Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management

Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management Epicor PLM An Epicor White Paper

Executive Overview Every day we are flooded with more and more information. New memos and documents arrive at our desks through standard mail and e-mail. Each letter and each report was sent with the intent of supporting us in our work. We need facts and evaluations from various sources in our work and decision-making processes. Yet, without the tools for making our messages organized and easy to find, we are often left looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. However, it is not just information that we need. On a daily basis, we and our colleagues create reports, guidelines, records, contracts, and presentations, in order to keep our business processes running. The number of digital documents and files on our computers is growing exponentially as well. While only a few years ago just a few thousand files of digital documents were stored on a company s computing network, today the number is typically several hundred thousand. Soon the number of documents will be in the millions, and data will be measured in gigabytes and terabytes. These tools are needed for the management and retrieval of documents and for the support of processes in which they are created and edited. That is what document management systems are all about. Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management i

Table of Contents Executive Overview i Epicor PLM Document Management 1 Time and Cost Savings 1 Accelerating Business Processes 1 Improvements in Quality Management 1 Knowledge Base for the Entire Company 1 Finding Instead of Searching 2 Integrations 3 E-Mails are Businesses Documents 4 Workflow and Change Management 5 Solutions for cooperative work 5 Archiving 6 A Company s Knowledge Base 7 Consulting and Customizing 8 About Epicor 9 Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management ii

Epicor PLM Document Management Epicor PLM capabilities allow for a universal approach that takes unstructured data and documents and turns them into organized information. Epicor PLM puts information in motion. The place where documents are created is where they are captured. They are reliably routed along the chain of business processes, and at the end of the cycle, they are archived. Time and Cost Savings According to one survey it may cost between $140 and $2800 to create a new document, depending on the company. Due to incorrect filing or a failure to file, the damage alone can be of high consequence, barring the impact that may be incurred from neglected transactions and processes coming to a halt. The use of Epicor PLM enhances storage security and substantially reduces the effort needed to retrieve documents. Feedback from customer experience and auditing studies that have assessed the cost effectiveness of Epicor PLM, reveal that enhanced security and reduced document retrieval efforts will bring many forms of value to an enterprise. Accelerating Business Processes Epicor PLM makes documents and information available anytime and anywhere. This improves the decision-making capabilities of a company s departments and managing bodies, and business processes are noticeably accelerated. Improvements in Quality Management Epicor PLM provides a consistent and up-to-date database that is accessible to all departments. Many companies utilize Epicor PLM as the basis for their certified quality management systems. Workflow management, which is integrated in Epicor PLM, assures that QM processes are observed and documented. Knowledge Base for the Entire Company A company s vital know-how resides in documents, regardless of whether they are technical drawings, formulas, project documents or contracts. Epicor PLM can be implemented to soundly protect this knowledge from unauthorized access. At the same time, this knowledge can be made available to the individuals who need it throughout the business process. Existing work results are available for other projects, and it is easy to evaluate and rapidly arrive at decisions on alternate solution strategies. Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management 1

Finding Instead of Searching Few things are as unnerving or time-consuming as searching for records and documents. There is a simple solution for retrieving documents: Epicor PLM. Epicor PLM offers differentiated methods and tools for retrieving written documents, digital records or files. These methods and tools can be dependant upon the requirements of different departments and the tasks of employees. This means that documents are found when needed and relevant information is available without delay. Favorites and subscriptions Some documents are needed again and again, and certain documents are desired in a form similar to the traditional folder that can be grasped in the hand. This can be achieved easily and excellently using Epicor PLM Favorites. Favorites are search queries that are assigned a name. They are clearly organized and always available in a special area of the Epicor PLM user interface. A push of a button is all it takes to display documents from Favorites. Such folders can be made available from a central location. Take the customer folder, for example: Just by entering the customer number on documents, they are all automatically collected from different departments and stored in the project folder. All documents for a particular project are located in the project folder. Since customer folders and project folders are generated by intuitively formulated search queries, there is no need to copy documents. Moreover, documents in the customer and project folders are always kept up-to-date. These specifically designed search queries make many tasks effortless. For instance a sales department might request a marketing reference book that always contains current price lists, datasheets, and licensing agreements. Favorites allows what would ordinarily be a highly time involving project to be initiated or performed without expending the valuable time of an individual. Another extremely effective and complementary feature is Epicor PLM Subscriptions. Subscriptions can be established in order to notify the user immediately whenever a Favorite document is revised or rewritten. This allows automated supervision of projects and documents, relieving individuals of duties derived from organizational tasks such as note taking and setting reminders. The ability to focus on one thing at a time will return efficient high quality results. Properties search for experts In advanced searches intended primarily for experts, Epicor PLM offers a properties search, in which terms are selected from lists or entered in mask boxes. If necessary, the resulting hit lists can be reduced and refined by further search steps. Smart Search for routine transactions In cases where the same search operations are started again and again, the search masks can be reduced to just a few query characteristics according to needs in order to retrieve specific documents. Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management 2

