CommandCore™ Glossary — A to Z
A reference for CommandCore™ terminology: the eight pillars, the product engines behind them, and the industry acronyms that come up along the way.
AC4D (Auto-Count 4D)
The real-time control and data capture engine behind the Control Systems and MES pillars. AC4D pulls live machine data from presses and finishing equipment, tracks waste at the source, and feeds shop-floor tracking, conversion-quality feedback, and finished-goods visibility.
Advanced Questions
An AC4D capability in the Quality & Compliance pillar for detailed quality questioning and analysis. Tailored questionnaires and product tests record item-specific data where production happens, for compliance and traceability.
Advanced Scheduling
A Smart Scheduling capability, powered by PrintFlow4D® and Corrtrim. It uses AI to build complex production schedules up to 20x faster than legacy systems.
API (Application Programming Interface)
The interface CommandCore™ uses to exchange data with other systems. The open API ecosystem allows custom integrations and applications built on the platform's technology layer.
Audit Trail & Compliance
An Operational Excellence capability that logs every operational decision, which is what regulators and internal auditors actually want to see.
Automator (CBS)
The workflow automation layer behind Operational Excellence. Standardises processes, maintains audit trails, and lets plants customise workflows to their operating models.
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
The cloud infrastructure CommandCore™ runs on. ePS delivers and manages the cloud services for each customer.
Batch-Level Resin Traceability
A flexible packaging traceability capability. Recipes for multi-layer extrusion and lamination structures are refined with real-time shop floor data and actual consumption, so each batch of resin can be traced to the finished product.
Business Intelligence (BI)
Analytics and reporting built into every pillar rather than bolted on as a separate tool. Turns production, financial, and quality data into something you can act on in real time.
Butt-Roll (Part-Roll)
A partially used paper roll. With RFID or barcode tracking, part-rolls can be reused instead of set aside, which lowers overall paper stock.
CAPA (Corrective / Preventive Actions)
A workflow inside Quality & Compliance for resolving non-conformances and stopping them from happening again.
Capacity & Constraints
A Smart Scheduling capability that plans across machines, materials, and labor so schedules match what the plant can actually run. Delivered through PrintFlow4D®.
Capacity First
One of CommandCore™'s entry paths. Starts with Smart Scheduling and MES to give plants visibility into capacity and resolve bottlenecks; typically cuts unplanned downtime 10–20%.
Carbon Footprint (Product Carbon Footprint)
The greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product or job. Carbon Quota calculates it at job level in seconds from live material and production data.
Carbon Quota
The sustainability engine inside the Sustainability pillar. Turns live production and material data into carbon accounting and regulatory disclosure reports (CSRD, CBAM, PPWR, DPP, SBTi, EcoVadis).
CBAM
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. An EU regulatory framework that the Sustainability pillar helps manufacturers report against.
CBS
The core ERP backbone inside ERP Foundation. Covers estimating, order and production management, materials, tooling, logistics, and costing.
Changeover (Switchover)
The time and material lost when a machine moves from one job to the next. PrintFlow4D® sequences jobs to cut make-ready time and switchover cost, and includes real-time switchover analysis.
Closed-Loop Optimization
A Control Systems capability, delivered through Escada. Live machine data is fed back to adjust the machine automatically in real time, replacing operator guesswork so quality and throughput stay steady from shift to shift.
Cloud-Native Architecture
The design approach behind the CommandCore™ platform: mobile-first, with embedded Business Intelligence and an open API ecosystem. It brings faster deployments, lower IT overhead, continuous updates, and built-in security.
CommandCore™
The platform itself: a single-database architecture running eight packaging-native operational pillars on one connected foundation.
ConnectMe
The chat messaging system within Automator. It connects people across the organization, and automation rules can trigger it alongside tasks, to-do items, and integration triggers.
Control Systems
One of the eight pillars. Captures live machine data and applies closed-loop control to optimize output and precision at the press or converting line.
Conversion (Converting)
The processes that turn raw board, film, paper, or label stock into finished packaging: printing, laminating, slitting, die-cutting, and folding. MES tracks conversion in real time, and Corrtrim helps maximize yield across trimming and conversion.
