Encompass is honored for reaching status for more than twelve years

Greensboro, North Carolina, November 1, 2022– Encompass Solutions has achieved the Gold Partner recognition for 2022. Recipients are selected by Epicor Software Corporation based on Employee Certification, Customer Support, and Customer Satisfaction. Gold Partners exhibit deep expertise in manufacturing and ERP systems; their experience distinguishes them in the field.

“I’m excited about our continued partnership with Epicor Software and the Epicor Partner Community. Also, being part of a growing organization like Encompass Solutions is why I get up in the morning!” Jason Claggett, Managed Services Manager of Encompass Solutions.

Encompass Solutions has a longstanding relationship with Epicor and its focus on Epicor ERP business solutions, has allowed them to deliver mission-critical ERP software solutions, custom development services, and process improvements for businesses in the manufacturing and robotics, and automation industries. Professional services in ERP consulting, project management, EDI, and ERP software implementation, upgrades, training, and more.

“It’s an honor for Encompass to be recognized as a valued partner by Epicor for over twelve years. Our continued partnership with Epicor allows us to build better relationships with our customers. It feels great to know Epicor is supporting us in our success.” Rob Cummings, Senior Financial and Operations Consultant.

Epicor Certified Partners

Epicor Partners have been specially trained and certified to provide Epicor software solutions, project planning and management, training, and ongoing support services. Extensive training and experience enable them to offer the highest value over time.

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass offers professional services in ERP consulting, project management, EDI, and ERP software implementation. We specialize in enabling manufacturers of every size with full-scale ERP/MES implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems. Our expert consulting and IT staff deliver the tools, training, and confidence manufacturers need to address emerging challenges in corporate and operational growth. Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs, identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions. We ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the industry with business systems to fit the build. Encompass is a certified Gold Partner of Epicor.

To learn more about Encompass Solutions, please visit www.encompass-inc.com.


Kinetic 2022.2 utilizes the Epicor manufacturing industry knowledge to deliver a best-in-class solution for your organization. The new release features allow you to accelerate, scale, connect, and optimize your business for success.

What’s New in Kinetic 2022.2


A New Epicor CPQ Release Is Coming Friday, October 21

Epicor is excited to announce the next major Epicor CPQ release on Friday, October 21, 11:00 PM – Saturday, October 22, 4:00 AM Eastern Time.

Read on to learn more and how to prepare for your upgrade.

What’s New in Epicor CPQ Release 4.1.7.3

This major release includes significant improvements, including modernizing the server framework and performance enhancements, especially for searching. This is also the first release that includes embedding Epicor’s new Automation Studio into the portal and a new 3D feature, Sketch and Extrude.

New features and enhancements include:

  • 3D Features/Enhancements
    • Sketch node and associated classes and UI
    • Circle with center and radius path
    • Utility to flip path direction
    • Automatically determine to extrude direction instead of defaulting to 0,0,1
    • Fix world transform of move sketch control point gizmo
    • Allow reordering paths and control points in the editor
    • Handle 3D paths
    • Mechanisms for Sizing Sketches
    • UI Shortcuts for creating new paths
    • Close sketch extrusion surfaces
    • Curve Path types for sketches
    • Positioning and orienting a sketch in 3d space
    • Add visualization renderer for sketches and paths
    • Sweep feature
    • Extrude feature
  • Update to .NET 6
  • Salesforce CPQ Integration enhancements
  • Embedded Automation Studio
  • Allow Quote Header fields to be marked “Searchable”
  • Elastic Search

You can learn more about each feature by visiting the CPQ Wiki and make sure to check out our What’s New video on Epicor Learning Center.

What to Expect
Here’s what you need to know about your upgrade:

Friday, October 21, 11:00 PM – Saturday, October 22, 4:00 AM Eastern Time
While Epicor upgrades your Production to 4.1.7.3, your system will be unavailable from Friday, October 21, 11:00 PM – Saturday, October 22, 4:00 AM Eastern Time.

Note after the upgrade: swap out the old extension with the new .NET 6-enabled extension for customers using an Extension.

Dates are subject to change.

As a reminder, reach out to EpicCare whenever you have a question or need application support. We hope you are excited about the new innovations coming soon to Epicor CPQ. Thank you for your continued support as an Epicor customer.

Subscribe to Status Alerts
Subscribe to receive additional email or text notices regarding routine updates, scheduled maintenance, or system outages at status.epicor.com.


