The Benefits of Production Planning Software for Small Manufacturers

For many manufacturers, large and small, they find themselves struggling with being able to effectively utilize capacity and maximize efficiency within their manufacturing operation. Without an adequate production planning software, manufacturers will consistently find themselves in this position, ultimately leading to a loss in competitive edge against other manufacturers within their particular industry.

Manufacturing facilities that most commonly find themselves falling into this position are smaller ones , due to a lack of funds and resources that are able to be allocated to fulfill this issue. Fortunately, there are software that can be affordable and successfully aid with this concept, ultimately pushing production forward efficiently. 

Production Planning Software for Small Manufacturers 

A form of production planning software for small manufacturers includes Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Software. APS Software enables the following features for small manufacturers: 

• Simplified Manufacturing Order Creation - MO creation may be challenging for many production facilities and is usually created through sales in a CRM, through a production manager, or automatically when a critical stock level is met. APS Software enables for quick pre-production estimating, which includes the simple input of number of product required to check the estimated cost and lead times. Once an MO is created, the software instantly books the materials on stock and creates purchase order for procured items. Through having your BOMs, stock, and purchase terms managed through an integrated system, this will enable you to plan production before your material even arrives. 
• Assisted Production Scheduling/Rescheduling - Having each new MO associated with a particular routing allows you to be aware of which operations it has to pass. APS allows the shop-floor team to access tasks online and ultimately report through a computer or smart phone. This also enables you to oversee production scheduling and the process and ultimately schedule/reschedule at your fingertips, anywhere around the globe. 
• Analytics & Reporting - Another feature of production planning software for small manufacturers includes following all of your manufacturing orders and workstation schedules with the master production schedule. This seamless integration and collaboration across all teams/departments through one integrated tool makes analytics and reporting much easier/simpler and more effective. 
• Integrated Software Features - With APS software, the software integrated integral components within manufacturing. This includes production planning, stock, CRM, the team, purchasing, accounting, and more. Integrating these features benefits your manufacturing facility and pulls a lot of the work away from individuals and into the system - making it much easier.

Utilizing a production planning software is a must for smaller manufacturers that are seeking to keep up with the competition. As large manufacturers may have the resources to maximize efficiency, smaller manufacturers find themselves struggling with this more often. This is why utilizing APS and production planning software can be absolutely integral for their operation. A software that can aid with this concept and combat waste within the operation is PlanetTogether’s Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software (APS). This software enables thorough visibility into an operation and ensures that manufacturers maximize efficiency within their overall operation. 

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

Implementation of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software will take your manufacturing operations to the next level of production efficiency, taking advantage of the operational data you already have in your ERP.

Using What-If Scenarios to Improve Production Planning

See how what-if scenarios help small manufacturers choose the best production plan. In this video, PlanetTogether APS is used to build and compare multiple production planning scenarios—changing order priorities, capacity, and sequencing—to see the impact on lead times and shop-floor load before committing to a schedule. It’s an ideal next step if you’re relying on spreadsheets today and want to use production planning software to make faster, more confident decisions.

 

Turn Better Production Planning into Profitable Growth

In this article, you’ve seen why production planning software is critical for small manufacturers. Without the right tools, it’s hard to fully utilize capacity, control lead times, and stay competitive—especially when you’re relying on spreadsheets and limited resources.

You’ve also seen how Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software gives small manufacturers capabilities that used to be reserved for larger plants:

• Faster, more accurate manufacturing order creation
• Assisted scheduling and rescheduling tied to routings and constraints
• Integrated analytics and reporting across orders and work centers
• A single system that connects production planning, stock, CRM, purchasing, and accounting

Our eBook, “Producing for Profit”, shows how manufacturers turn these capabilities into real financial results. Through a story-driven example, it illustrates how moving from disconnected tools and manual planning to an integrated APS-based approach reduces firefighting, improves on-time delivery, and helps small manufacturers squeeze more profit from the resources they already have.

In this short eBook, you’ll learn how to:

• Replace reactive, spreadsheet-driven planning with a data-driven master production schedule
• Use APS to align orders, materials, and capacity so you can meet demand without constant expediting and overtime
• Improve on-time delivery while lowering inventory and stabilizing the shop floor
• Give planners and managers better visibility so they can focus on growth and improvement—not just putting out fires

If you’re ready to move from “getting by” to growing profitably with smarter production planning and control, this eBook is your next step.