The CAI PlanetTogether + CAI Parsable bundle combines two products from CAI Software that cover both halves of manufacturing operations. CAI PlanetTogether is advanced planning and scheduling (APS) software that decides what to produce, where, and when. CAI Parsable is a connected worker platform that guides frontline teams on how to do the work and records what actually happened. Together, they aim to close the loop between the plan and the shop floor: plan → schedule → execute → learn.
In this article:
In many plants, planning happens in one place and execution in another. Schedules live in spreadsheets, whiteboards, or an ERP that wasn't built for detailed scheduling. Execution runs on paper checklists, tribal knowledge, and verbal handoffs between shifts.
The two worlds rarely talk to each other in real time:
The result is a schedule built on outdated assumptions, and a floor that works around the plan instead of following it. Your ERP is still the backbone of the business, but it typically doesn't go deep enough on constraint-based scheduling or frontline execution. That's the gap APS and connected worker software are designed to fill.
Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) software builds production schedules that respect the real-world limits of your plant: machine capacity, labor, tooling, materials, changeover times, shelf life, and more. Unlike a spreadsheet, it can test thousands of possibilities and show the impact of every change before you commit.
CAI PlanetTogether is APS software with more than 20 years in the market and roots in Cornell research. It builds a digital twin of your factory floor, modeling the constraints that shape a realistic schedule, and generates that schedule in seconds or minutes instead of the hours or days it can take to rework one by hand.
What it does well:
Where it creates value for manufacturers:
It integrates with SAP, Oracle + NetSuite, Microsoft, Infor, IFS, Epicor, QAD, Plex, SYSPRO, Sage Intacct, BatchMaster, and more, and is used across food and beverage, life sciences, chemicals, aerospace and defense, industrial machinery, metal fabrication, mobility, high-tech, printing and packaging, and consumer goods. Typical implementations take one to three months, depending on data readiness.
Connected worker software digitizes frontline work. It replaces paper procedures and disconnected tools with interactive, mobile guidance, and it captures data about how work actually gets done. Think of it as the layer that turns a plan into consistent action on the floor, and turns that action into data.
CAI Parsable is a connected worker platform built around four steps:
In practical terms:
Typical use cases include safety (LOTO, JSA, audits), quality inspections, line changeovers, shift handoffs, autonomous maintenance, and continuous improvement (CAPA, Kaizen, 5S).
Results from CAI Parsable customers, shared anonymously, include a pulp and paper manufacturer that improved OEE by 6% (equal to $45M in gross margin contribution), and the world's largest bakery, which rolled out across 97 sites in 20 countries in six months.
A simple way to remember it: your ERP tells you what to do. CAI Parsable tells you how to do it, and what happened.
Here’s a simple analogy. Think of a sports team and its playbook:
A team that never watches game film repeats the same mistakes. A schedule that never learns from the shop floor does the same.
CAI PlanetTogether and CAI Parsable are two separate solutions. Each one works on its own today, and you can start with whichever addresses your biggest challenge. The bundle brings them together under one vendor and one roadmap, with the goal of connecting planning and execution into a single loop. The example below shows how that loop is designed to work.
Each cycle makes the next plan more realistic. Scheduled events like changeovers, cleanouts, and maintenance windows are a natural first connection point between the two products.
You can start with either product. Each delivers value on its own. Here's what the bundle adds:
| CAI PlanetTogether | CAI Parsable | Together | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Role | The plan | The execution | The loop |
| Answers | What should we run, where, and when? | How is the work done, and what happened? | A closed loop from plan to execution to learning |
| Key data | Constraints and sequencing | Real execution on the floor | Plans informed by reality |
The bundle makes the most sense for plants where a scheduling or execution error is costly: many SKUs, frequent changeovers, custom orders, complex equipment, or regulated processes. It works alongside your existing ERP and does not replace it.
It's a combination of CAI PlanetTogether (advanced planning and scheduling) and CAI Parsable (connected worker platform), both from CAI Software. One builds the plan and the other guides and measures its execution on the shop floor.
APS software decides what to produce, where, and when, based on your real constraints. Connected worker software guides frontline teams on how to do the work and captures what actually happened. One is the plan, the other is the execution.
ERPs handle transactions well, such as orders, inventory, and finance. APS software is built for detailed, constraint-based scheduling that ERPs typically don't model well. They work together: the ERP stays your system of record.
No. Both products work alongside your ERP, including SAP, NetSuite, Epicor, Microsoft, Infor, and others.
Yes. Each product delivers value on its own. Many manufacturers start with the one that addresses their biggest challenge and expand from there.
They are two separate solutions that work on their own today. The bundle reflects a shared vision and roadmap under CAI Software, and the first use case is connecting scheduled events, like changeovers and cleanouts, to guided execution. Talk to the CAI team for the current status and what’s available today.
CAI PlanetTogether implementations typically take one to three months, depending on data readiness. CAI Parsable can start with a small set of quick-win use cases, and deeper integrations can be added over time.
Food and beverage, life sciences, chemicals, aerospace and defense, industrial machinery, metal fabrication, mobility, high-tech, printing and packaging, and consumer goods.
Demo Bundle →
Or reach the CAI team at info@caisoft.com.