Encompass Solutions Retreat

I started with Encompass in February 2020, just before Covid had us on lockdown. This affected the infamous company retreats. I heard a little something about them and was looking forward to attending, but it wasn’t going to happen that year. Maybe next year? Nope! We gotta stay safe and wait it out one more time. Understandable.

Here comes 2022, and all employees received an individual email invite to the company retreat. Okay… nice touch. Making me feel special… I like it! I didn’t know what to expect since this would be my first time ever going to any company’s retreat. Now I’m curious… Will we be working all day? What types of activities will there be? Will the food be any good? I did know that this would be my chance to meet co-workers I’d been virtually communicating with for over two years.

Let me skip ahead a bit. We formed teams beforehand. Remember back in grade school during P.E. when we were chosen by “captains” to be on their teams? Yeah… no, it wasn’t like that. We were given a task and had to find each other. It wasn’t hard, so I didn’t have to enlist Scooby-Doo and Mystery Incorporated for help. There were three pre-retreat challenges that we had to finish and submit for points. This was the beginning of teamwork that continued over into the retreat.

We’re here! Meet and greet the first evening. It was fun!! Had a great time meeting the ones I’d never met and seeing the ones I’d met when I was in the office. Since it is a company event, in case you’re asking… yes, we did have meetings. It wasn’t like that episode of the Golden Girls where a former student hired Dorothy to train the team at his company, and everyone left to do other things like play golf. I don’t think our leaders would have been too happy with that type of behavior. Our teamwork was incorporated into meetings where we brainstormed, answered trivia questions, and came up with ideas that would add to Encompass’ success. The afternoon events consisted of scavenger hunts, learning Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance, and building boats using duct tape and cardboard.

The scavenger hunt was fun. It was a timed race against the other teams, so we had to be quick and creative. Well, we had to be as quick as we could because we were on a mountain. Reading comprehension played an important factor when following written directions. I don’t remember exactly how many hunts we completed. When we were finished with one, with a short team exercise afterward, we were given another hunt. Just when we thought we were done for the day to head back to our rooms to prepare for dinner later, we were told that we all had to learn the Thriller dance from Michael Jackson’s video AND perform it. Say what now? Excuse me? Ma’am… the King of Pop was also an entertainer. I needed at least 24 hours to learn and perfect those moves. I tried channeling my dance and cheerleading days but I was clearly rusty. YouTube was our friend. We looked at the video and chose a few dance moves to learn and added some creativity to it. This wasn’t a recital, so it didn’t have to be long. We were glad about that because we were tired from the scavenger hunts.

Time for boat building the next day. It was a pirate-themed event and to get additional supplies to benefit our teams, we had to duel with the pirate. We dueled with inflatable swords. Just imagine what that looked like. We could also duel someone from another team to get their supplies. Piracy was highly encouraged and in full effect. This meant that we had to work fast, be strategic, and definitely keep an eye on the wandering eyes and hands of thieves who tried to act like they were coming in peace. Oh… I didn’t mention that the boat had to float, someone had to get in it, paddle out to and around the buoy back to shore, and pull the boat out of the water by themselves, did I? How could it be a competition without literally testing the waters? This was also timed, so the adrenaline was running high. It was the last team event of the retreat, and everyone wanted to get as many points as possible to be named the 2022 winners.

I was having a lot of much-needed fun. My daughter was my plus one and she really enjoyed herself. The final night of the retreat was bittersweet. The team-building activities were over, and we would soon be getting ready to head back to our homes, but not before it was time to announce the winners. If I’m not mistaken, my team came in second place for both the pre-retreat and retreat challenges. We all are winners regardless of which place we came in. Sounds like one of those familiar “you’ll get ‘em next time” phrases, doesn’t it? But seriously… everyone put in a great amount of effort and worked together just as teams should do. That night ended with a live band and dancing that I will always remember.


Keeping information safe and secure can be challenging for businesses of all sizes over the last few years. The shift from in-person to online to hybrid workplaces forced companies to change their cybersecurity practices and protocols. 85% of organizations suffered from a successful cyberattack in 2021, according to CyberEdge’s Cyberthreat Defense Report.

 

Businesses that have suffered cyberattacks and those that have avoided being a victim are looking at ways to improve their defenses and safeguard their data. But which plans, practices, and services should these organizations invest in?