Conversion Quality & Feedback
An MES capability, via Corrplan and AC4D, that gives conversion quality a closed feedback loop.
Converting Scheduling
Scheduling of the converting lines, the machines that turn board into finished boxes. In corrugated plants, PrintFlow4D® plans the converting lines and the corrugator together.
Corrplan
A shop floor tracking engine inside MES. Gives real-time visibility into jobs, machines, and operators, plus conversion quality feedback.
CorrSuite
Short for the ePS Corrugated Suite, now unified into CommandCore™. The same products run on one database across eight pillars.
Corrtrac
An MES engine focused on paper and resource optimization, and on tracking finished goods through to shipment.
Corrtrim
An engine that spans MES and Smart Scheduling. Maximizes yield across trimming and conversion, and feeds AI-assisted advanced scheduling.
Corrugated
The packaging segment covering box plants and sheet plants. CommandCore™ links wet-end scheduling to converting logic, which keeps work moving from the corrugator to the finishing line and reduces WIP.
Corrugator
The machine line that makes corrugated board by bonding fluted paper between liners. Escada handles closed-loop control of the corrugator, and Corrtrim supports its scheduling.
Corrugator Scheduling
Planning production on the corrugator around machine capacity, order priorities, material availability, and production constraints. Corrtrim supports it and feeds AI-assisted advanced scheduling.
CSR (Customer Service Representative)
A role that gets clear job status visibility and fewer manual handoffs in CommandCore™, so customer inquiries can be answered without chasing the shop floor.
CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive)
An EU directive requiring detailed sustainability reporting. The Sustainability pillar and Carbon Quota produce audit-ready data and reports for CSRD disclosure.
Customer Portal (B2B)
A Smart Supply Agility feature for self-service ordering and order-status checks.
Demand Planning
Planning production and materials from forecasts and expected orders. In Radius, internal or customer-provided forecasts can generate jobs automatically, and supplier lead times are built into material purchasing.
Deployment Models
The five ways to adopt CommandCore™, all on the same foundation. Standalone Pillar deploys any single pillar. Multi-Pillar Bundle combines two or three, typically ERP, MES, and Scheduling. Full CommandCore deploys all eight pillars with Pack AI. Multi-Site Rollout extends the platform across plants with a global template and local flexibility. Managed Cloud is a fully managed service run by ePS on AWS.
Die-Cutting (Dies)
Cutting flat sheet or board into shaped blanks using a custom cutting tool called a die. Dies are managed as tooling in ERP Foundation, and PrintFlow4D® takes die availability into account when scheduling.
Digital Front End (DFE)
The software that controls a digital press and manages incoming print jobs. AC4D integrates with DFE systems as part of its shop floor data flow.
Digital Product Passport (DPP)
An EU regulatory requirement for product-level sustainability data, supported through the Sustainability pillar and Carbon Quota.
Direct Machine Interface (DMI)
A machine connection, used with AC4D and Radius, that stops jobs from under- or over-running. It typically reduces waste by about 2% and cuts the employee time needed to guarantee order fulfillment.
Discovery Workshop
A 60-minute session that maps the fragmentation tax in a plant's operation and quantifies the upside, pillar by pillar and plant by plant.
Dynamic Scheduling
A CommandCore™ solution area built on PrintFlow4D®. Optimizes complex, multi-site production workloads up to 20x faster than legacy scheduling systems.
ECMA Carton Outlines
A library of standard folding carton outlines based on ECMA (European Carton Makers Association) styles. Using them speeds up estimating, shortens lead times, and improves precision.
EcoVadis
A business sustainability ratings platform that many brands use to assess suppliers. Carbon Quota generates audit-ready data and reports for EcoVadis, as well as CSRD, CBAM, PPWR, DPP, and SBTi.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
Part of the Integration & Automation foundation layer. Automates data exchange with partners, suppliers, and customer systems.
ePS (eProductivity Software)
The company behind CommandCore™. ePS has built software exclusively for the packaging industry for more than 30 years and serves 700+ packaging manufacturers globally.
ePS Navigator
A Pack AI surface that gives executives and boards a live, cross-plant view of margin, throughput, and carbon. Every KPI is defined once and sourced from actual production data.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
Business software that manages estimating, orders, inventory, purchasing, costing, and finance. In CommandCore™, ERP is delivered through the ERP Foundation pillar.
