How to Improve Decision Making with Production Planning Software
Key Highlights
How Can Production Planning Software Help Businesses Streamline Their Decision-Making Process?
How Can Businesses Evaluate the Impact of Decisions on Key Performance Indicators, Such as Costs, Lead Times, and Resource Utilization?
Can Production Planning Software Provide Users With Customizable Dashboards and Reports That Make It Easier To Visualize and Analyze Data?
How Businesses Improve Decision-Making with Production Planning Software
In the world of manufacturing, the ability to make informed and effective decisions can be the linchpin of success.
With the ever-evolving challenges that businesses face, from supply chain disruptions to fluctuating market demands, the need for a robust and adaptive system has never been more clear.
Enter production planning software – a tool designed to streamline decision-making processes, ensuring businesses remain agile and resilient in the face of adversity.
At Eyelit Technologies, we’ve worked with global manufacturers for over twenty years, and have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of centralized production planning software. Our expertise lies in understanding the intricate dynamics of multi-site manufacturing and providing solutions that address its unique challenges.
In this article, we’ll delve into the transformative impact of production planning software, exploring real-world success stories, the rapid return on investment manufacturers can expect, and a deep dive into specific case studies.
How Can Production Planning Software Help Businesses Streamline Their Decision-Making Process?
With the many challenges that businesses face, from semiconductor shortages to unpredictable market demands, there’s a pressing need for a system that can adapt and realign swiftly.
Production planning software offers this adaptability. At its core, it provides:
-
- Optimized Plans and Schedules: Using advanced algorithms, AI, and ML, software like ours doesn’t just create feasible plans but optimal ones. It considers minute details, such as machine availability, workforce capacity, order priorities, and delivery deadlines. By accurately modeling these details, businesses can generate solutions that minimize downtime, reduce lead times, and improve overall production efficiencies.
-
- Resource Allocation and Utilization: Capital-intensive resources, like assembly lines or machines, need to be used to their maximum potential. Production planning software ensures optimal resource utilization by identifying blockages and generating solutions that consider factors like labor availability, machine uptime, and material availability.
-
- Scenario Analysis: The software allows businesses to run ‘what-if’ scenarios. Whether it’s accounting for seasonal demand changes or capacity alterations, businesses can generate multiple optimal solutions for specific conditions and compare them to identify potential savings.
The Benefits of Production Planning Software
There are several advantages of integrating production planning software into a business’s operations. These benefits include:
-
- Efficiency: Businesses can minimize inventory, reduce the frequency of part expediting, and ensure better management of production capacity and on-hand inventories.
-
- Flexibility: The software provides the agility to adapt to changing parameters in the supply chain, ensuring that businesses remain resilient in the face of disruptions.
-
- Cost Savings: By identifying and addressing inefficiencies, businesses can realize significant cost savings in their operations.
The Trickle-Down Effect on Consumers
The repercussions of a lack of effective production planning can indeed trickle down to the consumer level. A real-world example is the semiconductor shortage, which led to disruptions in the production of vehicles.
Manufacturers had to park completed vehicles, waiting for specific chips to arrive. This delay affected essential vehicle components, from basic functionalities to crucial safety features. Such disruptions can lead to price hikes, with even standard vehicles being sold at a premium.
In essence, the absence of a robust production planning system can have a waterfall effect, impacting not just the manufacturing process but also the end consumer.
How Can Businesses Evaluate the Impact of Decisions on Key Performance Indicators, Such as Costs, Lead Times, and Resource Utilization?
In today’s ever-changing manufacturing landscape, businesses need a robust system that allows them to play around with different scenarios, often referred to as “sandboxing.” This involves creating “what-if” scenarios to model potential changes and evaluate their impact.
Eyelit Technologies’ software is designed to handle these challenges adeptly. It allows users to:
-
- Model Changes Accurately: The software supports the creation of what-if scenarios, enabling businesses to model changes they wish to evaluate.
-
- Re-generate Solutions Quickly: A unique feature in Eyelit Technologies is the ability to replan or reschedule with bias. This means the software tries to stay as close to the original solution as possible while re-optimizing for changes in the what-if scenario.
-
- Compare Solutions: Once a solution is generated, businesses need tools to compare it against the original or other scenarios. Eyelit Technologies offers comparison utilities and visualizations, making it easy to spot changes, unscheduled orders, or delays due to parameter changes.
The Value of a Sandbox Scenario for Manufacturers
A sandbox scenario is essentially a safe environment where businesses can experiment with different variables without affecting their live operations. This is invaluable for manufacturers as it allows them to:
-
- Stay Close to Optimal Solutions: While businesses aim for the optimal solution, real-world scenarios often require some flexibility. A sandbox environment allows for this flexibility, enabling businesses to understand potential variations without straying too far from the optimal path.
-
- Work Within Scenarios: At Eyelit Technologies, the entire system is built around the idea of working within scenarios. This makes it easy for users to tweak variables and see the impact on the overall production plan.
The Three Essential Inputs for Solving Any Optimization Problem
Optimization problems, regardless of the industry, require three core pieces of information:
-
- Demand or Orders: This refers to what you want to optimize, plan, or schedule.
