Enterprise Production Scheduling Solutions
Enterprise manufacturers need manufacturing scheduling software that can simultaneously simplify the complexity of the detailed scheduling process, boost the efficiency of the production process, and ensure on-time production of orders.
Schedulers in enterprise factories who manage dozens or hundreds of workers and machinery, thousands of production rules/constraints, millions of possible routings, and complex operational requirements can’t afford to work off anything less than a near optimal production schedule that is mathematically guaranteed to be the best.
And they need to generate this schedule quickly, over and over again. They need Fast Optimization APS, a new breed of constraint-based, optimization driven advanced planning and scheduling software.
For a small job shop, Excel can be good enough. As a mid-sized manufacturer, you can still afford to take shortcuts with a more basic, heuristics-based, detailed scheduling software. But as an enterprise manufacturer, you must be able to fully model your production environment, apply detailed production rules/constraints, and run this through a true optimization scheduling engine.
Learn how to select a system that will meet your needs.
You Know You Have a Production Scheduling Problem When…
If you are running an enterprise operation and manufacturing a high volume, variety, and variability of goods without an efficient production scheduling software, you will experience the following symptoms:
- Generating low-quality schedules that result in missed order deadlines and reduce production efficiency.
- The scheduling process is taking way too long.
- The planning and scheduling team has grown large and expensive.
- Editing the schedules by hand is no longer possible due to the complexity.
Simply put, your production systems and teams are unable to deal with the complexity of your manufacturing environment. The result is bottlenecks and delayed orders.
What you need is powerful manufacturing scheduling software. But how will you find it in a marketplace flooded with scheduling tools that all claim they are the best? Below you will find a guide to help you evaluate scheduling tools based on the four criteria, uniquely critical for enterprise manufacturers.
4 Criteria for Selecting a Production Scheduling System for Enterprise Manufacturers
- Integration – A solution that can seamlessly integrate with your existing production systems.
- Easy Setup & Re-Configuration – Model your entire production environment, through simple drag & drop configuration.
- Fast Optimization – Create the best possible schedules in seconds.
- Disruption Response – A scheduling tool that helps you prepare and respond to unforeseen events.
Let’s explore these four criteria in greater depth.
Integration – Extending the Scheduling Capabilities of Your ERP and MES Systems
As an enterprise manufacturer, you are already using an ERP and MES system. And often the vendors who produce these systems will be happy to sell you a scheduling module add-on. We have also seen manufacturers attempt to custom-code scheduling functionality into their native systems.
The result in both cases is underwhelming. These add-on scheduling systems are not robust enough to handle the complexity of a modern production environment.
But the good news is that you don’t need to upgrade any of your core operations management systems. Instead, you can extend their scheduling capabilities with Optessa.
Seamless Integration with ERP, MES, and other Manufacturing Management Systems
Optessa integrates with any modern ERP, MES, or native production system. You will also have the option of a cloud-based or a local, on-premise implementation housed in your facility.
Easy Setup – Modeling the Entire Production Environment through Drag & Drop Configuration
Here’s a big question. Can the scheduling tool model your entire ENTIRE production environment through easy drag and drop configuration?
Let’s look at two common approaches to production modeling that are not appropriate for enterprise manufacturers and end with a third one that could be a better fit.
1 – Easy Configuration But Limited Modeling Capabilities
Many scheduling solutions feature beautiful visual interfaces that allow you to set up a high-level overview of your operation with ease. This will work well for job shops, but what if you want to model complex multi-line facilities with dozens or hundreds of machines, staff, and production rules? That will be a problem because tools are not designed to build comprehensive detailed maps of complex production environments. Instead, you will need to keep track of all this complexity in your mind while you drag and drop orders on Gantt chart displays. The schedules you generate will have poor accuracy and result in inefficient production.
2 – Comprehensive Modeling through Custom Coding – Expensive & Inflexible.
You could code all your production constraints directly into the manufacturing software. Then you would have the perfect model. Unfortunately, custom coding is exorbitantly expensive and can take years.
A custom-coded solution is also vulnerable to disruptions and other changes in your production environment.
A custom-coded system could be effective in a make-to-stock manufacturing environment where you are managing stable order quantities and changes are infrequent. But most manufacturers have frequent changes to their orders, inventory, available machinery, and workforce. Their manufacturing ecosystem is dynamic and their scheduling system needs to be flexible. And you can’t be flexible if you need to assemble your coding team every single time there are changes in your production environment.
3 – Configuration with a Robust Constraint Library – Robust & Flexible
The third solution is called constraint-based modeling. What makes this approach unique is that it allows you to model your entire production environment, down to the most minute details. But you don’t need to resort to custom coding. Instead, you enter your production constraints using drag and drop functionality within the software interface.
At Optessa, we pioneered constraint-based modeling and provide our users with templates for all the most common production rules. We call this our constraint library. It is a powerful tool that makes modeling your production environment simple, fast, and intuitive.
In the rare case that you need a new type of constraint to model a unique production rule, we will create it for you within 2 weeks. We then make this constraint available to all our customers free of charge. This way we all benefit from the innovations our customers inspire.
