About MSF APS
MSF Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) is a system that automates the scheduling of production orders based on various objectives and constraints. It optimizes the plan to provide accurate delivery date quotes for customers and improve customer satisfaction. Bellow are listed some benefits and features of APS, but in general you can understand that MSF APS is like a plugin to your existing ERP and working style to help you with everyday planning difficulties.
When APS is set up in full, you’ll be able to use it to plan automatically or manually. If some crisis scenarios happen, like Unexpected Breakdowns, Priority Orders changes, Cancellation of Orders, Lack of employees on the shop floor, Shift overtimes, or Delays from suppliers, APS can help you replan in minutes without too much effort from other departments.
APS will also cross plan automatically if you have more organizations in your company, for example: tooling, molding, assembly, …
MSF primary focus is to prove you with a unique tailored to your specification APS solution with minimum interaction needed so you can focus on other priority tasks. This is why is designed to handle the most complex productions easily, but can also handle less complex just fine.
If you think you have too complex and too unique and specific production, you need not worry, this is where MSF APS with possible combination of other modules will excel.
MSF APS Features
APS considers due dates and optimizes the plan to ensure timely delivery of products, leading to improved customer satisfaction.
APS creates a production schedule that takes into account the available resources, such as materials, equipment, and labour, to ensure the plan is realistic and achievable.
APS can optimize the sequencing of work orders to maximize efficiency and minimize downtime by considering the dependencies between different work orders.
APS considers the availability of resources, such as raw materials and equipment, to allocate them effectively and ensure a realistic production plan.
APS allows for the assignment of factory calendars to workstations and operations, considering working hours/days and non-working hours/days. This helps in creating a realistic plan based on the availability of resources and enables proactive capacity planning. combine work orders manually.
APS can automatically combine similar jobs, which increases productivity by optimizing the utilization of resources and reducing the effort required to combine work orders manually.
APS can assign operations to alternative workstations based on available capacity, maximizing resource utilization, production efficiency, and minimizing lead times.
Priorities can be assigned to production orders, enabling high-priority orders to be planned earlier based on the available resources. This helps in handling rush orders and changes in priorities efficiently.
APS allows for the comparison of production schedules between different platforms, helping organizations identify and understand the improvements achieved through optimization.
APS enables scheduling and visualization of projects based on milestone deadlines and associated tasks. It assists in tracking, reporting, and communicating project progress, ensuring everyone is on the same page with tasks, dependencies, and deadlines.
APS utilizes real-time data from the shop floor to predict work progress, order completion times, and identify changes in bottlenecks. This helps in adapting the plan to optimize production efficiency.
APS distributes work orders evenly across resources to maximize capacity utilization and throughput, ensuring effective use of resources and increased revenue.
APS includes features for batch management, barcode traceability, and automatic reservation of stocks and purchase orders. This improves traceability, reduces paperwork, and enables optimized stock levels and accurate resource allocation.
APS synchronizes the supply chain with demand, ensuring inventory levels are aligned with increasing or decreasing demand, reducing waste, and optimizing ingredient utilization.
APS allows for parametric adjustments and modelling of various constraints, such as work order delays, specific start times, waiting times, multi-constraint scheduling, BOM level planning, and more. This provides greater planning agility and optimization based on real scenarios.
APS includes features for labour auto-scheduling, employee skill matrix, and scheduling based on employee shift groups. This ensures optimal employee assignment, increased productivity, and reduced scheduling errors.
Additionally, APS enables direct communication with Supply chain planning (SCP) module, which can perform automatic planning and scheduling of logistic requirements in real-time, including forklift calls, barcode tracking, and smart notifications for transfer operations. This improves warehouse efficiency and accuracy in materials flow. More in this topic visit SCP menu.
APS Case Study Summaries
Electronics company implemented an APS system to optimize their production planning and scheduling. The APS system provided the following benefits:
- Improved demand forecasting accuracy, enabling better inventory management and reduced stockouts.
- Enhanced production efficiency through optimized machine utilization and minimized setup times.
