Prepare an optimal production plan taking into account the specificity of your production.

Are you trying to plan your production, but the number of variables always poses some risks? Do you need a tool that will take into account all aspects of your production?

APS - Production planning software

The APS (Advanced Planning & Scheduling) module is the key to streamlining production processes and improving delivery efficiency. Dedicated software supports planning and scheduling, ensuring excellent control over the enterprise.

Precise production planning is a key source of optimization of the entire production process. It allows you to find hidden dependencies that affect the efficiency of the entire team.

A good production plan is the basis for the operation of most departments of a manufacturing company and can be used by, among others:

  • Planners
  • Suppliers
  • Warehousemen
  • Production operators
  • Production managers
  • Maintenance department
  • Traders
  • Quality control department
Would you like to talk about your production planning?

Planning models


The production process scheduling model depends on many factors specific to each company. Creating a good plan will depend on factors such as the nature of production (ETO - Engineering to order - design to order, MTO - Make to order - production to order, ATO Assembly to order - assembly to order or MTS Make to stock - production to stock), machinery, number and shape of individual production processes, warehouse stocks or availability of raw materials.

Finding a universal recipe for optimal production planning is therefore impossible, or at least it will not be multidimensionally optimal. However, two main trends can be identified that will allow us to categorize the challenges that will arise at the stage of designing a dedicated solution.

Short term

Short-term planning is most common in the case of low-volume production and is made to order. Large differences in technological processes or different lengths of production paths depending on the order are just some of the key features of such production.

Challenges

  • Maintaining the correct production route in relation to the technological process.

  • Ensuring the delivery of raw materials and semi-finished products at each production stage.

  • Seasoning of semi-finished and finished products before delivery to the customer.

  • Maintaining contractual deadlines.

  • Optimization of resource use, in particular machines and people.

  • Agile quality checks after each production stage.

  • Production sampling and technology validation.

Long term

A long-term production schedule is encountered primarily where the environment is known and constant. Having a specific range of products and the resulting technological processes, producing batches in stock and doing it cyclically, we can think about a long-term plan.

Challenges

  • Maintaining lean inventory.

  • Supply planning in accordance with the production schedule.

  • Maintaining supply chains and their alternatives.

  • Monitoring production in progress and semi-finished products after subsequent production stages.

  • Automation of production planning based on inventory.

  • Forecasting demand for individual goods based on warehouse rotation.

  • Product seasonality and seasonal production.

Short term

Short-term planning is most common in the case of low-volume production and is made to order. Large differences in technological processes or different lengths of production paths depending on the order are just some of the key features of such production.

Challenges

  • Maintaining the correct production route in relation to the technological process.

  • Ensuring the delivery of raw materials and semi-finished products at each production stage.

  • Seasoning of semi-finished and finished products before delivery to the customer.

  • Maintaining contractual deadlines.

  • Optimization of resource use, in particular machines and people.

  • Agile quality checks after each production stage.

  • Production sampling and technology validation.

Examples of optimization in the area of planning


Always the correct process route
Always the correct process route

When planning the execution of an order, remember about the correct sequence of production processes. Negligence may lead to delays, which in the worst case scenario will only be revealed when the process is completed. With our system, you don't have to worry about missing something, an incorrectly planned process will be marked in the schedule as a threat, which will allow you to react at the right time.

Immediate indication of lack of raw materials and components
Immediate indication of lack of raw materials and components

When completing an order, it may turn out that the raw material or other part needed to complete the production process did not arrive on time. This situation can be avoided thanks to our system, which signals the lack of any ingredient needed for production.

Optimal use of resources
Optimal use of resources

In a company that does not use production planning software, resources are not fully utilized. This may lead to increased costs and difficulties in meeting market demand. Our APS will allow you to fill gaps in the schedule, which will positively affect the company's development.

All well informed
All well informed

Communication during production processes is extremely important. This is a key element of production management. Our APS system will allow you to maintain efficient communication and save notes for processes, which will positively affect the flow of information in the company.

Seasoning of raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products
Seasoning of raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products

Failure to maintain appropriate seasoning time may lead to various consequences, depending on the type of product and production process. Our software warns about the mandatory seasoning time, which allows us to avoid producing products that are vulnerable to production defects and, consequently, customer complaints.

Quick response to changes
Quick response to changes

Sudden schedule changes can lead to employee stress and frustration, which negatively affects their productivity. Additionally, if a company is unable to adapt to unexpected changes, it can result in production and delivery delays, which negatively impacts customer relationships. Our software will allow your employees to receive real-time schedule updates, which will positively impact the overall efficiency of the company.

