Tag: production flow

Synchronized Manufacturing: Using Supply Allocation to Orchestrate Complex Build Structures
It’s amazing to watch a school of fish swimming—each one turning, accelerating, and slowing in perfect unison, as if they were a single organism. Their very survival depends on synchronization. Staying tightly coordinated lets them react instantly to predators, shift around obstacles, and navigate a vast, unpredictable ocean.

Complex manufacturing environments work much the same way. To keep customers satisfied and costs under control, multi-level builds with dozens, or even hundreds, of interrelated work orders must move together with that same fluid coordination. When even one critical operation falls out of sync, the whole schedule ripples: delivery promises slip, priorities become confused, and planners are left scrambling to get everything back on track.

Supply Allocation, a new feature in SyncManufacturing Version 8, can help restore that “school of fish” coordination to your operations by recoupling every level of your build structure into a single, coherent flow.

The Hidden Complexity of Multi-Level Manufacturing

In complex manufacturing, every finished product often relies on a deep, multilevel bill of material with its own chain of supporting work orders. A single customer order can depend on hundreds of work orders, each with its own routing, lead times, and dependencies. Small delays deep in the build structure can cascade into major disruptions, expensive expediting, and late deliveries.

Two scheduling concepts were developed to help manufacturers address this issue: the critical path and the late path. Critical path is the sequence of activities that determines the overall project or order completion date. Tasks on this path have zero (or near-zero) float: If any of them slip, the order completion date slips by the same amount. Late path refers to the set of late start and late finish times calculated for activities in a schedule, showing how late each task can occur without delaying the overall completion date.

While transformative, these concepts were developed in the 1950s, at the very beginning of the computer age. Since then, industries such as aerospace and defense, automotive manufacturing, and heavy equipment have grown far more complex.

Where Manufacturing Theory Falls Short in Complex Manufacturing

Today, many manufacturers still rely on a mix of ERP or MRP systems with limited (if any) pegging logic linking parent work orders to supply. While these tools are helpful, even necessary, they were never designed to provide a truly synchronized, multilevel build plan.
- ERP/MRP systems often treat each work order as an isolated record rather than part of an end-to-end build structure for a specific customer order.
- Standard pegging logic shows only theoretical links between supply and demand, without clearly revealing which orders are at risk or how they affect downstream operations, making proactive action difficult.
- Planners must compensate for variability by manually resetting due dates to force alignment, a labor-intensive process that quickly becomes unmanageable as priorities and constraints shift.
The result is a schedule that looks aligned on paper but is often disconnected from shop-floor realities. Machines and labor are booked on jobs that cannot start due to a lack of materials, work is released to the floor before components are available, and high-priority orders are inadvertently starved while lower-priority orders consume critical parts.

This historical reliance on limited pegging functionality and manual date setting is understandable. True, end-to-end, dynamic pegging can be computationally intensive, especially across thousands of orders, multi-level BOMs, and constantly changing schedules. But with the exponential growth in computing power and modern optimization techniques, it is now possible to continuously recalculate detailed, order-level relationships in near real time, opening the door to a new paradigm.

Aligning Flow Instead of Dates: How Supply Allocation Works

Supply Allocation starts with the understanding that a customer order build is not a collection of isolated tasks. Rather, it is a system of tightly related work orders that must flow together. To achieve this level of synchronization, Supply Allocation builds direct linkages between every supply order (what is being made or bought) and every demand order (what is needed for the customer or parent job) across all BOM levels.

This means alignment is no longer defined by manually maintained date fields. Rather, it is defined by flow.
- Every child order knows exactly which parent order it supports and how its timing affects the overall build.
- The system can schedule the entire build structure as one extended process, ensuring that upstream and downstream work move in lockstep.
- When conditions change—late material, capacity constraints, priority shifts—the impact on the entire structure is visible in a single, coherent model rather than scattered across screens and independent work orders.
- Dates across the entire build are automatically recalculated from these relationships, so schedules stay aligned without constant manual due date resets.
By treating the order as a system, Supply Allocation transforms planning from a reactive exercise in chasing dates into a proactive discipline focused on orchestrating flow through the value stream.

