Within any manufacturing facility, it is essential understand which type of ERP software is the best for your facility. When selecting a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, one of the most critical factor within the decision making process is whether to deploy an on-premise or in the cloud. Cloud-based ERP systems are becoming ever more prevalent as the utilization of technology has become a necessity for everyday life. In today’s manufacturing industry, most ERP vendors offer a form of cloud deployment, while others have ditched their on-premise offerings completely. Therefore, it is essential to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each of these softwares and ultimately what is the best option for your manufacturing facility.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud-Based ERP Software
Cloud-Based ERP can be a far less costly option when compared to an on-premise ERP system. One of the largest concerns behind price is security. Security breaches are a viable concern within many production facilities, which is where many manufacturers believe that on-premise ERP softwares are the safest. This is a common misconception, considering that cloud-based ERP softwares are by far some of the safest softwares available. Since security is such a pressing issues for ERP vendors, they make it their top priority to ensure for top security measures to prevent system breaches.

Some of the other advantages pertaining to cloud-based erp include easy mobile accessibility, flexibility, and less customization. All of these processes simply the production process and allow you to have thorough visibility into your operation at your fingertips, at all times.
Advantages and Disadvantages of On-Premise ERP Software
Within an on-premise ERP system, there are many of the same features available. However, there are a few differences that make these softwares differ. One of these being that on-premise systems are much simpler to modify. The ability to customize to their specific needs and requirements is paramount for various organizations, especially in niche industries, such as specialized manufacturers.
On-premise ERPS put more control in the hands of the organization, including the security of data. It’s therefore essential that a business be capable of safeguarding an ERP most sensitive information. One of the most pressing issues of on-premise ERP software includes mobile accessibility. These will often require a third-party client to communicate between a mobile device and the on-premise software.
It is essential to understand the advantages and drawbacks of these softwares before implementing one or the other.
A software that can aid with your ERP system is PlanetTogether’s Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Software. Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Software is a must for manufacturing facilities that are seeking to enhance their overall operation and locate areas pertaining to waste, increasing profitability, and ultimately cutting costs.
Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software
Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software has become a must for modern-day manufacturing operations due to customer demand for increased product mix and fast delivery combined with downward cost pressures. APS can be quickly integrated with a ERP/MRP software to fill gaps where these system lack planning and scheduling flexibility and accuracy. Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) helps planners save time while providing greater agility in updating ever-changing priorities, production schedules, and inventory plans.
- Create optimized schedules balancing production efficiency and delivery performance
- Maximize output on bottleneck resources to increase revenue
- Synchronize supply with demand to reduce inventories
- Provide company-wide visibility to capacity
- Enable scenario data-driven decision making
Video: Using and Comparing What-If Scenarios in PlanetTogether APS
What-if scenarios are one of the most powerful features in PlanetTogether APS. Instead of guessing how a change will affect your production plan, you can clone the current schedule, apply changes in a sandbox, and compare the results side by side.
In this video, you’ll learn how to:
– Create what-if scenarios in PlanetTogether APS from your current production schedule
– Change priorities, due dates, order quantities, or resource availability in each scenario
– Analyze the impact on key KPIs such as on-time delivery, resource utilization, and lead time
– Compare multiple scenarios to find the best trade-off between capacity, due dates, and costs
– Safely publish the chosen scenario back to the live schedule so the shop floor always sees the right plan
This video is ideal for production planners, schedulers, and operations leaders who want to move beyond static spreadsheets and use APS to make confident, data-driven scheduling decisions.
Key takeaways from this video:
- How PlanetTogether APS lets you quickly build what-if scheduling scenarios
- How to test the impact of schedule changes on capacity, bottlenecks, and on-time delivery
- How to compare multiple scenarios side by side using KPIs and visual schedules
- How publishing the best scenario to the live plan helps reduce firefighting, overtime, and missed due dates
Make Sure Your ERP Choice Actually Pays Off
Choosing between cloud-based and on-premise ERP is an important decision—but it isn’t what ultimately protects your margins. Even the best ERP system will fall short if production planning and scheduling are still driven by spreadsheets and manual work. That’s where Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) comes in.
Download our one-page “The Money Is in the Planning” infographic to see the most common ways poor planning and scheduling quietly erode profit—late deliveries, underused or overloaded resources, overtime, excess inventory, and expensive rush shipments. Use it as a quick checklist to identify where APS, alongside your cloud or on-premises ERP, can deliver the fastest ROI.
