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Want your upgrade to run smoothly?Some important points to consider when upgrading to Epicor ERP 10. |
The improvements that Epicor ERP 10 can bring has been something that Epicor has been shouting about quite a lot recently. Having assisted in upgrading a number of customers to ERP 10 I’m pretty impressed, and every customer I know that has upgraded tells me they are getting things done quicker and easier. I won’t go into the details about why that is (other than the obvious improvements in speed and efficiency and a smooth new front-end look) but rather what you need to keep in mind when upgrading so that, having made the decision to go to Epicor ERP 10, you get there smoothly and hassle free.
Take stock of how many bespoke developments you may have.
The number of bespoke developments that you are taking across to Epicor10 will have to be considered. The upgrade process will bring your developed screens, BAQs, Dashboards, BPMs, and UD fields over but this will come at a price. For example BPM code will have to be converted from ABL to C# and you get some reporting headaches as there are some initial problems with UD fields in “Report Data Definitions” at Epicor10. The thing to bear in mind is that you will have to do some up-front assessment work in order to quantity the effort required to get your upgraded bespoke mods converted and tested.
Problems that a new version can bring.
No newly released software is bug free so don’t expect Epicor ERP 10 to be any different here. I’ve come across a few bugs myself and most you can fairly easily develop a workaround for due to the flexibility of tools such as BPMs. I’ve come across one recently that was a show stopper for the customer and (with no workaround) just goes to show that the earlier you can identity issues that affect how you use the application, the better. Last minute issues cause delays as bug fixes are not always quick to come back from Epicor if the problem is a complex one.
Interfaces and automation.
If you have interfaces to other third party systems or automated processes of any kind then these will need to be considered early on. Service Connect workflows for example will all need converting to work with the new Epicor 10 .Net references. There is a conversion process but schema changes mean they still need to be checked and tested which needs planning and assessing.
Reporting.
Crystal Reports is still available to use at Epicor10 but the additional output options that SSRS provides means it makes sense to take the opportunity to switch whilst upgrading. As mentioned earlier, there are some headaches with UD fields within the Epicor Report Data Definition screen but on the whole I believe it is worth the effort. The above points are only a guide to a few of the things you’ll need to consider. There’s no replacement for preparation and planning and, above all, testing. The main thing to bear in mind is that the more bespoke developments you are upgrading then the more time your upgrade will take. Below are a couple of the issues I’ve come across recently. All have had a fix supplied but sadly you seem to have to hit the problem first and request a fix rather than getting all fixes up front. Hope these tips help!
Some of the issues I’ve come across recently:
- “UpdateExt” method will not allow UD checkboxes to be set from true to false.
- “UpdateExt” method will not allow UD number fields to be set from any positive value to zero.
- PO Receipts double allocate to pending allocations in the “CrossDock” table if part has a standard cost.
- SQL statements in Service Connect 10 return checked checkboxes as “-1” rather than true (use INT to resolve).
- “UpdateExt” always running as if the “continueprocessingonerror” flag has been checked.