Eurilait, which supplies retailers, wholesalers and food service companies across the UK with cheese, butter, cream and desserts, has halved waste and saved a significant value in the last year following the implementation of supply chain planning software through food industry tech specialists at FuturMaster.
Advanced Planning, APS, FCS, S&OP
Among the most popular software planning technologies is Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS). This is a type of software solution that sets out to ensure production capacity and the materials required for manufacture are optimally sourced and allocated to satisfy demand. Other related tools include Finite Capacity Scheduling. This approach sets out to understanding how much production capacity is possible within a specified timeframe. The aim is to manage workflow at an even and efficient pace throughout the production process. Finite scheduling tools differ from infinite capacity scheduling tools in that the latter are in the main more simple and unable to account for system issues/constraints that happen in real time.
World of Books targets mileage, time and cost savings with Paragon’s multi-drop routing software
Mar 14, 2019
World of Books, the UK’s largest used book retailer, is using Paragon’s routing software to support its rapidly expanding business, while minimising the operational impact it has on the environment.
Electrolux implements worldwide 3D factory and material flow planning
Mar 07, 2019
Electrolux AB, based in Stockholm, Sweden, sells appliances for household and commercial use in 150 countries around the world. With around 58,000 employees and 46 production sites, the company develops and manufactures products of numerous brands: in addition to Electrolux, the top brands Grand Cuisine, AEG, Zanussi, Frigidaire and Westinghouse enjoy a particularly high reputation.
Pet food manufacturer snaps up FuturMaster supply chain technology across globe
Feb 13, 2019
Royal Canin, the pet food manufacturer owned by Mars Inc., has started to roll-out FuturMaster’s cloud-based demand planning software as part of a supply chain initiative to standardise processes across the globe and improve efficiencies. The new technology, which has so far been deployed in the US, is expected to help manage the growing complexity of supplying the right products at the right time to over a hundred markets around the world.
Paragon provides route planning expertise to help St Gemma’s Hospice raise £20,000
Jan 30, 2019
Dorking-based Paragon Software Systems has supported the St Gemma’s Hospice annual Christmas tree disposal service, helping the charity to raise more than £20,000 to care for terminally ill people in West Yorkshire.
Logility merges the art and science of retail planning with new inspiration board, enhanced analytics and digital asset library
Jan 24, 2019
Logility, Inc., a leading provider of advanced retail planning and collaborative supply chain optimisation solutions, has announced a set of enhanced capabilities available within the Logility Voyager Solutions Retail Optimisation platform.
AMP Clean Energy places Paragon’s logistics software at heart of customer experience transformation
Jan 24, 2019
AMP Clean Energy, formerly Forest Fuels, a leading biomass wood fuel supplier in the UK, has selected Paragon’s route optimisation software and fleXipod ePOD system to help transform its customer experience.
International jeweller and watch retailer Thomas Sabo chooses Quinyx as its workforce management platform
Dec 05, 2018
Quinyx, the workforce management solutions provider, has entered into a new partnership with Thomas Sabo, the premium-sector jewellery and watch supplier.
Katana launches Smart Workshop Software
Nov 28, 2018
Katana, the smart workshop software company, has launched what it describes as the first-ever Smart Workshop Software, providing small manufacturers with affordable and easy to use inventory and production management.
HFX shows powerful new workforce planning and costing module ‘3D Rostering’ for staff deployment at CIPD Conference
Nov 07, 2018
The world of work is changing, and new thinking and systems are required to not only to facilitate this change but to deliver competitive advantage.
Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS).
Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) refers to a manufacturing management process by which raw materials and production capacity are optimally allocated to meet demand. In manufacturing, the purpose of scheduling is to minimize the production time and costs by improving the efficiency of the operation. Scheduling is an important tool for manufacturing as it can have a major impact on the productivity of a process.
APS is especially well-suited to environments where simpler planning methods cannot adequately address complex trade-offs between competing priorities. Traditional planning and scheduling systems utilise a stepwise procedure to allocate material and production capacity. This approach is simple but cumbersome, and does not readily adapt to changes in demand, resource capacity or material availability. Materials and capacity are planned separately, and many systems do not consider limited material availability or capacity constraints. Thus, this approach often results in plans that cannot be executed. Production scheduling tools greatly outperform older manual scheduling methods.
These provide the production scheduler with powerful graphical interfaces which can be used to visually optimize real-time work-loads in various stages of production, and pattern recognition allows the software to automatically create scheduling opportunities which might not be apparent without this view into the data. Companies use backward and forward scheduling to allocate plant and machinery resources, plan human resources, plan production processes and purchase materials. Forward scheduling is planning the tasks from the date resources become available to determine the shipping date or the due date.
Backward scheduling is planning the tasks from the due date or required-by date to determine the start date and/or any changes in capacity required. Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) provides an updated forecast that leads to a sales plan, production plan, inventory plan, customer lead time (backlog) plan, new product development plan, strategic initiative plan and resulting financial plan. Variations in frequency of the plan depend on the type of manufacturing industry. Short product life cycles and high demand volatility require a tighter S&OP planning than steadily consumed products.
A properly implemented S&OP process routinely reviews customer demand and supply resources and “re-plans” quantitatively across an agreed rolling horizon. The re-planning process focuses on changes from the previously agreed sales and operations plan. While it helps the management team to understand how the company achieved its current level of performance, its primary focus is on future actions and anticipated results.