Production Planning Software: Unleash efficiency and boost profits with smart scheduling

Today’s customers are fickle! Ever-changing demands require lightning-fast reactions on the production floor. To achieve this agility, manufacturers need ubiquitous access to real-time production data. This is where service-oriented architecture (SOA) for Production Planning Software comes in. By centralising critical information, SOA enables informed decision-making, regardless of location or device. Dive deeper into the power of SOA and discover how the GANTTPLAN Web App can propel your journey to smart production planning.

With powerful Excel spreadsheets still play an important role, digital tools such as Production Planning Software represent a valuable first step towards smart production. However, traditional desktop-based planning and scheduling has limitations. Today’s dynamic market, with challenges such as competitive pressure, material scarcity, and labour shortages, demands a more adaptive approach.

For truly smart production planning, up-to-date data and comprehensive planning capabilities need to be readily available anytime, anywhere. This empowers companies to not just react quickly, but to proactively steer their operations. Web applications enable this shift, transforming production planning and scheduling from simply “digital” to truly “smart”.

While a modern software architecture is crucial, proven planning and scheduling functionalities and efficient algorithms remain essential. Web applications provide the platform to leverage these established tools while providing the agility required to succeed in today’s manufacturing landscape.

Mastering today’s manufacturing challenges with an advanced Production Planning Tool

The manufacturing landscape is constantly evolving. Today’s manufacturers face a unique set of obstacles:

• Inventory control: Minimising storage and inventory costs improves cash flow and efficiency.
• Product complexity: Mass customisation and small batch sizes demand production flexibility.
• Workforce challenges: Qualification-based scheduling amidst a shrinking pool of skilled workers requires optimised allocation.
• Supply chain disruptions: Agile adaptation to unpredictable supply chains is critical.
• Demand fluctuations: Rapid response to fluctuating customer demands separates leaders from followers.
• Resource optimisation: Maximising scarce resources such as machines, materials, and staff is paramount.

Must-have features: What defines modern (web-based) Production Planning Software?

Modern (web-based) Production Planning Software acts as the central nervous system for your manufacturing operation. At its core, it must excel at scheduling production orders optimally. This means taking real-time resource availability (machines, materials, personnel) into account, while factoring in both scheduling constraints and cost considerations. Crucially, the software should also be adaptable, allowing for ad-hoc changes when unexpected situations disrupt the initial plan.

Beyond planning and scheduling, a modern Production Planning Solution tackles numerous challenges in production. These include issues such as long lead times, high levels of WIP (work in progress) and inventory, and the increasing complexity of managing a wider range of product variants. To address these issues, the software should integrate tactical planning components. These components help manufacturers forecast resource requirements, orchestrate the efficient use of materials, labour, and machinery, ultimately improving customer service and profitability. To further empower dynamic and agile planning management, features such as flexibly weighted target criteria (allowing different production targets to be prioritised) and a wide range of simulation options are also highly beneficial.

Beyond a basic Production Planning Solution: GANTTPLAN Web App

The GANTTPLAN Web App isn’t just another Production Planning Solution. This modern, web-based tool goes beyond the minimum functionalities and offers comprehensive features of an APS (Advanced Planning & Scheduling) Software.

Depending on the version you choose, you’ll have access to a range of (industry-specific) functionalities:

Detailed scheduling:

• Interactive scheduling of operations, orders & order networks
• Collaborative planning and multiple user-created scenarios
• Automatic scheduling optimisation based on seven configurable target criteria (setup times, labour costs, production costs, throughput times, capacity utilisation, capital commitment, on-time delivery)
• Manual drag-and-drop scheduling for intuitive task placement
• Flexible scheduling with finite capacity and time constraints as well as alternative resources, processes, and materials
• and much more

Materials planning:

• Planning of in-house production and external sourcing
• Consideration of material-specific sales values and procurement/production costs

Machine planning:

• Consideration of parallel utilisation as well as (time-dependent) costs for production, set-up and downtime, etc.
• Planning of complex production campaigns
• Mapping of production lines and working time models
• And many other (industry-specific) configurations

Workforce planning:

