We are dangerously close to hopping on board the EPDM train.  Once we take the plunge, there will still be one piece of software missing from our processes.  We don't have a work order management system.  We have some cobbled together Excel spreadsheets and other forms to track things as they move from Engineering, through Manufacturing and on to Assembly and Testing, but it is a very manual process and not very informative.  With EPDM, we will have the Engineering documentation under control.  Our Accounting is handled through Oracle Applications, so we are covered there as well.  It is all the stuff in between that is missing.  We do not have Oracle Manufacturing, and will not be purchasing it.

We are a bit of an odd company.  We do not sell a product, we sell a service.  Engineering designs machines to provide that service.  Once a job is done, the equipment comes back to us and may be used again with or without modifications.  So, we are project based, but also have internal product lines to manage.  We need something that allows us to track the manufacture of new equipment, parts for changes to 'old' equipment, or exact copies fo old equipment.  This includes tracking parts through outside services such as anodizing, water jet, outsourced assembly, etc.

Has anyone else been in a situation like this, and if so, what products (if any) are available to ease the pain?  Something that communicates with both Oracle and EPDM would be ideal of course, but not absolutely necessary.  In a perfect world, I would right click on an assembly and click 'Make' and enter the pertinent inforation about quantity and where to charge the costs and it would be off and running gennerating fabrication work orders, purchase requisitions, etc.

Jim S.