-
- Capacity: This pertains to the resources available for planning and scheduling.
-
- Constraints or Business Objectives: These could range from manufacturing limitations and supplier limits to key KPIs like lead times and on-time delivery.
With these three inputs, along with certain configuration items, Eyelit Technologies creates a scenario. This makes it easy for users to replicate scenarios, adjust capacities, or change demand profiles to evaluate the impact on production.
Can Production Planning Software Provide Users With Customizable Dashboards and Reports That Make It Easier To Visualize and Analyze Data?
Eyelit Technologies’ software is designed to provide users with a plethora of visualization tools. These tools are not just about presenting data but making it actionable. Here’s how:
-
- Multiple Visualization Tools: Eyelit Technologies offers a range of tools, including the plan browser, chart browser, and the Gantt chart. These tools are designed to give users a comprehensive view of their data, making it easier to make informed decisions.
-
- User Configurable Reports: With 15 to 20 out-of-the-box reports, users have a solid foundation to start from. However, recognizing that every business is unique, Eyelit Technologies allows users to configure these reports based on their specific needs.
-
- V8 Dashboards: The latest version, V8, introduces dashboards that allow users to analyze both inputs and outputs in a given scenario. On the input side, dashboards provide insights into demand and capacity. On the output side, there’s an inventory dashboard and a capacity utilization dashboard. These dashboards offer a quick overview, catering to the modern need for instant information.
Tailoring Dashboards to Specific Needs
Every business has its unique challenges and requirements. Recognizing this, our software is designed to be highly customizable:
-
- Attribute-Based Rendering: Users can render outputs based on multiple features or attribute sets that come with orders. This means that users can view outputs based on part numbers in one view and based on the color of the part in another.
-
- User Configurability: Every user can set up dashboards to show exactly what they want to see, ensuring that the software caters to individual needs.
Eyelit Technologies’ V8 Reports: A Deep Dive
Eyelit Technologies’ V8 version offers a range of reports that cater to various concerns across the planning, scheduling, and sequencing spectrum:
-
- Demand and Capacity: These dashboards allow users to get a clear view of their demand and capacity, ensuring that they can make informed decisions.
-
- Inventory and Capacity Utilization: These dashboards provide insights into inventory performance across the horizon and how well capacity was utilized.
Report Generation during Discovery Phase 1
While Eyelit Technologies offers a range of out-of-the-box reports, the company recognizes that every implementation is unique. During the Discovery Phase 1, Eyelit Technologies works closely with clients to understand their specific needs.
This often results in the generation of one or two custom reports tailored to the client’s requirements. Whether it’s a specific format or data requirement, Eyelit Technologies ensures that the client’s needs are met, making the transition to a new solution as seamless as possible.
How Businesses Improve Decision-Making with Production Planning Software
One standout example that showcases the transformative power of production planning software involves an automaker with a global footprint. This automaker faced a complex challenge:
-
- Global Production Dilemma: With multiple factories worldwide capable of producing the same product, the automaker needed to decide where specific vehicles would be manufactured. This decision had to consider factors like dealer fairness, on-time delivery, and the consistent production of order mixes daily.
-
- Logistics Cost Savings: One of the automaker’s objectives, though lower in priority, was to reduce logistics costs. By reallocating orders to their nearest source, the company realized an astounding annual savings of $50 million. For instance, an order intended for Mexico was more cost-effectively produced in the US than in Europe or Southeast Asia.
This example underscores the immense potential of production planning systems. By optimizing solutions, manufacturers can realize significant savings and enhance production efficiencies.
Paint Shop Case Study: A Deep Dive
While the automaker’s story is impressive, it’s not an isolated case. Another great example is the Paint Shop Case Study:
-
- Objective: The goal was to achieve a 75% daily solution adherence in the paint shop, ensuring consistent and efficient operations.
-
- Outcome: By implementing production planning software, the paint shop was able to streamline its processes, leading to improved daily adherence to solutions and, consequently, better overall efficiency.
The Timeline to ROI for Manufacturers
The return on investment for implementing production planning software can be surprisingly swift. Given the substantial savings that can be realized, as illustrated by the automaker example, the software often pays for itself in a matter of weeks or a few months.
Such a quick ROI makes the decision to integrate production planning software a no-brainer for many businesses.
The Eyelit Technologies Difference
When it comes to production planning software, Eyelit Technologies stands out as a specialized platform that is dedicated to its purpose. Unlike other software that promises to do it all, Eyelit Technologies focuses solely on advanced planning and scheduling. This is what makes us unique. Eyelit Technologies works collaboratively with any provider in the space to ensure that the data flows in and out of the system seamlessly.
With over 20 years of experience, Eyelit Technologies is committed to being open, transparent, and collaborative with our clients. Our promise is to work together to figure out how to meet your unique needs.
At Eyelit Technologies, we see our clients as partners and approach every implementation as part of a total digital transformation journey. If you’re looking for assistance or have questions about production planning software, please feel free to reach out at 1-800-918-3597. You can also email marketing@optessa.com