 

To better protect themselves against cyberattacks, here are four steps businesses can take:

 

Identify the Valuable Data of Your Business  

 

Understanding what information cybercriminals are after is essential to combating cyberattacks. Therefore, creating an inventory list of valuable data and assets within your organization, including manufacturer, model, hardware, and software information, is of the utmost importance. In addition, take note of who has access to critical data and information while accounting for all storage locations. This practice will ensure that business leaders have a record of accessibility, so they know where to look in case of a vulnerability or breach.

 

Protect Assets by Updating and Authenticating

 

Protecting your data and devices from malicious actors is what cybersecurity is all about. To accomplish this, make sure your security software is current. Investing in the most up-to-date software, web browsers, and operating systems is one of the best defenses against viruses, malware, and other online threats. Furthermore, make sure these devices have automatic updates turned on so employees are not tasked with manually updating devices. Additionally, make sure all data is backed up either in the cloud or via separate hard drive storage.

 

Another critical way to keep your assets safe is by ensuring staff are using strong authentication to protect access to accounts and ensure only those with permission can access them. This includes strong, secure, and differentiated passwords. 70% of people admit they use the same password for more than one account, according to a 2021 PC Mag study. Using weak and similar passwords makes a hacker’s job a lot easier. Finally, make sure employees are using multi-factor authentication (MFA). While this may result in a few extra sign-ins, MFA is essential to safeguarding data and can be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful breach.

 

Monitor and Detect Suspicious Activity

 

Companies should monitor for possible breaches, vulnerabilities, and attacks, especially in a world where many often go undetected. By investing in cybersecurity products or services that help monitor your networks, such as antivirus and anti-malware software. Moreover, make sure your employees and personnel are following all established cybersecurity protocols before, during, and after a breach. Individuals who ignore or disregard essential cybersecurity practices can compromise not only themselves but the entire organization. Paying close attention to whether your company is fully embracing all of your cybersecurity procedures and technology is incumbent upon business leaders.

 

Have a Response Plan Ready

 

No matter how many safeguards you have, the unfortunate reality is that cyber incidents still occur. However, responding comprehensively will reduce risks to your business and send a positive signal to your customers and employees. Therefore, businesses should have a cyber incident response plan ready to go before a breach. In it, companies should embrace savvy practices such as disconnecting any affected computers from the network, notifying your IT staff or the proper third-party vendors, and utilizing any spares and backup devices while continuing to capture operational data. 


Recently, we’ve been receiving many questions on Epicor’s Lifecycle Policy. This blog will outline the currently supported versions of the Epicor ERP system, the difference between Active and Sustaining support, and the upgrade options available.

Release Lifecycle

Like other software packages, Epicor Kinetic requires frequent patching. These can be for cosmetic (Updates), functional enhancements (Releases), or wholesale architecture changes (Version). Regular patching is necessary to keep the software running smoothly or plug security holes to keep you and your data safe. Epicor’s cadence is defined and outlined in the graphic below of how often you can expect updates, releases, and versions from Epicor. 

Support Lifecycle

Support is an essential part of any software package, and when things are running smoothly, you seldom need it. However, when issues arise and you need support, having an active support contract is the difference between being down for a short period versus an extended outage. The chart below shows what you can expect from a support contract. 

Active support gives you full access to Epicor phone support, security updates, and new issue investigation, to name a few. Sustaining support gives limited phone support, access to the latest release, and an online knowledge base. While you will no longer be able to purchase new modules under Sustaining support, you can purchase additional users for your version.

Review the comprehensive FAQs for Epicor’s support lifecycle. You will need a valid Epicor EpicWeb ID to review the guide. 

Product Lifecycle

All good things must come to an end. Or so the saying goes, right? The good news is Epicor software supports versions back to Version 8.03.400 and earlier under their Sustaining support model. Below is a chart outlining the transition date for each version of Epicor Kinetic ERP. If you are on the Epicor Public Cloud model, you never have to worry about being out of Active support – more on this option below.

What are the Options?

Your options are straightforward. On-premise customers have two options:

  1. On-premise upgrade: As long as you have an active maintenance contract with Epicor, you are entitled to the latest version of the Epicor Kinetic versions. This version can be installed in your server farm, a hosted server farm, or your cloud subscription (i.e. Azure, AWS, Google, etc.)
  2. Migration to Epicor SAAS Cloud: You can migrate your on-premise database up to the Epicor public cloud. Doing so provides a future of hassle-free upgrades and allows you to get back to running your business.

