The market for advanced planning and scheduling systems (APS) has existed for at least thirty years but the use of these systems is still limited to a limited number of companies. Typically, manufacturing or distribution companies try to centralize the IT management of their processes in ERP systems but it is soon realized that for calculation activities, such as those of developing a production and purchasing plan, ERP offers limited solutions :
- finite capacity scheduling is missing
- complete pegging of needs is missing
- the graphical representation of the plan is limited
- re-elaborations of the plan are slow and hinder the operation of other users of the system
If ERP manufacturers created the functions to overcome the first 3 points of the previous list, the problems of slow and poor usability of the last point would be even more pronounced. A poorly satisfied need leads users to look for autonomous solutions: the spreadsheet. When the limitations of the spreadsheet are also evident and there is both the financial availability and the open-mindedness to look for other solutions, then the search for an APS begins. However, many companies never pass from the spreadsheet to the APS and this is to the detriment of the companies’ performance. Why don’t we move on to adopting an APS?
- the large investment in an ERP and its MRP cannot be presented as a mistake and adopting an APS could lead one to think so
- APS projects are expensive and the difference between an MRP and an APS is often not so clear to those in the company who decide on investments
- all in all the company also works with the MRP combination of management software and electronic sheets and the limits of this pair become particularly evident only in periods of changing economic scenarios
- APS projects have a low success rate: the project is undertaken when the risk/probable benefit ratio is seen as favorable
Paneido has decided to propose Apyesse to the market to overcome these obstacles and allow companies to recover the performance margin that is still untapped and which is achieved in:
- promptly release purchase and production orders for the missing ones
- verify delivery problems of certain customer orders in advance and resolve them with departments, suppliers, subcontractors
- face future market and supply chain scenarios in time with effective and high-performance tools
Apyesse is aimed primarily at small companies for which the project costs for an APS would be prohibitive. It facilitates integration with other systems, a chapter that in APS projects is usually among the most expensive in terms of time and costs. It completes the investments already made in the ERP, allowing the preparation of integrated and effectively verifiable plans in a distinct and high-performance environment. It also makes the planning and scheduling process more structured and less dependent on spreadsheets whose configuration is often known only to individual people in the company.
