Category: Manufacturing Production
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7 Tips for Moving Away from Production Planning Spreadsheets
Production planners and schedulers can get pretty attached to their spreadsheets. Even if they don’t work as well as they’d like, chances are, they’ve invested dozens, if not hundreds, of hours into getting them to work well enough to offer some benefit. Although the advantages of an Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) implementation are compelling,…
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The Ripple Effect of Implementing APS
Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software can dramatically simplify daily life for production planners and schedulers tasked with creating and optimizing production plans. However, the benefits of optimized production extend far beyond the role of production planning and scheduling. With the right tools, an advanced planning system can positively impact every corner of your enterprise,…
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The Role of Algorithms in Production Planning and Scheduling
By: John Maher | January 20, 2025 | 7 min read In my last post, I talked about the challenges of using spreadsheets to manage production planning and scheduling in complex manufacturing. Some of you have probably experienced those challenges first-hand, but if you want to read that post, you can access it here. If you’re…
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Will 2025 be the Year You Finally Ditch the Spreadsheets?
It’s January 2025, and many of the manufacturers I know are still neck-deep in strategic and operational planning. They need to get better at meeting customer commitments this year. They need to cut waste. They need to trim costs. They need to cut lead times to remain competitive. Most of all, they need to cut…
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It’s Time: Manufacturers Need to Cut Ties with MRP and Spreadsheets
A few years ago, Aberdeen Group did a study that showed that 63% of “best in class” manufacturers still used spreadsheets for planning. With percentages this high, it’s probably safe to say that there is a lack of trust in planning tools like ERP and MRP even in the best-run companies. Of course, spreadsheets come…
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Time to Revisit Your Constraints
We talk a lot about constraints management in our work with customers who are implementing Demand-Driven Manufacturing (DDM) in their facilities. That’s because constraints management is fundamental for synchronizing the pace of production and keeping the demand (orders) flowing throughout the shop floor. But, our focus is naturally on physical constraints, e.g., that…