The Value and Outcomes of Supply Allocation

When every work order in a multilevel build is aligned through Supply Allocation, the operational benefits are immediate and measurable.

Maximized throughput: Supply is strictly aligned with demand, so every part on the shelf, on order, or in production has a clearly defined destination within a customer order.

Improved transparency: Users gain an at-a-glance view into the full structure of an order, from top-assembly to the lowest level component, including which steps are driving delays.

Increased efficiency: Planners no longer spend hours manually validating material availability or stitching together order relationships because the system automatically surfaces the critical path and late path.

Reduced delays and stoppages: Jobs are released to the floor only when they are truly buildable, reducing stalled work, WIP, and the confusion that comes from jobs waiting on missing parts.

More reliable delivery: Promise dates are grounded in validated supply-demand linkages, leading to more consistent demand linkages, on-time delivery, and higher customer confidence. Increased transparency improves expediting of at-risk orders.

Supply Allocation: More Vital Than Ever

These days, manufacturers are under pressure from every direction: tighter lead times, more product variants, labor shortages, and supply chain volatility. In an increasingly chaotic environment, the traditional approach of manually coordinating hundreds of work orders through due dates and spreadsheets is not just inefficient—it’s often unworkable.

Supply Allocation addresses this challenge by supporting a production schedule that reflects an order’s true build structure and stays synchronized as conditions evolve. Instead of discovering misalignment when an order is already late, planners identify emerging delays early and act before customers feel the impact. For organizations pursuing digital transformation or Lean initiatives, Supply Allocation becomes a foundational capability: It exposes the real flow of work and materials, making it easier to identify bottlenecks, prioritize improvements, and sustain gains over time.

If you’re ready to move beyond the limitations of your current systems, schedule a live demo. Our representatives can show you how Supply Allocation manages complex build structures, highlights emerging late paths, and supports the kind of reliable delivery your customers expect.

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March 17, 2026
Closing the Visibility Gap in Complex Production Environments
The Transparency Challenge in Complex Manufacturing

In many complex manufacturing environments, such as aerospace, defense, or heavy equipment manufacturing, a single production order can encompass dozens or even hundreds of interdependent work orders. Unforeseen issues, such as late or short material deliveries, rework, unplanned equipment downtime, and engineering change orders, can introduce delays deep in a sub-assembly that ripple through the entire build.

When delivery commitments slip, manufacturers often face contract penalties, costly expediting, and damage to customer trust and brand reputation. In sectors like defense or critical infrastructure, scheduling slips can pose national security or mission-readiness risks. Because traditional ERP systems provide only fragmented, static views of complex, multi-level orders, emerging risks stay buried. Too often, schedule problems come to light only after commitments are already missed and firefighting has begun.

Equally challenging, without the right tools, resolving a delay and understanding its true impact on the production schedule and final delivery often means jumping between multiple screens, exporting data to spreadsheets, or walking the shop floor to investigate each issue by hand—a time-consuming, error-prone process that simply doesn’t scale as order volumes, product complexity, and customer expectations continue to rise.

What’s New in SyncManufacturing^® Production Plan Version 8?

Production Plan, a core feature of the SyncManufacturing Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) system, addresses the challenge by giving planners a clear, visual overview of an order’s entire build process, from top-level demand through every related work order, routing step, and required component in a single, navigable view. It exposes relationships and dependencies between work orders, highlights the critical path, and surfaces input and material readiness at each step so teams can quickly spot emerging bottlenecks, understand what’s driving potential lateness, and take targeted action before small disruptions turn into missed delivery commitments.