ERP Foundation
One of the eight pillars and the commercial core of the plant. It covers estimating and quoting, order and production management, materials and inventory, tooling and prepress assets, logistics and fulfillment, and costing, powered by Radius, CBS, Metrics, and Paxis. It gives one source of truth from quote to cash.
Escada
The machine-data-capture and closed-loop optimization engine inside Control Systems.
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)
The framework companies and their customers use to measure and report sustainability performance. The Sustainability pillar supplies the job-level environmental data behind it.
Estimating & Quoting
An ERP Foundation capability for cost estimation backed by real production data, powered by Radius, CBS, Metrics, and Paxis.
Extrusion
The process of melting resin and forming it into film, the first stage of many flexible packaging workflows. CommandCore™ tracks waste at every converting stage from extrusion to slitting.
Finished Goods & Shipment
An MES capability, via Corrtrac and AC4D, that tracks product from the line through to shipment.
Flexible Growth Path
CommandCore's modular approach to adoption. Customers don't deploy all eight pillars at once. They start where they'll see the fastest return, prove value, and expand when ready, with no rip-and-replace.
Flexibles
The packaging segment for film, pouch, and bag converters. CommandCore™ controls complex laminations and roll-stock inventory, with end-to-end traceability and waste tracked at every converting stage.
Flexo (Flexographic Printing)
A printing method that uses flexible relief plates, common in packaging and labels. CommandCore™ supports tags and labels converters running hybrid digital and flexo workflows.
Folding Cartons
The packaging segment for paperboard and specialty packaging. CommandCore™ handles multi-component estimates and intricate die-cut layouts, and schedules to balance press capacity against finishing requirements.
Fragmentation Tax
The hidden cost of running operations across disconnected systems: manual reconciliation, delayed job costing, and blind spots between plants. It can cost 2–5% of margin each year, and CommandCore's single database is designed to eliminate it.
Free Stock Planning
An ERP capability that helps allocate stock more effectively and reduce holding costs. In Radius it works alongside MRP to reduce working capital.
Future-Ready First
An entry path that starts with Quality & Compliance and Sustainability. Built for manufacturers under regulatory pressure who need audit trail confidence and carbon reporting before expanding further.
Genie
A Pack AI surface that generates packaging-native estimates and quotes in seconds, grounded in a plant's bills of materials, machine speeds, and live material costs.
GHG Protocol (Greenhouse Gas Protocol)
The widely used set of standards for measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions. CommandCore's carbon accounting is designed to comply with GHG protocols and international standards.
Imposition
The arrangement of pages or label images on a press sheet so they print, cut, and fold correctly. iQuote can integrate with imposition layout software.
Industry 4.0
The shift toward connected, data-driven manufacturing. Radius integration tools let converters combine their own tools and business logic into tailored workflows.
Integrated Platform Effect
The compounding gains CommandCore™ delivers when pillars run as one architecture instead of separate modules: typically 4–8% waste reduction and up to 20% downtime reduction within 12–18 months.
Integration & Automation
A foundation layer covering APIs, prepress interfaces, finance connectors, EDI, and links to external ERPs and OEM machines.
Inventory & Supply Chain
A CommandCore™ solution area for controlling raw materials and roll stock. End-to-end traceability helps prevent stock-outs and reduces the capital tied up in inventory.
Inventory Alignment & Safety Stock
A Smart Supply Agility capability, delivered through Radius/Hub, for demand-driven material planning that keeps safety stock in line with actual demand. Customers report carrying roughly 30% less safety stock.
Job Costing
An ERP Foundation capability that ties true job cost to actual operational drivers. CommandCore™ calculates job cost live at every stage, so cost and variance are visible as production happens.
KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A measure of business or production performance. ePS Business Intelligence lets teams monitor KPIs across sales, production, inventory, shipping, and accounting on customizable dashboards. CommandCore™ defines each KPI once.
Lamination
Bonding layers of film, foil, or paper together with adhesives to build a packaging structure. Recipe Management stores multi-layer extrusion and lamination structures against finished item specifications.
Laydown
The arrangement of label jobs across a web or sheet. Efficient laydowns, combined with automatic grouping of similar jobs, help minimize switchovers and make-ready in tags and labels production.
Lifecycle Carbon Breakdown
A view of a job's emissions across raw materials, production, consumables, transport, and end-of-life, built from the material, production, and transport data already in Radius.
Lightweighting
The trend toward lighter board and materials. As board weight drops, historical grade labels no longer predict corrugator performance accurately, so the Control Systems pillar tracks live performance metrics as a connected system.
Logistics & Fulfilment
An ERP Foundation capability that coordinates shipping, delivery, and customer fulfilment.
Make-Ready
The setup work and material used to get a press or converting line ready to run a job. Minimizing make-ready time is a core goal of PrintFlow4D® scheduling.
Margin First
An entry path that starts with ERP Foundation (Estimating/Quoting) and Control Systems, aimed at recovering margin and cutting substrate waste before scheduling is added.
Master Estimate Logic
Built-in estimating logic in Radius that selects the most cost-effective route for a job through the plant and keeps quotes consistent across the organization.
Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
Planning the materials needed for production based on demand and stock on hand. Radius includes MRP alongside free stock planning to support procurement from purchase through production.
Materials & Inventory
An ERP Foundation capability that gives real-time visibility into substrate, ink, and tooling inventory.
MES (Manufacturing Execution System)
One of the eight pillars. Connects planning to the shop floor in real time: trimming, conversion, shop-floor tracking, and resource optimization.
Metrics
An ERP Foundation engine that adds performance analytics on top of standard ERP capabilities like estimating, inventory, and costing.
MIS (Management Information System)
The business system that runs estimating, job management, and reporting, often used interchangeably with ERP in packaging. PrintFlow4D® integrates with any MIS or ERP to give a complete production overview.
Multi-Site, Multi-Company Operations
Radius supports multiple plants and legal entities on one platform, including those added through mergers and acquisitions. Standardized processes give visibility across the business and support business continuity.
Multi-Tenant / Single-Tenant
Two hosting models. The CommandCore™ core platform is single-tenant, while some applications, such as Paxis, are multi-tenant. Both can be deployed for the same customer, and users notice no difference.
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Technology that lets people query data in everyday language. ePS Business Intelligence uses NLP so users can get insights without specialized technical skills.
NCR (Non-Conformance Report)
A Quality & Compliance capability that tracks non-conformances from detection through resolution, tied to real production events.
Net Zero
A commitment to balance greenhouse gas emissions. With carbon data embedded in Radius, converters can help their brand customers track progress toward Net Zero targets.
Next Gen Clarity
An Escada recipe management and business intelligence solution that brings together data from all Escada control systems for reporting and analysis.
North Star Decision Filter
The question that guides every CommandCore™ product decision: "Does this create unified value or fragment it?"
OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)
A production KPI tracked through Smart Scheduling reporting, alongside on-time delivery and throughput.
Operational Excellence
One of the eight pillars. Covers workflow design, audit trails, scenario planning, and process customisation.
Order & Production Management
An ERP Foundation capability covering the end-to-end order lifecycle from quote to cash.
OTIF (On-Time-In-Full)
A delivery metric; CommandCore™ customers typically improve 5–10% through the Integrated Platform Effect.
Outlier Analysis
A Radius analysis capability that helps uncover the most profitable customers and adjust pricing strategy.
Pack AI
The embedded AI layer across CommandCore™. Gives operators instant answers, alongside AI Copilot and Workbench AI.
Packaging-Native
Built for packaging from the start rather than adapted from a generic ERP. CommandCore™ understands substrates, dies, waste factors, press make-ready, and carbon accounting out of the box.
