Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS)

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) is a digital solution that helps manufacturers to manage production planning and shop floor scheduling. Using advanced algorithms to balance demand and capacity and generate achievable production schedules, Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software results in shorter lead times to meet customer demands and easier, more rapid responses to unexpected production changes.

The two primary components of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) – strategic planning and detailed scheduling – help manufacturers anticipate manufacturing resource needs; orchestrate efficient use of material, people and machines; and deliver valuable customer service and higher profitability. Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) can be used for long-term strategic planning covering months and years, medium-term tactical planning with a few weeks planning horizon, and detailed sequencing and scheduling.

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software can be used as a standalone system to manage planning and scheduling, and can also be integrated with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Manufacturing Execution System (MES), and other software solutions.

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Functions

APS planning functionality considers forecast and long-term orders, supports decision making about feasibility and affects the general direction of production operations. Put simply, Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) supports decisions surrounding extending the workforce, resource capacity, and factories. It helps manufacturers determine what and how much to make, where and when to make it, and exactly what resources are required. Planning can be executed in finite or infinite capacity mode and planning time periods can be days, weeks, months, or a combination of all three.

Advanced Scheduling functionality considers the availability of resources and additional constraints, such as tooling and materials to ensure an accurate model of the manufacturing environment. Advanced Scheduling schedules orders using intelligent built-in rules. Advanced Scheduling provides decision-making support for overtime, order prioritization, split production batches, due date negotiation, and order processing.

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) oversees numerous aspects of a production environment, including:

• Master Production Schedule creation
• Bill of Materials (BOM) level planning
• Interactive schedule visualization
• Make-to-order planning
• Make-to-stock planning
• Advanced constraint modeling
• Advanced material handling
• Advance schedule optimization
• Assembly process visualization
• Interactive schedule viewing
• Order-based multi-constraint scheduling

Benefits of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS)

Advanced Planning and Scheduling improves the synchronization of manufacturing processes and provides greater visibility to increase utilization and on-time delivery while reducing inventory levels and waste. Its advanced math enables manufacturers to quickly analyze and calculate achievable production schedules while considering multiple constraints and business rules. Planners can generate and evaluate what-if scenarios to achieve the best results.

Additional benefits:

• Full visibility and control
• Increased utilization and leaner operations
• Faster response to change
• Better customer service
• Higher margins