In Version 8, Production Plan has been redesigned to deliver faster performance, clearer visuals, and better support for today’s complex, multi-level order structures. For manufacturers already using SyncManufacturing, here’s a quick rundown of the changes you’ll see in the Production Plan interface:
- Completely redesigned screen: The new Production Plan screen in SyncManufacturing Version 8 was rebuilt to make it easier to view complex order structures in a single, responsive interface.
- Networks in the main view: Networked orders that were previously visualized in a separate screen are now integrated into the standard Production Plan view, so users can see an individual order and its network context together.
- Order and Operation Precedence support: Production Plan now incorporates the latest modeling options, including order-level and operation-level precedence, so schedule-impacting dependencies are visible directly in the plan.
- Inputs drawer: Information on the inputs to operations (such as material availability and shortages) is now accessible in a bottom drawer, keeping the primary view clean while still providing instant access to critical details.
- Performance and usability improvements: The updated design is engineered to handle very complex, multi-level orders with greater efficiency and responsiveness.
Ready to Close the Visibility Gap in Your Shop?

If you manage complex, interdependent production orders, you know how difficult it can be to get a clear picture of status, risks, and dependencies from traditional ERP or scheduling tools. With SyncManufacturing Production Plan, your team can work from a single, always-current view of every order, seeing exactly what’s on track, what’s at risk, and what actions need to be taken to protect customer commitments.

Ready to experience what working with a more transparent and predictable production schedule feels like? Contact Synchrono to schedule a SyncManufacturing Version 8 demo and see Production Plan in action.

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March 6, 2026
The Devastating Impact of Too Much WIP: How Excess Inventory Kills Manufacturing Flow
In manufacturing, WIP (Work in Progress or Work in Process) refers to partially finished goods that are at various stages of production but not yet completed. In accounting terms, WIP represents the value of raw materials, labor, and overhead that has been invested in unfinished product. Reducing WIP is a frequently cited goal for many manufacturers as WIP ties up capital and hinders production flow.

In this post, we explore the problems excess WIP causes, the operational issues it can reveal, and how Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) systems help manufacturers keep WIP levels under control by creating a stable and reliable manufacturing environment.

The Hidden Costs of Excess WIP

As noted in our introduction, excess WIP creates several issues for manufacturers, making it a prime target for continuous improvement initiatives.

Ties up capital – WIP is a normal component of manufacturing, as all products go through at least some processing. Lengthy cycle times can easily exacerbate WIP issues in complex manufacturing environments. Excess WIP ties up capital as the funds have already been invested, but the completed product cannot yet be shipped.

Increases storage and handling costs – WIP also takes up space, which can contribute to increased storage and handling costs. Excess WIP can also increase scrap costs as unfinished components that are moved around to make room for other production orders or inventory can easily be damaged or misplaced.

Longer lead times – Excess WIP is often a symptom of process issues, such as over releasing work, poor flow, and process misalignment. If production orders aren’t properly prioritized and scheduled, excess WIP in the pipeline increases wait/queue times, leading to longer lead times and missed delivery dates.

Difficult to Manage – Having too much WIP makes it much more difficult to manage the production process. Excess WIP leads to wandering bottlenecks, increased batching, increased expediting, and a higher likelihood of resources running incorrect work. The more WIP in the system, the more orders to keep track, the more difficult it is for management to ensure focus remains on the highest priority work

The Root Causes of WIP Accumulation

Excess WIP is a telltale symptom of deeper operational problems rooted in misaligned philosophies, inefficiencies, or poor planning. Here are several root causes of excess WIP in complex manufacturing environments.

Push-Based Production Philosophy – The classic example of a push-based system is one that schedules production based on forecasts and pushes production through the process regardless of downstream processing capacity and actual customer need. Products are manufactured in advance, assuming demand will consume the supply. Poor forecasting and disconnects between production and actual customer demand lead to overproduction, a key driver of excess WIP.