Pallet-Level Traceability
Tracking from raw material through to finished product at the pallet level, supporting compliance with pharmaceutical and food standards.
Paper & Resource Optimisation
An MES capability, via Corrtrac and PrintFlow4D®, that optimizes paper usage and resource allocation.
Paxis
A multi-tenant ERP application inside ERP Foundation, covering estimating, order management, inventory, tooling, and costing.
Plastic Tax Calculations
Automated plastic tax logic built into Radius to help customers keep pace with changing regulations.
PPWR
Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. An EU rule supported by CommandCore™'s automated carbon and compliance reporting.
Prepress
The preparation work before printing, such as artwork and plates. CommandCore™ manages prepress assets alongside dies across jobs and connects to prepress systems through its integration layer.
PrintFlow4D®
The advanced scheduling and shop-floor intelligence engine spanning MES and Smart Scheduling. Runs what-if scenarios, capacity and constraint optimization, and AI-driven scheduling up to 20x faster than legacy systems.
Process Automation
A CommandCore™ solution area built on ePS Automator. It uses event-based rules to automate repetitive business and production tasks, such as sending emails, running reports, creating tasks, and calling API endpoints.
Procurement & Replenishment
A Smart Supply Agility capability, delivered through Radius/Hub, for automated procurement and stock replenishment.
Profile (Escada Profile)
An Escada closed-loop process control solution that combines the dry and wet ends of the corrugator to help it run at the highest speeds possible.
QCS (Quality Control System)
In corrugating, a system monitors and controls board quality during production. Escada delivers corrugator QCS and process control.
Quality & Compliance
One of the eight pillars: NCR management, CAPA, regulatory disclosure, and quality assurance.
Quote-to-Cash
The full order lifecycle from quoting through order, production, shipment, and payment. ERP Foundation provides a single source of truth across it.
Radius
The estimating and quotation engine inside ERP Foundation, also handling order management, materials, tooling, and costing.
Radius/Hub
The engine behind Smart Supply Agility: customer portals, supplier management, procurement, and inventory alignment.
Real-Time Shop Floor Tracking
An MES capability, via Corrplan, AC4D, and PrintFlow4D®, that gives live visibility into every job, machine, and operator.
Recipe Management
In flexibles, building multi-layer extrusion and lamination structures from substrates, adhesives, and resin mixes and storing them against finished item specifications, updated from trial runs and real-time shop floor data. In corrugating, Escada recipes are built around paper quality and supplier.
Regulatory Disclosures
A Sustainability capability, delivered through Carbon Quota, that automates the documentation needed for sustainability compliance reporting.
RFID & Barcode Tracking
Technology used in roll stock management to identify and monitor paper rolls, including part-rolls, with full integration into inventory and supply chain management.
Role-Based Views
Work views configured for specific job roles so each person sees only the information they need. This reduces touchpoints, response time, and errors.
Roll Stock Analysis
A service that evaluates the previous year's production and re-plans it to find the best way to produce orders with the fewest paper grades and corrugator changes, improving paper utilization and reducing cost.
Roll Stock Management
Tracking and managing paper roll inventory from the mill to the corrugator and through converting, including wet-end consumption tracking and RFID capabilities. Delivered through Corrtrac.
SBTi
Science Based Targets initiative. One of the frameworks Carbon Quota reports against.
Scenario KPIs & Reporting
A Smart Scheduling capability, delivered through PrintFlow4D®, that tracks OEE, on-time delivery, and throughput in real time.
Sheet Plant (Sheet Feeder)
A corrugated converting facility that buys corrugated sheets and converts them into finished boxes rather than making its own board. CommandCore™ supports both sheet plants and integrated plants.
Shop Floor Management
A CommandCore™ solution area built on AC4D. It replaces manual logsheets by capturing speeds, waste counts, and OEE data directly from equipment in real time, and integrates with ERP, MES, and scheduling systems. Efficiency improves by up to 20%.
Single Database Architecture
The core design principle of CommandCore™: every pillar shares one database and a common data model, so data flows in both directions in real time. Change it once and see it everywhere.
