What requirements an APS system must fulfill – Part II

The capacity planning across plant boundaries mentioned in the first part of this article is a good example of the benefits of an independent planning tool. Different ways of mapping cross-plant supply chains in ERP have different disadvantages: If the plants are treated separately, it is cumbersome to clarify, for example, whether missing parts are perhaps available in another plant and have not yet been planned there. Instead of genuine cross-plant planning, external orders are then often used in practice as a faster but more costly solution. However, if separate plants are treated as a unit in the ERP system, important details for planning, such as the time required and the transport capacity for logistics between the plants, are lost. Cross-plant planning in an APS system, on the other hand, offers the opportunity to optimize capacity utilization and inventory management in the plant network through real-time access to the overall planning screen.

APS system optimizes cross-plant planning

Comprehensive planning, which among other things leads to binding and achievable delivery dates at an early stage, must also be transparent for everyone involved. Only if departments that are dependent on each other for various work steps in a production process know that they can rely on each other thanks to transparent planning can the bad habit of anxiety stocks, for example, be put to an end. In any case, planning tools should be multi-user systems that allow joint work on a company-wide planning picture. In many cases, coupling with a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) has proven to be a useful addition in order to pass on the planning results. With an MES, communication with production and logistics can be simplified – by displaying worklists for the workstations on the one hand and real-time feedback on key process figures on the other. Advanced planning is constantly adapted to the actual conditions so that a backlog-free planning picture is the rule and not the exception.

It should not be concealed that Advanced Planning & Scheduling requires not only a tool with the features described but also a suitable organization and defined processes. Introducing comprehensive planning with deadline sovereignty always means curtailing local competencies – whether these are real or perceived. Change management and unrestricted support from the management are very important here.

Even “free-floating” departments must be involved

In many cases, it is also necessary to include departments in the planning process that were previously “free-floating”. Examples here would be design departments, prototype construction or quality assurance. It is not possible to schedule the construction of a special machine if it is not clear how much development time is required. A product created in a chemical process can only be packaged for shipment once the laboratory has confirmed its quality.

Process times must be documented for all links in the value chain and the ERP master data must be appropriately maintained. Those who plan comprehensively on this basis of binding, consensual data and procedures and, thanks to modern in-memory software, work with an up-to-date planning picture at all times, achieve supply chain management that meets current and future requirements: flexible, transparent and free of unnecessary costs and inventories.

You can find the first part of this article under ” What requirements an APS system must fulfill – Part I“”

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