In addition, in both make-to-forecast and make-to-order environments, push-based production increases WIP when work is released or started upstream without sufficient regard for the pace or capacity of downstream processes. This allows semi-finished goods to pile up at intermediate stages, drastically increasing queue times, until capacity becomes available. Constant expediting, changes in customer demand, and downstream bottlenecks further amplify the problem.

Batch Planning – Batch planning involves processing materials or components together in a “batch” rather than one at a time in a continuous flow. Larger batch sizes increase WIP because products must travel in bulk, waiting until the entire batch is ready before moving to the next step. If equipment or processes are delayed downstream, the entire batch is held up, further compounding the accumulation of WIP across stages. Changeovers or scheduling mismatches can also create periods where WIP sits idle between processes, waiting for subsequent operations.

Poor Constraints Management – Even when a push-based production philosophy isn’t followed, poor constraints management creates similar issues. When work is released to production and upstream processes produce at full capacity regardless of the constraint’s capacity, WIP piles up in front of the constraint, roving bottlenecks occur at the non-constraints, and overall throughput is reduced.

Misaligned and/ or Outdated KPIs – Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used to measure system performance, but if they incentivize the wrong behaviors, they can be counterproductive. This is especially true of KPIs like “machine utilization” or “line efficiency” that prioritize keeping equipment running at full capacity rather than focusing on overall system. Additionally, if production teams are incentivized to produce as much as possible without regard for demand or system constraints, WIP will accumulate unnecessarily.

Batch Planning with a Focus on Local Optimization – Closely tied to the issue of misaligned KPIs, local optimization occurs when individual departments or production zones prioritize their own efficiency over overall operational efficiency. This can lead to departments producing large batches or components ahead of time to avoid setup costs or to meet their own output targets. These efforts to maximize efficiency within one department often lead to mismatches elsewhere, missing parts at downstream convergence points, inconsistent work availability at subsequent work centers causing delays, inefficiencies, and excess WIP throughout production system.

Fixing the Flow: Proven Strategies to Reduce WIP

Addressing WIP buildup typically requires implementing lean principles, such as pull-based systems (e.g., Kanban), optimizing constraints (Theory of Constraints), reducing batch sizes, and using KPIs that reflect overall system performance rather than local optimization. The goal should always be to enable a smooth, synchronized production flow that minimizes waste while meeting actual demand. Within Lean and TOC are several frameworks that directly address the issue:

Just-In-Time (JIT) – JIT is a manufacturing methodology that aims to reduce waste by producing goods only as they are needed for the next phase of production or for customer delivery. By aligning production schedules closely with actual sales or downstream usage, JIT minimizes the time WIP spends queuing between each step. While production runs are typically smaller under JIT, this means fewer items are in the system at any given time and only what is needed is being produced.

While not synonymous, JIT is often a feature of Lean manufacturing environments as pull system techniques like Kanban are leveraged to create a workflow where production is “pulled” by consumer demand rather than “pushed” based on forecasts.

Implementation Best Practice

We’ve seen many JIT initiatives go wrong when the manufacturer tries to push ahead too fast. They immediately eliminate almost all inventory, anticipating immediate improvements. The best success is achieved when JIT is implemented as an incremental process:
1. Start by reducing (not eliminating) inventory levels in one area of the business.
2. Monitor the system to identify issues caused by the reduced inventory.
3. Address the issues identified in step 2, then repeat the process starting at step 1.
Each time through the cycle will yield incremental performance benefits while minimizing business disruptions.

Theory of Constraints (TOC) – TOC states that there is generally one or a limited number of constraints (the weakest link) in any system at any given time. Production should be synchronized to these constraints. Failure to identify and manage constraints properly can lead to excessive WIP throughout the system, hindering material flow and increasing lead times.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) – VSM is another tool used in Lean manufacturing to visualize and analyze the flow of materials and information required to bring a product or service to the customer. Identifying all the steps in a value stream makes it easier to see where WIP is piling up and why.