Single Source of Truth
One consistent version of the data every team works from. CommandCore™ delivers it by defining each KPI once and sourcing it from live production data.
Smart Scheduling
One of the eight pillars. Uses capacity-constraint algorithms and what-if modeling to build realistic production plans.
Smart SetPoint (SSP)
An Escada recipe decision-making solution for corrugators. It goes beyond historical data and also uses variables such as environmental conditions and raw material data to support real-time decisions.
Smart Supply Agility
One of the eight pillars. Connects internal teams, customers, and suppliers through self-service portals, automated procurement, and replenishment.
Stay With You
ePS's post-go-live approach: continuous optimization, real-world refinement, and quarterly value reviews tied to agreed metrics.
Substrate
The base material that is printed or converted, such as paperboard, corrugated board, film, or label stock.
Supplier Management
A Smart Supply Agility capability, delivered through Radius/Hub, that manages procurement and vendor performance.
Sustainability
One of the eight pillars. Turns operational data into carbon accounting and audit-ready regulatory disclosure reports.
Syncro 7
An Escada single-point corrugator control system that integrates dry-end and wet-end operations, from the roll stands through the take-off conveyors.
Tags & Labels
The segment covering pressure-sensitive and shrink sleeve converters. CommandCore™ helps manage large SKU counts across hybrid digital and flexo workflows, reduce changeover times, and automate tooling management.
Three Unified Layers
The CommandCore™ architecture: the Foundation layer (one experience, one engine, one set of numbers), the Technology layer (custom integrations, APIs, and applications), and the Pack AI layer (packaging-native intelligence across every pillar).
Time to First Value
How quickly the first deployed pillar shows measurable ROI, designed for 60 to 120 days. Adoption follows three phases: Assess & Start, Prove Value, and Expand & Scale.
Tooling & Prepress Assets
An ERP Foundation capability for managing dies, plates, and prepress assets across jobs.
Touchpoints
Manual steps or handoffs in a process, such as re-keying data or chasing status. CommandCore™ reduces touchpoints through automation, role-based views, and integrated data, which leads to fewer errors.
Trailer Planning (Shipment Planning)
A logistics module that specifies loading times, locations, sequences, quantities, and where each order sits within a trailer. A cubing algorithm optimizes trailer and container use, which cuts transport cost and carbon footprint.
Tribal Knowledge
Know-how held by experienced operators rather than written down. As they retire, CommandCore™ preserves it by digitizing the shop floor, automating data capture, and building best-practice machine standards into the system.
Trimming & Conversion Optimisation
An MES capability, via Corrtrim and PrintFlow4D®, that maximizes yield across trimming and conversion. In corrugating, trimming means fitting orders across the width of the board to minimize edge waste.
UDE
The workflow, quality, and compliance engine spanning Operational Excellence and Quality & Compliance: workflow design, audit trails, NCR management, and CAPA.
UI/UX (Unified UX)
The foundation layer that keeps the experience consistent, accessible, and mobile- and tablet-ready across all eight pillars.
Warp & Delamination
Two corrugated board quality defects. Warp is an unwanted curl in the board, and delamination is the separation of its layers. Customers using Escada report reduced warp and improved board quality and consistency.
Waste Tracking
A Control Systems capability, via Escada and AC4D, that tracks and reduces waste in real time at the machine.
Wet End / Dry End
The two halves of a corrugator. The wet end forms and glues the board, starting at the roll stands, and the dry end slits, cuts, and stacks the finished board. Escada provides closed-loop control across both.
What-if Scenarios
A Smart Scheduling capability that models outcomes before resources are committed. PrintFlow4D® returns instant results so planners can compare options in minutes rather than hours. ePS Business Intelligence also supports what-if analysis of cost, production, and revenue scenarios.
WIP (Work-in-Progress)
An operational metric CommandCore™ customers typically reduce 5–10% through synchronised scheduling and shop-floor visibility.
Workbench AI
A Pack AI capability that surfaces insights before they become problems.
Workflow Designer
An Operational Excellence capability for standardising and optimising operational processes.
Don't see a term you're looking for? Contact us or check the full CommandCore™ platform and FAQ page.