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SCH Production scheduler software

Plan and schedule your production workflow with powerful scheduler software , meet your delivery deadlines and optimize your manufacturing processes.

Optimize production planning with scheduler software

Manage production efficiently, reducing waste

Production scheduling involves precisely and dynamically defining the timing of operational phases with the goal of maximizing the efficiency of the production process.

 

By using the materialSUITE® production scheduler software, it is possible to plan and sequence orders while taking into account both the availability of internal resources such as labor and machinery, and the status of supplies and inventory levels.

 

Furthermore, thanks to integration with MES and WMS software, the scheduler software provides a real-time view of the entire production process.

 

As a result, it becomes possible to automatically and responsively determine the optimal sequence of activities, reducing downtime and ensuring lead times are met. This approach allows for the creation of a coherent production plan that is truly aligned with the needs of the supply chain.

schedulatore produzione logikamente
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    Formulation of the operational plan and push production plan

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    Gradual elimination of paper

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    Production sequence simulation

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    Real time view of what is happening on the shop floor

Plan production with scheduler software tailored to your business

The materialSUITE® production scheduler software uses heuristic algorithms and flexibly adapts to the specific processes of each company by applying three scheduling models based on operational needs:

 

  • Finite capacity scheduling: focuses on the balanced distribution of activities across lines, departments, or operational resources, with the goal of optimizing the production cycle, reducing bottlenecks, and ensuring efficient utilization of available capacity.

 

  • Reverse scheduling: plans backward from the customer delivery date, calculating the necessary time for each phase to guarantee deadlines are met while optimizing early starts and stock levels

 

Thanks to these models, the production scheduler software enables the development of customized work plans that consider order priorities, deadlines, setup times, labor availability, and the specific characteristics of each production plant.

schedulatore produzione dashboard shop floor
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    Required planner effort reduction

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    More time for your valuable activities

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    Continuously updated planning, accessible to all team members

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    Precise estimate of delivery dates

Why rely on production scheduler software: advantages and benefits

Adopting production scheduler software allows you to optimize resource utilization by significantly reducing downtime and bottlenecks that often slow down the production flow. Additionally, it improves planning accuracy, ensuring strict adherence to delivery dates and, consequently, increasing end-customer satisfaction.

 

Thanks to dynamic and flexible planning, the scheduler software facilitates timely management of changes and unforeseen events, enabling rapid adjustment of work schedules. At the same time, it helps minimize inventory and work-in-progress, thereby reducing warehouse costs and tied-up capital.

 

Overall, implementing production scheduler software enhances operational efficiency, improves decision-making capabilities, and strengthens the company’s competitiveness in an increasingly demanding market.

schedulatore produzione funzione drag and drop
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    Production costs reduction

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    Icreased production efficiency

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    Optimization of warehouse inventory

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    Proactive identification of production times and critical issues

What does production scheduling involve?

Production scheduling software, also called APS (or Advanced Planning and Scheduling) is used within smart factories to reduce manual effort, reduce and eliminate the variables that affect the delivery times and inventories and have control over the production phases in processing, completed and completed.
You can easily plan all your business resources through visual management solutions and promptly reorganize the processing steps in case of need.
Your production system must be optimized in all the processes that make it up, especially if delivery times are increasingly tight. The main theme therefore remains flexibility and competitiveness in terms of managing needs. The software interested in production scheduling must therefore provide an excellent user experience and a speed of response useful to optimize the time available to the decision maker.

EXPERIENCES

SCH | materialSUITE®

Production Scheduling Software

Production optimisation and real planning with the SCH module

 

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SCH | materialSUITE®

Management and planning of work relations

Scheduling of interventions, digital reports and transformation into invoices.

 

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SCH | materialSUITE®

Smart Production Scheduling with the SCH Module

Profilplast optimized production with a tailored SCH module, improving bill scheduling, reducing planning time, increasing resource efficiency, and ensuring greater flexibility and on-time deliveries.

 

 

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FAQ

What is a production scheduler and what is it used for?

A production scheduler (APS - Advanced Planning & Scheduling) is software that plans and optimizes the sequence of work on machines and work centers. It serves to: define the optimal order of execution of production orders, calculate realistic delivery dates considering production capacity and constraints, balance workloads avoiding overloads and underutilization, simulate what-if scenarios before confirming plans. The scheduler transforms scheduling from manual and intuitive to scientific and data-driven, improving on-time deliveries and plant saturation.

Finite or infinite capacity scheduling: what's the difference?

Infinite capacity scheduling assumes unlimited resources, giving only a crude estimate of workloads. It is useful for a first analysis but does not handle real constraints. Finite capacity scheduling considers all real limits: hours available per shift, number of operators, machine capacity, equipment required, setup times. Calculate feasible plans while respecting these constraints and highlighting any bottlenecks. Only finite capacity allows for reliable delivery dates and plans that can actually be executed in production.

How much does a production scheduler cost?

The cost varies by business size, users and complexity. For small companies (5-20 machines), starting from 10,000-25,000€ for entry-level solutions. Medium-sized companies (20-50 machines) spend 25,000-60,000€ on complete software with advanced simulations. Large multi-site companies invest 60,000-200,000€+ in enterprise solutions. Consider additional costs: scheduler training (2,000-5,000€), ERP/MES integration (5,000-20,000€), annual maintenance (15-20% of license cost). Typical ROI is 12-24 months via improved punctuality and Work-in-Progress reduction.

Does the scheduler work with Excel or do you need dedicated software?

Excel is inadequate for complex scheduling because: it does not handle capacity constraints automatically, requires continuous and laborious manual updates, does not automatically calculate times considering setups and queues, does not simulate alternative scenarios quickly, and does not integrate in real time with MES and ERP. Dedicated software offers: automatic calculation with optimization algorithms, dynamic updating based on real advances from the MES, Gantt graphical visualization to understand at a glance, what-if simulations in seconds. For more than 10 concurrent orders, Excel becomes impractical.

How does the scheduler calculate delivery dates?

The scheduler calculates dates considering multiple factors: product bill of materials (components and semi-finished products required), work cycle (phases, machines, standard times per operation), material availability in stock or from suppliers, production capacity available per work center, setup times between different processes on the same center, order priorities (urgencies, required date, marginality), production constraints (special equipment, operator certifications). The algorithm works backward from the requested date or forward from today, highlighting any foreseeable critical issues and delays.

Does the scheduler adapt to sales and Make-to-Order productions?

Absolutely, in fact APS schedulers are particularly useful for Make-to-Order and production-on-order, where each order is different and requires dedicated scheduling. They manage: variability of products and custom configurations, dynamic distinct bases created order by order, multiple priorities and continuous variations required by customers, need to confirm accurate delivery dates during the offered phase. The scheduler quickly simulates if and when a new order can be placed on the plan without compromising existing deliveries, allowing for quick and reliable responses to customers.