Intro to Advanced Planning and Scheduling with Infor ERP

Planning and scheduling form the backbone of every smart business decision, especially in an industrial setting. Processes like mixing, cooking, reacting, or distilling depend on perfect timing based on known capacity and product flow. There is no room for guessing, but, all too often, manufacturers rely on estimates and assumptions.

With advanced planning and scheduling, manufacturers can do more with less. They can achieve this by maximizing resources to reduce inventory and manufacturing costs while meeting customer demand. It requires synchronization and efficiency, which are straightforward when your manufacturing company invests in Infor ERP’s advanced planning and scheduling capabilities.

What Infor ERP Can Do

The advanced planning and scheduling (APS) module of Infor’s ERP system puts control of planning and scheduling at your fingertips. It uses business data and your company’s constraints to make smart decisions that manage flow, synchronize operations, and ensure efficient scheduling.

Your organization has two options with this module; infinite APS or finite. With infinite resource capacity enabled, the system bases planning on a resource like a person, machine, or fixture being able to work on an eliminated number of operations at the same time, during a working shift. This is ideal for businesses without resource constraints or those that can increase capacity as needed via labor. Finite planning determines timelines based on the constraints you set out. This approach is better for businesses that need more control over scheduling, mainly if resources are machine-based.

Putting Planning into Action

With the Material Requirements Planning tool, the Infor ERP examines each item’s current and potential future demand, and the current supply and expected supply. If there’s a shortage, the system intelligently subtracts lead-time days from the required date that the product is needed based on your schedule.

With every order, your ERP creates a plan knowing what jobs and resources are required to complete it. Every supply knows the demand that it supports. And every material and capacity is planned, balanced, and continually adjusted based on priority and workload.

Advantages of Infor ERP APS

With Infor’s APS module, your organization will:

• keep accurate data, including
  perpetual inventory, lead times, and vendor pricing
• strike the ideal balance between not
  enough inventory and too much inventory
• reduce costs
• see customer service and satisfaction
  improve as you reduce delays and bottlenecks with better synchronization
• have more productive and efficient
  personnel with less need for overtime.

All of this leads to increased throughput and more profit. If you’re ready to transform your planning and scheduling skills with Infor ERP, Decision Resources knows Infor inside and out. You can rely on us to do a great job optimizing the system for your business’s needs. Get in touch with us for more information, or give us a call at 412-562-9660 or email info@decision.com to set up a meeting.