Full text search Every text file checked into Epicor PLM as a document is automatically analyzed and indexed. The full-text search function can then be used to refine the search by means of any desired keywords. Even complex search queries are allowed with logical combinations of and, or and not operators. Naturally, full-text search in Epicor PLM also works with PDF files, and it can even be applied to TIFF files after OCR processing. Searching across projects, products and document portfolios Often documents belong to specific projects or are part of product descriptions. Epicor PLM supports this perspective. Documents may be assigned to a project or one or more products, or they may even be appended to an existing document. This generates digital document portfolios. All documents are made available with a single operation: Epicor PLM makes a document available, even if the user was unaware of the existence of a document prior to access. Organization of documents Documents are seldom stored alone. A record has attachments, and documentation or contracts are enclosed with business correspondence. Epicor PLM makes these interrelationships transparent. The click of a mouse on a document shows which attachments belong to it, if necessary over multiple levels. Another mouse click indicates the higher level document to which a text or graphic belongs. If a document is a component in different project portfolios, it is organized by referencing. Copies, which were standard practice in the past, are superfluous here. Integrations Interfaces to authoring systems Documents are as multifaceted as the companies in which they are processed, and as different as the applications in which they are generated. Documents may be texts or Excel tables, PowerPoint presentations, graphics or digitalized photos. On the other hand, documents might also be scanned incoming invoices, ordering forms, incoming and outgoing mail, and order confirmations. They also include the entire range of documentation from technical offices such as standards, technical descriptions, CAD models and drawings. Even video files and audio files are nothing but documents. Epicor PLM masters this diversity. Any file that can be saved on a computer can be captured by Epicor PLM, stored, retrieved and displayed. The special strength of Epicor PLM lies in its integrations of numerous authoring systems used to create and edit documents. These include office applications, e-mail systems, groupware systems and systems for processing TIFF documents and PDF documents. For the management of business administrative documents Epicor PLM has COLD interfaces to ERP systems. Epicor PLM handles the management of product data and CAD documents for commercially available 2D and 3D systems such as AutoCAD, CATIA, Inventor, MicroStation, OneSpace Designer (ME10), Solid Edge, SolidWorks, Pro/ENGINEER, Unigraphics NX, Ruplan, Mentor Graphics and many others. Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management 3

