SAP Multi-Plant Planning

As your demand for capacity grows, one production facility may not be enough, which means it may be time to start considering a multi-plant operation. This does mean an increased production capacity, but this also means driving your process headlong into the more challenging component of multi-plant planning and scheduling. 

Proper planning for a single production facility is already an everyday challenge. Still, two or more interdependent facilities in your supply chain can involve an exponential number of production sequencing and scheduling challenges to consider and plan for. In addition, multi-plant manufacturing and production operations need to properly plan and schedule for the conjoined internal flow and coordinate efforts of production to meet the demands of the internal and external upstream and downstream customers. So, how does an operation even begin when trying to scale production in this manner? One solution for multi-plant planning is that of utilizing SAP as a standalone ERP; another is to use SAP in conjunction with APS as a tightly integrated add-on to further tap into the capabilities of SAP.

SAP Multi-Plant Planning

Multi-plant planning through SAP ERP system utilizes material requirements planning (MRP) for various production facilities. This model is a decision-making system that schedules production among multiple locations that manufacture the same or interdependent items. Thus, it relieves the headache of ordering materials throughout numerous operations and allows them to flow smoothly through different production facilities.

Other advantages of SAP to multi-plant operations include:

• MRP Procurement Keys
• Customization of MRP
• Easy Transfer of Inventory
• Alternative Facility Production
• Alternative Operation Termination

With the proper data presented, these perks can easily allow an operation to come closer to overall production efficiency. Although this system offers many benefits, it is not necessarily a fix-all. However, many production facilities are taking the next step in manufacturing by integrating ERP and APS systems.

Integrating APS with SAP

Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems can be readily be integrated with ERP systems such as SAP.  To get more out of SAP All In One and SAP Business One, APS integrations have long been the chosen add-on extending the planning, scheduling, and simulation capabilities for SAP ERP and production tools.

Along with ease of APS integration with SAP, benefits of APS also include:

• Improved Delivery Performance
• Boost in Profit
• Reductions in Inventory and Labor Cost
• Six-Month ROI
• Increased Capacity
• Waste Reduction
• "What-if" scenarios while running live production

Quickly reschedule production orders, visualize and resolve bottlenecks, analyze "what-if" situations, and eliminate the need for manual input data. As a result, APS systems are becoming a popular choice for manufacturing and production operations. APS is the logical next step toward minimizing all forms of waste and compressing lost time. As you strive for efficient capacity planning and increased productivity within the supply chain, evaluating whether or not APS makes sense for you at this time, perhaps consult with an APS company to demo or trial their offering.