No matter which option you choose you will need to do something if you are on Epicor ERP 10.2 or earlier. To have a conversation about upgrading your Epicor software, email info@encompass-inc.com.


Learn how the world-leading OEM engine tooling provider, Rhinestahl, leveraged Epicor Kinetic to improve efficiency.


Epicor ERP is adding more capabilities for integration with the release of Epicor Automation Studio, a low-code/no-code integration platform as a service aimed at average business users. Automation Studio enables organizations to integrate their Epicor products and automate workflows end-to-end across apps, data, and teams.

The Challenge

By not implementing integrations, employees at enterprise organizations can’t access the data they need in the apps they use every day, such as Salesforce, ADP, and ServiceNow. This creates data silos, where employees are forced to: search for data across apps, re-enter data several times, and constantly context switch across applications to accomplish tasks.

Learn more about Epicor Automation Studio below:


As workers increasingly take stock of their careers and their lives, the manufacturing industry is experiencing challenges attracting and retaining skilled labor. From March-April 2020, there was an 11% lag in employment for manufacturing. Some industry segments rebounded well by the end of 2020, but two years on there are still nearly 500,000 open manufacturing jobs.

Technology solutions, like manufacturing execution systems (MES), can help manufacturers address the labor shortage intelligently with faster, easier ways to onboard new workers, collect and share data, and monitor processes and performance to make critical adjustments that improve operations and productivity. Technology is also attractive to a new generation of workers who are already digitally fluent and expect to use digital tools on the job. Given a choice between multiple job offers, 91% of Gen Z candidates say the technology offered by an employer would be a factor in their decision.

Here’s a closer look at three areas where MES can help your business operate more smoothly with the resources you have and the new workers you bring on board.

1. Speed up Employee Onboarding

Turnover is common in manufacturing as seasonal work and other demands keep workers coming and going. But to meet production demands, manufacturers need staff levels to remain as stable as possible, which means every new worker has to get up to speed fast.

MES can operate as a virtual onboarding tool for new workers, providing training documentation and videos, work instructions and drawings, process steps, and on-demand assistance through an easy-to-use touch-screen interface. As workers advance through onboarding and training, MES can also manage their skills and capabilities to let businesses know when workers are ready to run a machine or can be scheduled on specific work cells.

MES makes hiring and training easier by helping workers ramp up quickly so manufacturers can operate as expected, no matter the circumstances.

2. Efficiently Collect and Share Data

Manufacturing workers deal with data all the time, but much of it is handled through manual methods like tracking down part numbers, images, and drawings, making calculations, or writing information down on paper by hand. These manual methods create undue complexity for new workers and increase the risk of errors and delays—all of which impact productivity.

MES streamlines data collection, sharing, and reporting by automating changeovers, part counts, and parts fulfillment that can reduce human error and time wasted hunting for information. Automated, accurate, real-time data collection also gives manufacturers much-needed visibility into inventory, part availability, and machine performance to better understand what’s happening on the shop floor.

MES not only unburdens workers from manual, error-prone data processes that hurt job satisfaction, it also helps manufacturers make better business decisions to improve operations and reduce overhead and labor.

3. Improve Processes and Performance

Collecting data on processes helps manufacturers understand the production environment so they can monitor the issues and variables that impact the rest of the production line or even the end customer. The problem is that relying on physical inspections and quality checks for process monitoring is time-consuming and inefficient.

MES automates process monitoring through statistical process and quality control methodologies and part quantification. The software can be programmed to stop a machine or turn on an alarm when necessary. Data is collected from each operator to understand their efficiency and experience levels, identify where more training may be necessary, and reward top-performing workers. Automated process monitoring and performance analytics also allow manufacturers to understand the number of workers and shifts that are needed to meet production demand.

MES allows machine operators to focus their time on production and performing a job well, instead of cumbersome quality checks, while giving you valuable insight into your labor and hiring needs.

MES is Today’s Answer to Manufacturing Labor Challenges

The volatility of the manufacturing labor market may not let up anytime soon, but it doesn’t have to derail your business. MES technology provides a path forward, giving you the digital tools and information you need to swiftly and successfully bring on new workers and make more efficient and productive use of your current workforce. Better data around processes and performance improves day-to-day operations on the shop floor and uncovers specific labor needs. MES can even help you reduce your labor footprint by turning over the most repetitive and inefficient tasks to automated technology solutions.

The transition to Industry 4.0 and smart factory technology is already underway. MES can help you get there with less disruption and more confidence.

-Epicor