Epicor has announced the acquisition of eFlex Systems, a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) vendor based in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The solution will extend the Epicor MES portfolio and add to its presence in the automotive and other industries. The eFlex Manufacturing Integration Platform is a data-driven environment that enables its customers to leverage IoT data from various devices on the shop floor. The platform supports creating and monitoring digital work instructions, enabling manufacturers to create and monitor processes in real-time. With the ability to link work instructions to a bill of materials, manufacturers can ensure that they can build products to the right specification. Neither party disclosed the terms of the deal.
Epicor CEO Steve Murphy commented, “I am thrilled to bring eFlex Systems into the Epicor family! Shop floors are a complex intersection of people, machines, robots, and materials, and it’s critical they work seamlessly together. People will continue to be at the heart of manufacturing, and our acquisition of eFlex Systems extends our ability to give Epicor customers the information they need to improve the user experience and unlock new levels of productivity.”
Customers include TenPoint CrossBow Technologies, and Steve Bedner, Executive Vice President, deployed eFlex within two weeks after a product recall identified a failure in their track and trace capability. Using eFlex, they are now tracking every component that makes up their products. They now capture details of every component, testing and packing details for every crossbow shipped.
Bedner noted, “Working with the eFlex team is incredible. It is the best support I have ever received from an external vendor. Even idea generation, they have a lot of great idea generation because they have a lot of experience that’s way beyond my little crossbow facility that helps me to do something.”
MIP
The eFlex MIP platform supports several solutions that enable customers to embrace Industry 4.0 within their operations. For Epicor, it provides a boost to its existing MES platform, which is based on Mattec, a company it acquired in 2012. The solutions include
- Digital Work instructions
- Track and Trace
- Quality
- Kitting
- Preventative Maintenance
- Andon (a user-configurable data display)
- OEE
- Business intelligence
While there is some overlap with the existing Epicor MES, eFlex has developed integrations to a long list of devices. These include
- Barcode Readers
- Toque Tools
- I/O Devices
- Webcams
- Vision Systems
- Gauges
- Printers
- Augmented Reality
- Badge readers & Biometrics
- PLCs
- Nod-RED Flow
These solutions and integrations enable the eFlex customers to have the right operator build the right part, with the right tool, at the right setting in a safe and repeatable way. It connects and combines people and machinery to improve productivity. eFlex Systems has been criticised for its lack of integration to other software solutions. While its website reveals that it has integrations with ERP solutions, it does not clearly state what ERP solutions are supported. As part of the Epicor technology stack, that will soon change, and Epicor can help develop the integration points to other solutions.
eFlex co-founder and CEO Dan McKiernan commented, “We’ve always been focused at eFlex Systems on helping customers reimagine manufacturing through sustainable, world-class production processes. By joining with Epicor, we’re furthering our mission to modernize manufacturing and bridge the data gap with cost-effective, easy-to-use solutions that drive efficiencies and throughput.”
The advantages that Eflex and its customers will gain from the acquisition were laid out in a short blog on the eFlex site which stated, “In joining Epicor, eFlex Systems customers will benefit from significant scale, development, and investment in the company’s platforms, over time giving you even more capabilities and product options.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
For Epicor, will it now gain a presence on the next Gartner Magic Quadrant for Manufacturing Execution Systems? It is a placement that Epicor has failed to attain recently. This acquisition, extending its platform, may bring it to greater prominence.
The press release does not state how quickly eFlex will integrate its solution within the Epicor platform. Or whether its technology will replace or enhance the existing Epicor MES solution. The inference from the eFlex blog is that it will continue to support its existing customer base.
