Choosing the Best Planning and Scheduling Software

So you’re considering improving your production control by using an Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software (APS). Now what should you keep in mind to choose the right the system for your business?

Here are steps to follow when looking for the best production planning and scheduling software.

Start with YOUR NEEDS. Why do you need inventory software, planning software and production management software?

It’s often hard to know clarify our business goals when investing in a production management tool and advanced scheduling software. There may be a tendency to start by thinking about features but starting with high level goals will keep your project focused on fixing important business problems such as:

• On-time delivery challenges
• Low return on capital
• High operating expenses and high labor costs
• Stress and operational difficulties surrounding scheduling management
• Lost sales due to stockouts or long lead times

If you, or your company, is encountering some of these issues, it may be time to adjust your approach and work with planners to implement a better strategic management approach.

What are experts saying about the advanced planning and scheduling software options?

These are some of the areas that industry experts look at when comparing systems:

• Total cost of ownership
• Software implementation cost
• Implementation risk
• IT analysis and benefits
• IT Database
• Expertise and qualifications
• Online automation, interactivity, and ease of use

To see some of the reviews and advice that experts have for choosing planning and scheduling software, click here.

Which Vendor is the right one to go with?

When you want to implement advanced scheduling software it is easy to see big players such as Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP as the best option. However, oftentimes the biggest is not the safest or the best. Read this comparison of the Top Production Planning Vendors.

How Do I Pick the Best Planning and Scheduling Software?

When you are implementing a scheduling software, automation and versatility are key. Many ERP software systems and planning software systems tend to provide too little of the capacity visibility and constraint flexibility that users need. To compare software options, see the Production Planning Scorecard.

Picking the correct inventory software, or scheduling software, can be difficult. Below are key aspects that can help you reach a great decision.

1. Know your objectives and requirements: ask yourself the most important things to solve with the scheduling software. Knowing the key objectives in the beginning will help you narrow down the planning software that works for you. Does it meet your business goals? Does it integrate to your existing ERP software? Can it pull the data that you need?
2. Versatility. Adaptability. Scalability. These three make up the best scheduling software for you. If your new capacity planning software can address a variety of challenges, future and present planning constraints, and give you unlimited “what if” scenarios, then this software will work well with your project planning and production management, as well as scheduling. A scheduling system that is accurate is also one that adapts, and molds, as your business grows and changes.
3. Clear view of capability. You have to understand and see what is happening in your advanced planning and scheduling software. It is imperative that you, your planners, and other users, understand the models and graphics shown, and know how to work with the system to identify bottlenecks and orders that are in jeopardy.
4. Pro-active management. Maybe one of the most important factors in using a scheduling software is knowing that your software can handle random factors and adapt actively. Real-time updates are needed when something unexpected happens. Your software needs to be manageable, and your planners should have the ability to work with it easily and update your schedule, always understanding the impact of their decisions on other orders and business metrics.
5. Multi-dynamics. If your company is a multi-plant operation, you must make sure that this advanced scheduling software is able to support and work with multi-plant dynamics. This may mean: easily seeing capacity in various plants, coordinating supply across plants, dynamically sharing resources such as tooling across plants, or helping you choose the best plant to source from given capacity demands. Your planning software adapts and brings all your needs together in one space that can be managed efficiently and standardize planning across locations.  
6. Ease of use. After analyzing all the factors that go into buying and using a scheduling software, one of the most important is how easy it will be for your planners to use the software. To evaluate this, the best way (and maybe only way) is to hands-on time using the system with your company’s data loaded. A pilot or proof-of-concept project is usually the best way to go to ensure a successful project in the long run.

Try It For Yourself:

Once you have defined your needs and shortlisted your options, take a system or two for a trial test run. This will give your team a chance to fully try out the software in your environment to guarantee success.

Learn more about this Proof-of-Concept approach.