-200 employees
Used other for 6-12 months
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The cost was extremely high although we were basically building our own system the way we wanted.
Completely customizable. Access to consultants who helped us decide as a team why or why we shouldn’t run something one way as opposed to another. They were very knowledgeable and insightful.
The consultants gave employees too much reign over the server and the potential to mess up the data base we were building. Their lack of support for the payroll module.
Ryan J.
Mining & Metals, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 6-12 months
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Customer support is good. You can always get someone on the phone. They do work with you to try and get things figured out. Although you may be on the phone a long time, so plan accordingly.
Everything pretty much. It's the least user friendly software we've encountered. It's not a visible system, everything is buried deep within. It takes many different clicks and screens to see what is needed to see. Doing any retail type business with different price levels is very troublesome. Information that should be simple to look up in near impossible. This system also puts your parts from a PO in the order they want to, not how you entered them. you can't customize any reports without paying or going through a bunch of trouble. We have stumped our techs several times with simple issues that can't seem to be resolved. You can't just hit print on any screen, you have to "generate a report" Creating parts in the system is cumbersome as well. You have to close one window to open another when creating the part, you can't check from one part to another to compare. There's several errors that pop up. The cost of this software was far too high for how much time it added to our work day and work load. We also had to upgrade our main server and some computers to accommodate this software. All in all, this system is not a simple system.
Marie R.
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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We replaced Global Shop with M1. We like M1 because is quick and efficient. We are working on more customized reporting and moving to the newest version - very exciting for our company!!
Getting new downloads up and running is a little difficult. Hard to coordinate M1 Support with our outside IT Consultant
Todd M.
Hospital & Health Care, 51-200 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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For us it was really the staff that made us feel at ease with out decision, from the salesperson to our implementer to the folks in support. They have really come through for us over the time we have used M1.
M1 has helped us track serial and lot numbers effectively and allowed us to streamline many processes across the company. Have used it for five years now, we rely on the data it generates to run our business in the most efficient and cost effective way possible. Our implementer took the time to learn our business and made suggestions on how the software could assist us in areas we had not even considered. We definitely choose the right software!
No cons were added to this review
Roy B.
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Overall very satisfied with the functionality of the product.
Systematic logical sequence of steps from the time an order is placed to final shipment of the products.
Forecasting needs to be improved. The way sub-assemblies are scheduled could be improved although very flexible.
Amit G.
Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 1-2 years
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User friendly dashboard. Advance options for all the modules. one stop solution for all the resources planning.
Not enough features for multiple platform usage. Little Slower. No report modification format for user
Aaron S.
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing,
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The training and implementation was fantastic. The product is well suited for our needs and the cost tracking functionality is great. The greatest strengths of the software are inventory control, cost/labor tracking, and reporting.
The accounting functionality and process can be burdensome. While it does get the job done, incorporating a FIFO system with real time cost of goods sold entry would be much more advantageous. Currently M1 only offers average, standard, or last cost of goods sold, which can really make things difficult if inventory costs change. Additionally, not having "real-time" financials is frustrating. You don't get the "actual cost of goods sold" until an accounting entry is made, so you cannot track financials daily or weekly unless your accounting department has time to make this entry and reconcile it on that same interval. Granted, moving to the COGS program could fix this issue, but the additional work and potential for mistakes makes it easier to wait for financials.
Joe H.
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing,
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Overall architecture is well thought out from a flexibility, customization and IT standpoint. It uses standard database (MS SQL), reporting (Crystal reports) and customization (VB) languages. You can use their resources or find your own to dive as deep as you need to but you also can do quite a bit without being an IT professional.
Support experience ranges widely from good to very slow to respond. They have made efforts to improve and you see benefits slowly but it still isn't a good consistent support experience.
Mark S.
Mining & Metals,
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The ability of this software to fully integrate all aspects of our business. It is very stable and easy to customize.
As the M1 has grown, there have been times where response times have been a little longer than expected.
Evan C.
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing,
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M1 is more customizable than many other options.
Based on the increasing number of bugs and no new bug fixes, it seems that M1 is being phased out by ECi. The software is nearly unusable with Windows Vista and is mediocre at best on Windows 7. The scheduling module is terribly poor, and ECi has displayed zero effort in improving these issues. The tech support response time is horrid and there are very few well-trained tech support staff available (however a few are knowledgeable). Come on ECi! Fix this product which has great potential!