Optimization of machine setup
Optimization of machine setup

Situations where jobs are paused and resumed are very costly and may even lead to an increased risk of errors or failures. Thanks to the production planning system, you will have control over situations in which similar orders may be completed one after the other. This will reduce changeover time, which will ultimately allow you to do the work faster and more efficiently.

Always on time
Always on time

Exceeding deadlines is a common problem for companies that do not have a planning system. These exceedances lead to increased costs and customer dissatisfaction. With the APS system, you gain control over implementation deadlines, which will allow you to take appropriate actions faster to minimize delays and their effects.

Status and production tracking in progress
Status and production tracking in progress

Lack of a planning system also means lack of insight into the current progress of the order. The software we have created will allow you to view work progress in real time, which will ultimately allow you to detect threats earlier.

Multi-shift plan with no production downtime
Multi-shift plan with no production downtime

Optimization.Item10.Description

Good to know

The presented solution is only a demonstration of aveneo's technological capabilities. Our mission is to provide dedicated software (created together with and for our clients) that will be fully adapted and optimized to the operating model and business processes, and not to offer a ready-made, universal product that will require a number of compromises.

Additional benefits


Lead time compression - shortened production cycle by minimizing breaks between processes.

Lean warehouse stocks thanks to precise monitoring of delivery dates.

Increased productivity thanks to better inter-process synchronization.

Monitor production progress in real time.

Reducing the volume of work in progress thanks to continuous condition monitoring.

Better internal communication thanks to an internal communicator.

Optimized use of resources thanks to full control of the load on production stations.

Improved timeliness thanks to an organized and realistic production plan.

Flexibility to change customer needs thanks to simple and immediate plan modifications.

Reduce production costs by reducing production downtime and staying on schedule.

Shifted plan horizon thanks to the reliability of planning software.

Planning of multiple stations and production locations without additional work.

Ready to talk about planning your production?

Selected production software modules


Traceability

Trace production in every aspect - from raw materials and components to the finished product.

Warehouse Management System (WMS)

Optimize your warehouse operations and enhance inventory management.

Manufacturing Execution System (MES)

Monitor and control your manufacturing processes in real-time for improved efficiency.

Material Requirements Plan (MRP)

Seamlessly manage energy demand to reduce costs and enhance sustainability.

Quality Management System (QMS)

Ensure product quality and compliance with robust quality control processes.

Client Relation Management (CRM)

Enhance customer relationships and improve communication with a dedicated CRM system.

aveneo logo
  • Can the planning module respond to changes in production conditions?

    Of course! The main idea of having dedicated production planning software is to create solutions that will help address incidental situations that actually occur in your production. Lack of raw material or components for production? Machine failure or unavailability of operators? All these cases can be signaled in advance, which will allow validation of the production plan and its adaptation to the prevailing conditions.

  • We have not planned production so far. Our production managers deal with this every day and we see no need to change it.

    It is true that many manufacturing companies operate in this model. The lack of a sense of the need for precise planning in advance is due to the fact that production managers do not see the benefits of optimization. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that the role of the production manager is not to schedule production processes, but to supervise them. The time spent responding to incidental situations resulting from the lack of a plan could be spent on improving the quality of production or optimizing it.

  • We plan production in Excel. Why do we need a dedicated tool?

    Production planning in a spreadsheet is a very time-consuming and risky process. Starting with data consistency, depending on how many planners can work on one sheet, through the fact of building complex dependencies in the production environment resulting from, for example, the availability of raw materials, components, human resources or machine efficiency. Making adjustments to such a plan in real time is practically impossible. It is also impossible to monitor production progress.

  • Can a dedicated production schedule calculate the time of individual processes and activities?

    Yes. This is one of the key features that cannot be achieved with any other tool. Firstly, knowing the characteristics of technological processes and production volume, we can calculate the estimated completion time of individual orders and processes. Secondly, we can feed the algorithms with historical data and, based on this principle, create an even more precise production plan. Additionally, processes carried out at the same station may interfere with each other, which will affect implementation times (e.g. machine changeover time), which may also be included in the plan.

  • We do not care about a very precise production plan. Our production is low-volume. We treat it as a list of tasks. Can you provide us with such a tool?

    In the case of low-volume production or production with unchanged specificity of technological processes, we recommend replacing a precise schedule with a tool that will allow you to plan production goals or even deliver a list of tasks to individual production stations, arranged according to priorities. There is no need to plan down to the minute as this will not impact the performance of the stations. However, the production plan will allow for building mutual awareness of the inputs that must be produced and the point in time when a given scale of production will be achieved.