Anything that is not put in an information or knowledge management system will also be unavailable for retrieval. Integration in office applications Documents should be input where they are created. Document input must not interrupt workflows. In the office area and in image processing, Epicor PLM has powerful system integrations used to check-in documents from the application to Epicor PLM. Bootstrap processes Documents have existed in digital document management systems for a long time now. Therefore, when a DMS is introduced to business processes, existing document collections must be transferred. To accomplish this task, Epicor PLM provides software modules that quickly and economically transfer large numbers of documents into the system. Epicor PLM Document Loader reads documents located external to the system on system discs or in an old archive, and saves them in Epicor PLM. Documents can be automatically keyworded and indexed as part of this process. Acquiring and managing records from Epicor ERP Order confirmations, invoices and delivery notes created digitally on ERP systems, must be archived in accordance with legal guidelines. Epicor PLM archives financial business documents according to AO and HGB guidelines, and the Principles of data access and auditing of digital documents (German: GDPdU). Besides legal guidelines, there are numerous other reasons to provide business documents in a Document Management System. It offers a way to merge customer-related documents from accounting and financial departments with technical documents, thereby enabling the setup of comprehensive services and customer care strategies. Epicor PLM COLD Loader Epicor PLM Cold Loader automatically transfers into Epicor PLM mass distribution documents that an ERP system outputs to high-performance printers. In the transfer process they are indexed, and can therefore be retrieved and displayed in Epicor PLM. E-Mails are Businesses Documents E-mails continue to increasingly replace traditional mail in daily business operations. What previously would be received as a paper document in the mailroom today arrives in one or more likely many inboxes. Integration in valid business processes Business-relevant information is found in both the e-mail body and the attachments. This information is subject to the same legal regulations as traditional business correspondence. Epicor PLM therefore integrates business-relevant e-mails in company-specific workflow processes and subjects them to the access and editing rights that apply to all documents. An email can be transferred automatically or manually. In automatic operation, e-mails are analyzed according to a customerspecific set of rules when they are received on the mail server, stored in Epicor PLM and then keyworded. All recipients then get this mail as a common digital Epicor PLM document. If an e-mail comes from a known sender, it can already be placed in the relevant project folder or digital customer file when it is automatically transferred. In manual operation, an e-mail is saved via a direct interface to Epicor PLM. A single click on the Epicor PLM button in the e-mail system initiates the transfer process with document classification by the user. Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management 4

Sending Epicor PLM documents by e-mail Workflow and Change Management Solutions for cooperative work Any document saved in Epicor PLM can be sent out as an e-mail simply by the click of a mouse. External recipients get copies of the documents, while internal recipients get a reference to the documents in the DMS. Documents in Outlook Schedules and Outlook Tasks Any document saved in Epicor PLM can be assigned to an Outlook Schedule or Outlook Task as an attachment. This ensures that the latest meeting agenda and associated attachments are always integrated in schedule management. Documents are created in business processes and are changeable. They reflect the dynamics of the processes in which they are needed. Workflow management In their creation process, documents are edited and corrected step-by-step, before they are finally released and sent out. Epicor PLM Workflow controls the passage of documents through business processes. Conformance to rules of quality management is assured and documented. Version management Over the course of a life cycle, many documents undergo changes that must be recorded in detail: In the case of price lists, changes in prices and article numbers, and changes in performance parameters of product datasheets. Epicor PLM has a configurable two-stage versioning and revising process. It ensures that the most current valid version of a document is always accessible. In addition, a change journal indicates when the document was changed, and by whom. All prior versions of the document can be retrieved and may be presented as important verification. Change journals All changes worthy of documentation are logged in a change journal that cannot be modified itself. Epicor PLM is an important tool for certified strategies in quality and security management. Teamwork is shaping our working world. People from different departments and sites are working together on joint projects. Globalization pushes companies out into the world. More and more companies are founding new sites and subsidiaries far removed from their headquarters. Harmonization and cooperation between departments and work groups in globally established companies must be coordinated diligently. Epicor PLM organizes collaborative work and synchronizes work on jointly used documents. Check-in and Check-out Epicor PLM reliably ensures that changes made to documents do not conflict or cancel one another. Managing documents centrally by a document management system eliminates the need to save individual copies to local computers. It also reduces the risk that changes to copies will contradict one another and result in uncontrolled change levels. Each document exists just once and can be modified by just one person at any given time. The DMS indicates who is editing the document. How and when a document is changed can be recorded in a change journal. Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management 5