Don’t settle for scheduling solutions that take a superficial approach to modeling because the quality of the data generated by the APS system will have far-reaching consequences. You will use the scheduling model for master scheduling, to see if you can meet your existing customer demand and use that information to conduct critical communication with customers about order delivery deadlines. You will also use this data for finite capacity planning, to see if you can meet forecasted demand or if you will need to invest in additional capacity in the future. See how you can have speed and accuracy with Optessa.
Fast Optimization
You modeled your production environment and operational constraints. It is now time to run your orders through your production scheduling software and generate a schedule. But how quickly can the software produce this schedule and how accurate will it be?
Heuristics Are Fast But Inaccurate
Heuristic algorithms are something to watch out for in Advanced Planning Scheduling software. They have been around for decades and are extremely fast. And they are certainly a step up from the sort filter in excel. But Heuristic algorithms fall short in complex, enterprise production environments because they take shortcuts. They simply don’t have the power to process the hundreds of thousands of possible scheduling scenarios and pick the best one.
The end result is that the schedules created with heuristics are usually not very accurate. They often cause bottlenecks and result in efficiency losses.
True Optimization is Accurate by Slow
Another pitful is last-generation true optimization technology. True optimization algorithms do not take shortcuts like heuristic algorithms. They consider the full solution space and arrive at the best possible schedule.
Unfortunately, the last generation of optimization algorithms is very slow … much too slow to be useful in a production environment.
Speed and Accuracy with Patented Fast Optimization Technology
Today you can apply true optimization in near real-time and create accurate schedules in seconds. This is now possible thanks to Optessa’s patented Fast Optimization Technology, an innovation that is changing the field of Advanced Planning and Scheduling.
What makes Fast Optimization Technology so revolutionary? These algorithms consider every possible combination of production variables and arrive at the best possible solution in seconds. See Optessa’s patented scheduling engine in action with a live demo.
Disruption Response
What-If Scenario Scheduling
Fast Optimization Technology allows you to respond to disruptions as they occur. It also enables you to rapidly test different scenarios. You can manipulate constraints and see the impact instantaneously.
This functionality allows you to prepare for possible disruptions by creating contingency manufacturing production schedules. When disruption occurs, you can quickly test the available options and put the best schedule into production.
Artificial Intelligence Assisted Order Moves
Let’s say that you need to move an order. You use the graphical user interface to drag and drop it to another time slot.
You want a scheduling tool that will tell you the impact of this type of order move right away. It is even better if the scheduling system can suggest the best place to move the order.
Optessa’s production scheduling software uses artificial intelligence to help users make the best possible order moves.
Schedule with Bias
When a disruption occurs, it is not enough to re-schedule quickly and accurately. It is also important to maintain a sense of continuity with their original schedule.
It is possible for a large amount of machinery or inventory to become unavailable suddenly. But even in that situation, it is counterproductive to change the existing schedule dramatically.
It is best to adhere to the original schedule as closely as possible. Then you can slowly introduce changes to adjust to the new manufacturing environment.
At Optessa, we call this disruption management capability scheduling with bias. Learn more about the Disruption Response Toolkit through a Free Demo.
From Discrete Manufacturing to the Process Industry and Beyond
Optessa meets all four production scheduling system criteria. Our production scheduling software effectively manages enterprise complexity and generates the perfect schedule. But will Optessa work in your industry?
One of the benefits of constraint-based optimization is rapid configuration and deployment. This has enabled Optessa to be effective in just about any production environment.
Optessa has been in continuous operation for the past 20 years. We have global deployments with 4 of the 6 largest auto OEMs globally. Our solutions are deployed in hundreds of factories, on every continent.
We serve other discrete manufacturers too including:
- Heavy equipment
- Industrial
- Electronics
- Semiconductors
We also provide scheduling for process manufacturers including:
- Food and Beverage
- Pharmaceuticals
- Chemicals
- Personal Care
- Paints and Coatings
Contact Us for a Free Demo
If you are an enterprise manufacturer, we are confident that we can make you more efficient and profitable. We will help you deploy Fast Optimization Technology to streamline and expand the scheduling capabilities of your manufacturing systems.
FAQ
How Easy is it to Implement the Optessa Production Scheduling Software?
Our team has successfully handled hundreds of implementations. We will do the heavy lifting. We will model your production environment and set up your business rules.
If you use a standard ERP (like SAP or Oracle), or MES then this will expedite the process. We have likely integrated with your system in the past.
How Will You Train Our Schedulers?
We will send our team of trainers to your facility(s) or conduct remote training. The choice is yours.
It takes about a week to train your schedulers on how to use the Optessa system. We will make sure that your users have the skills to run your scheduling autonomously.
How Will You Support Our Users?
We will assign dedicated Optessa application specialists to support your schedulers. We will also be available to assist you if you have any challenges with the software.
If there are changes in your production environment we will also be available to help you re-configure the software.
All software updates will be provided free of charge. You will receive regular updates and invites to free trainings when we:
- add new functionality
- expand the constraint library
- share helpful tips