• Workforce and staff pool planning
• (Time-dependent) staff qualifications at machine and operation level
• Criteria for staff changes
• And many other (industry-specific) configurations

Material Requirements Planning (MRP):

• Creation and consideration of existing material relationships
• Material stock control (initial stock and planned stock receipts)
• Creation of collective orders (multi-level production structures for materials)
• And much more

Planning of tools/production aids:

• Maintenance planning depending on production quantity or usage time
• Static and dynamic set-up optimisation
• Consideration of alternative machine/tool combinations

Read our blog post on “Production Scheduling Software: 9 Must-Haves for a Flawless Workflow” for more information on each of the individual planning and scheduling features.

Advantages of GANTTPLAN Web over traditional desktop software

The GANTTPLAN Web App goes beyond visualisation and user interaction. It provides you with real-time, optimisation-based planning and scheduling directly within the web interface (HTML5). Explore working with different production scenarios – test the impact of adding an optimised shift, a machine, or a large potential order. A clear planning menu allows you to easily create, modify and delete planning and scheduling runs.

Built on a service-oriented architecture, this web client outperforms desktop applications. You can access the control centre online and navigate seamlessly using any mobile device. Eliminate the need for time-consuming coordination rounds in collaborative planning and scheduling. A robust rights management system assigns articles and production orders to specific planners, ensuring focused work and proactive conflict prevention. The system allows for temporary violations within the planning and scheduling process with clear notifications and suggested solutions for any potential issues.

Gain immediate insights with interactive graphical reports in the control centre – simply hover to identify capacity utilisation and pinpoint bottlenecks. The web client integrates seamlessly with existing ERP and MES solutions via REST interfaces, facilitating smooth partner migration. Finally, the underlying three-tier architecture ensures a highly scalable and flexible data infrastructure, ready to adapt to your evolving needs.

GANTTPLAN Web App: Power up with GANTTPLAN Analytics & GANTTPLAN Confirmation

GANTTPLAN Analytics: AI automation for smarter planning & scheduling

GANTTPLAN Analytics is an add-on that collects planning data in a structured way and processes it logically. By identifying patterns and causal relationships in historical data, systematic errors can be eliminated and forecasts for critical planning data can be created. As a result, the quality of master data and the robustness of the entire production process can be significantly improved.

The feature enables information to be recorded and stored in the background and is integrated into the planning workflow with high performance. Data can be seamlessly integrated on an ongoing basis without changing the database structure. By providing the data via a REST API, the add-on also opens up new ways of analysing and using the data. The service takes a flexible approach to this. In the future, additional data can be added, saved and queried without changing the database.

In addition to analysing historical processes such as the quality of plan execution (scheduled and produced vs. scheduled and unproduced vs. unscheduled but produced within a defined time period) or the utilisation of individual resources and their potential constraints, GANTTPLAN Analytics also enables AI applications.

Building on historical analysis, GANTTPLAN Analytics leverages AI to unlock even greater production efficiency. A key benefit lies in predicting potential deviations in process durations. This translates to more realistic delivery dates, a critical advantage in today’s fast-paced environment.

The smart add-on also unlocks the potential for automated modelling. By analysing similar past orders, the system can automatically generate target times for new parts. This streamlines the scheduling process and improves efficiency.

GANTTPLAN Confirmation: Optimise production with real-time PDA feedback

Unplanned disruptions on the shop floor – machine failures, missing parts, quality control holds – can throw a wrench in your production schedule. GANTTPLAN Confirmation acts as a bridge, seamlessly integrated with our planning and scheduling software GANTTPLAN APS, to address these issues in real-time.

This add-on empowers you to provide instant feedback directly from the shop floor. Any disruption, from delayed deliveries to equipment problems, can be captured by GANTTPLAN Confirmation the moment it occurs.

GANTTPLAN Confirmation operates in real-time, enabling immediate adjustments to production plans based on the resources truly available and their capacities. All relevant planning data is automatically updated to reflect these confirmations. This ensures your scheduling runs consistently map the actual shop floor situation, allowing for continuous feedback and smooth production adjustments.