Distributed sites and replication Epicor PLM supports document management across multiple sites. Documents are available to all sites despite the fact that they can be saved at different locations. To avoid sending documents with high data volume over expensive and slow long-distance lines, Epicor PLM offers a caching procedure for saving documents in parallel in the local networks of all company sites. This shortens system response times. Epicor PLM assures, with the help of the central database that all documents are kept at the same revision level. Replication of the Epicor PLM metadata (all information stored in the database) facilitates additional autonomy. All sites have a complete copy of all data that is constantly synchronized by Epicor PLM. Epicor PLM replication gives users the greatest possible access speed and availability of documents, even in case of network connection failure. Epicor PLM Web Client The Internet plays a crucial role in global collaboration. Epicor PLM Web Client enables access to information and documents via any Web browser. It is available whenever and wherever a document is needed. User access rights and security measures against unauthorized access ensures that unauthorized persons are unable to access documents. Epicor PLM Pocket Epicor PLM Pocket can be used to check out any documents saved in Epicor PLM so that they can be used externally. Exported to laptops or mobile data media, the exported documents can then be taken to customer meetings as a portable customer folder or can be used to transmit documentation to customers and partners. Multilingual capabilities The Epicor PLM user interface can be configured for specific languages. Different languages can be operated in parallel within a single installation. Epicor PLM is available in English, German, and Italian. Archiving The duty to preserve important documents over a long time period not only makes good business sense, it is also required by laws and other guidelines. Auditing-assured storage of records Many legal rules require secure, complete, loss-free, tamperproof and retrievable storage of records with commercial-legal and businesseconomic relevance. In particular, it must be assured that documents cannot be changed during their archiving period. Epicor PLM assures these requirements on organizational, technical and physical levels. Integrating document management within workflow control and recording interactions and changes made to documents, ensures on an organizational level, that documents transferred to archive status are no longer changeable. Optical archiving Epicor PLM supports optical storage systems. Other means for protecting documents against changes can be implemented by digital signatures and time stamps. Changes to documents are physically safeguarded by storing documents on optical memory media such as WORM memory. Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management 6

Neutral data formats To preserve documents over long time periods in a manner that can be read and displayed, it is best to store them in a neutral data format on the archiving media. Epicor PLM supports automatic conversion of documents from native file formats to TIFF and PDF. Conformant archiving In its Principles of Data Access and Auditing of Digital Documents, the German Federal Fiscal Ministry legally established that digitally created data and documents must be digitally archived. In interplay with Epicor PLM, it is possible to manage and archive journals or financial statement files created by a financial management system or an ERP application. Epicor PLM accesses files created by the associated applications in standardized formats. A Company s Knowledge Base Archiving business records Invoices and delivery notes are indisputably among the most important customer documents. Good customer service demands that these documents be made available together with project documentation or technical documents in a common digital project portfolio. This primarily offers significant advantages to high-performance customer service centers, sales and controlling departments. In an automated process, Epicor PLM COLD Loader takes invoices, delivery notes and other customer order documents originally created in ERP systems, and converts them to TIFF facsimiles. These documents match the distributed originals in all respects. Archiving technical documents Most industrial companies archive technical drawings and/or calculations substantially longer than the 10 years required by legal authorities. Power plants, large technical facilities or civil engineering projects have a long life. 30 years is considered young for a technical drawing. Epicor PLM has special modules for archiving technical documents. A solution approach that has proven itself in practice in numerous projects is parallel storage of CAD originals in native format and drawing copies in a neutral data format. For daily work and information exchange with partners, and as a reference in change management, technical documents are saved in their original CAD data format. In addition, released documents are automatically transferred to a neutral data format and are managed in parallel to the originals. TIFF and the increasingly popular PDF, are considered suitable neutral formats in technical offices. PDM and Product Life Cycle Management At technically oriented companies, document management requires provision and supervision of various technical documents that originate form development and project departments These documents are needed by the personnel of resource planning, work preparation, purchasing, and service departments, as well as personnel within department management, whom must respond quickly and directly to customer inquiries. Epicor PLM was originally developed for the management of technical documents, and therefore it possesses all of the core properties of a proven PDM system. In particular, it encompasses a mature class system for classification of parts and subassemblies, as well as functions for managing article master data, part lists and where-used lists. Epicor Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management 7