- Real-time visibility into the production process, allowing quick identification and resolution of bottlenecks.
- Reduced lead times and improved on-time delivery, resulting in increased customer satisfaction.
- Enhanced resource allocation and capacity planning, leading to optimal utilization of labor and equipment.
One of the Automotive companies from Hungary implemented an APS system to optimize their complex production processes. The APS system provided the following benefits:
- Improved production planning accuracy, considering factors such as material availability, machine capacities, and labor constraints.
- Optimized sequencing of production orders, reducing idle time and improving overall efficiency.
- Enhanced coordination between different departments, resulting in synchronized production schedules.
- Improved visibility into the supply chain, enabling proactive management of potential disruptions.
- Reduced inventory holding costs through optimized material requirements planning.
Pharmaceuticals company implemented an APS system to streamline their pharmaceutical production processes. The APS system provided the following benefits:
- Improved batch planning and scheduling, ensuring efficient utilization of resources and minimized changeover times.
- Enhanced compliance with regulatory requirements by incorporating validation and documentation processes into the system.
- Real-time monitoring and tracking of production progress, facilitating better decision-making and issue resolution.
- Improved coordination between production and procurement, resulting in reduced stockouts and improved order fulfillment.
- Increased agility to respond to changing market demands and prioritize production based on customer requirements.
Food Processing company implemented an APS system to optimize their food production operations. The APS system provided the following benefits:
- Improved production forecasting accuracy, reducing waste and optimizing raw material procurement.
- Enhanced production planning and scheduling, considering factors such as shelf life, allergens, and production capacities.
- Real-time monitoring of critical control points for food safety, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
- Reduced changeover times and increased production flexibility to accommodate varying product demands.
- Improved traceability and recall management capabilities for enhanced product quality and customer safety.
- Textile company implemented an APS system to optimize their textile manufacturing processes. The APS system provided the following benefits:
- Improved demand forecasting accuracy, enabling better raw material planning and inventory management.
- Optimized production scheduling to minimize idle time and maximize machine utilization.
- Enhanced visibility into production performance, allowing proactive identification and resolution of production issues.
- Improved coordination between different production stages, such as spinning, weaving, and finishing.
- Reduced lead times and improved on-time delivery, meeting customer expectations and increasing customer satisfaction.
- Please note that these case studies are fictional and intended to provide examples of how APS systems can benefit different manufacturing sectors.
Benefits of implementing an APS
Cost Reduction: APS systems optimize production planning, scheduling, and resource allocation, leading to reduced operational costs through improved efficiency and minimized waste.
Inventory Optimization: APS systems provide accurate demand forecasting and inventory management capabilities, resulting in reduced inventory holding costs by minimizing excess inventory and stockouts.
Improved Production Efficiency: APS systems optimize machine utilization, reduce setup times, and streamline production processes, leading to increased throughput and improved overall efficiency.
Minimized Downtime: APS systems help identify and resolve production bottlenecks in real-time, minimizing machine downtime and maximizing production capacity utilization.
Reduced Lead Times: APS systems optimize production schedules and improve coordination between different departments, resulting in reduced lead times and faster order fulfillment.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: By reducing lead times, improving on-time delivery, and increasing product availability, APS systems improve customer satisfaction and retention.
Resource Optimization: APS systems enable effective resource allocation, including labor, equipment, and materials, resulting in optimal resource utilization and reduced costs.
Accurate Demand Planning: APS systems provide accurate demand forecasting, enabling manufacturing companies to align their production plans with customer demand, reducing the risk of overproduction or underproduction.
Improved Decision-Making: APS systems provide real-time visibility into production performance, allowing management to make informed decisions, identify areas for improvement, and optimize resource allocation.
Return on Investment (ROI): By reducing operational costs, improving efficiency, and optimizing inventory management, APS systems offer a strong ROI by increasing profitability and reducing capital tied up in inventory.
Summary
Overall, APS optimizes production planning and scheduling processes, considering various constraints and objectives, leading to improved efficiency, resource utilization, customer satisfaction, and profitability.