APS (Advanced Planning & Scheduling Software) are increasingly considered fundamental tools to increase the competitive advantage of the industrial company. By enhancing the ability to manage and control production processes, they allow you to take advantage of maximum production efficiency by increasing on-time delivery, reducing lead time and therefore warehouses. Most companies that implement an APS confirm that they already see the benefits a few months after implementation, returning the investment within 12 months.
But the benefits are closely linked to the goodness of the implementation
If choosing the right APS for your company is the first fundamental part, choosing the right technology to support processes, the right IT structure and the best performance is the most delicate. Once you have identified the advanced production planning and scheduling software and the right partner, you must keep in mind 3 fundamental steps so as not to frustrate the correct choices already made.
What are the 3 fundamental steps to implement an Advanced Planning & Scheduling software successfully?
Before starting the implementation of an advanced system for production planning and scheduling (APS), it is good to keep in mind 3 important steps, fundamental for the success of the project:
1. Data control and cleaning
To create a good plan by making certain and safe decisions, the planner needs to work on realistic and clean data. Dirty data can create a vicious circle, creating even very wide interference. Having an advanced tool that uses inconsistent data will not allow you to create realistic and optimized plans. A bit like driving a Formula 1 car on a dirt track. It is therefore important to review key data such as: cycles, operations, bills of material, inventory. Choosing an APS with very powerful graphics will help in this delicate cleaning phase and keep the data clean even in the future.
2. Choose the right Team
The implementation of an APS system is an innovative project that brings the improvement of planning processes with very profound changes. Choosing the right people to hire early in the implementation is critical. The main qualities of your team must be, in addition to the knowledge of the processes, a spirit of innovation and improvement. This will be the team that in a few months will revolutionize not only the way you plan production but the way the planning department communicates with the sales department, with purchases, with management and with customers.
3. Creating a prototype based on your real data
Last, but not least, the creation of a prototype. The implementation of an APS should provide for a first “mini-project” phase of both the operational part and the interface with the other systems. The prototype will have to model your company taking only part of the data (usually the most important). This is the phase that makes the difference to the success of the project. In fact, creating a prototype at the beginning of the implementation project will allow you to:
- Evaluate the actual quality of your data;
- Check the functionality of the software;
- Test the validity of the processes;
- Widely reduce the risk of failure;
- Give your team time to become familiar with the software and get to know it well during the next steps;
- Edit the template before it is implemented across all departments and with all data.
In order to truly make a wise investment decision, companies must rely on a hands-on demonstration of the software to justify implementation. Every company faces specific challenges for them and without proof that integrating new software will alleviate those challenges, it’s harder to feel confident moving forward with full implementation.
Increase your company’s performance
Implementing APS software can really boost your company’s performance. If you prepare in advance, you can make the implementation process much easier by ensuring the success of your project. So keep in mind that a good APS software must be able to help you clean your management data and then keep it over time. Remember to choose the right project team and evaluate the creation of a prototype as fundamental.
Keeping these three steps in mind will allow you to finish the project in a short time, greatly reducing risks, achieving lasting benefits and limiting many post-implementation activities.
Learn more about how to implement APS software
Cybertec has been developing the APS CyberPlan since 1991, successfully implemented in hundreds of Italian and international companies. Its implementation is created to minimize risks and maintain performance over the years. CyberPlan boasts installations that last more than twentyyears in companies such as Ansaldo, La Triveneta Cavi, ferplast, Ilcam, Pietro Fiorentini and many others.
Contact our team of experts for more information on implementing APS software.