PLM operates fully integrated in all leading CAD systems used in mechanical design, electrical equipment development and the design of electronic control units. 3D-models and CAD drawings are captured and centrally managed by Epicor PLM. The system supports cooperation in development teams by attaining transparency in the complexity of assemblies and avoidance of change conflicts. The part family management or configuration management offered by modern 3D CAD systems is supported comprehensively. In addition, Epicor PLM PDM supplies the interfaces for automatic data exchange between CAD and ERP systems and guarantees access to CAD models and technical documents wherever they are needed. Simultaneously, Epicor PLM applies its security concepts to ensure that no unauthorized persons obtain access to the sensitive information contained in technical documents. Epicor PLM fulfills the performance requirements formulated in VDI Guideline 2219 EDM/PDM Systems. Integration modules for CAD systems include: AutoCAD, CATIA V4, CATIA V5, Inventor, I-DEAS, OneSpace Designer (ME10), MicroStation, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Pro/ ENGINEER, Unigraphics NX, RUPLAN, EPLAN, Mentor Graphics, etc. Consulting and Customizing The use of document management solutions is inseparably linked to a company s business processes. Without close cooperation of users with system suppliers, document management systems cannot be installed successfully. Project management and services Epicor project leaders serve as personal contacts for our customers, and they support project management for the customer on all technical and organizational issues, from the time the software is acquired, and - if desired far into its productive operation. Our consultation is based on the high level of competency and excellent training of our employees, as well as our experience from over 600 successfully implemented PDM and DMS projects. Installation and startup Epicor PLM is a preconfigured system with excellent tools for adapting release and change processes, document properties, and user input masks to the operational requirements of customers. Epicor project leaders support our customers in software installation and customized configuration of Epicor PLM. They actively participate in adapting parameters of hardware and operating systems and in configuring interfaces for the integration of CAD, office and ERP systems. Upon request, our project leaders can also provide services to assist in successful testing and trial operation, and in company-wide roll-out of Epicor PLM. Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management 8

About Epicor Epicor Software (NASDAQ: EPIC) is a global leader delivering business software solutions to the manufacturing, distribution, retail, hospitality and services industries. With 20,000 customers in over 150 countries, Epicor provides integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM) and enterprise retail software solutions that enable companies to drive increased efficiency and improve profitability. Founded in 1984, Epicor celebrates 25 years of technology innovation delivering business solutions that provide the scalability and flexibility businesses need to build competitive advantage. Epicor provides a comprehensive range of services with a single point of accountability that promotes rapid return on investment and low total cost of ownership, whether operating business on a local, regional or global scale. The Company s worldwide headquarters are located in Irvine, California with offices and affiliates around the world. For more information, visit www.epicor.com. Disclaimer: This document and its contents, including the viewpoints, dates and functional content expressed herein are believed to be accurate as of its date of publication, November 2009. However, Epicor Software Corporation makes no guarantee, representations or warranties with regard to the enclosed information and specifically disclaims the implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose and merchantability. All information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The usage of any Epicor Software shall be pursuant to an Epicor end user license agreement and the performance of any consulting services by Epicor personnel shall be pursuant to Epicor s standard services terms and conditions. Epicor is a registered trademark of Epicor Software Corporation. All other trademarks acknowledged. Copyright 2009 Epicor Software Corporation. For more information, contact Epicor Software Corporation: info@epicor.com or www.epicor.com. Worldwide Headquarters 18200 Von Karman Avenue, Ste. 1000 Irvine, California 92612 USA Toll Free: +1.800.999.1809 Phone: +1.949.585.4000 www.epicor.com Latin America and Caribbean Blvd. Antonio L. Rodriguez #1882 Int. 104 Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, CP 64650 Mexico Phone: +52.81.1551.7100 Fax: +52.81.1551.7117 Europe, Middle East and Africa No. 1 The Arena Downshire Way Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 1PU United Kingdom Phone: +44.0.1344.468.468 Fax: +44.0.1344.468.010 Asia 238A Thomson Road #23-06 Novena Square Tower A Singapore 307684 Singapore Phone: +65.6333.8121 Fax: +65.6333.8131 Australia and New Zealand Level 34 101 Miller Street North Sydney NSW 2060 Australia Phone: +61.2.9927.6200 Fax: +61.2.9956.8976 Epicor PLM: Connecting Sites and Departments with Document Management 9