Waste Reduction – A fundamental principle of Lean, waste reduction involves eliminating anything that does not add value for the customer. JIT and VSM are useful tools for identifying excess waste. In addition, Kaizen events, where employees at all levels of an organization work together to proactively identify potential improvements to the manufacturing process, can also help reduce WIP.

How SyncManufacturing^® Enables Greater WIP Control

Technology plays an important role in implementing continuous improvement philosophies such as Lean Manufacturing and TOC. SyncManufacturing APS is our customers’ control tower for implementing proven, demand-driven processes that lower WIP and improve flow. Here’s how it works:

Finite capacity scheduling: Most ERP systems create production schedules based on material availability but assume infinite factory capacity. SyncManufacturing leverages finite capacity scheduling (also known as finite capacity planning) to create production schedules based on the actual availability and capacity of resources, including machines and personnel. Production schedules at upstream resources are optimized for capacity downstream. This minimizes queue times and smooths the flow of materials and WIP through the factory.

Real-time demand-driven scheduling: While SyncManufacturing can be used in a make-to-stock environment, many of our customers leverage our APS system to move towards true demand-driven manufacturing. As customer orders come in, SyncManufacturing uses real-time resource availability and capacity data to produce realistic capable to promise dates. When orders are accepted, schedules are updated and resources are allocated to the job.

Dynamic scheduling: SyncManufacturing adjusts and updates production schedules in real-time based on changes in the production environment, such as equipment downtime, material shortages, or changes in demand. This adaptability ensures that the flow of work remains efficient and prevents bottlenecks, which can lead to excess WIP.

Global flow optimization: SyncManufacturing aligns all production activities to ensure a seamless flow of materials and tasks across the entire value stream. By analyzing and optimizing the overall system rather than individual processes, it balances production loads and eliminates unnecessary buildup of inventory and WIP.

Constraints management: CONLOAD^™ is our proprietary algorithm for managing constraints effectively. The most critical resources (constraints) are identified, and the amount of work released into the system is controlled based on these constraints to minimize queue times, improve flow, and decrease WIP.

Real-time visibility and decision support: SyncManufacturing provides real-time visibility into every aspect of the production process using dashboards and integrated monitoring tools. This allows manufacturers to monitor WIP levels, identify bottlenecks, and make informed decisions instantly. Decision-support tools include predictive analytics and alerts, which help manufacturers proactively address potential issues before they escalate.

Do You Have Too Much WIP?

Excess WIP is more difficult to hide than other inventory management issues. Data trends like increasing queue and cycle times or decreasing inventory turns are good indicators of WIP that is becoming bloated. Production managers may also walk around the production environment and spot piles of work sitting in front of workstations or teams sitting idle as they wait for materials.

This excess WIP may be costing you more than you think! Contact us or schedule a personalized demo to see how you can improve and get rid of excess WIP to cut costs and improve production flow.

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October 29, 2025
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 piece of equipment or workstation that is preventing you from delivering on time or offering shorter, more competitive lead times to your customers.

Not Everything is About Production

Those of you who have spent time studying the Theory of Constraints (TOC) in-depth understand that it’s not always all about the production process. Constraints can fall into one of four categories:

Physical – These are the constraints we focus on with technologies like CONLOAD™ that set the pace for production based on the capacity of the physical constraint.

Policy – These constraints dictate how work is performed. Sometimes you can do something about them (e.g., an old company policy that no longer makes sense), and sometimes you can’t (e.g., a regulation that still might not make sense but needs to be followed anyway).

Paradigm – This is a way of thinking that gets in the way of meeting commitments, such as the COO’s resistance to outsourcing processes to other companies even if they can do it faster, better or cheaper than you can.

Market – Put simply, capacity exceeds demand. Remember, TOC emphasizes throughput (The rate at which the system generates “goal units,” Goldratt) and not productivity.

For some manufacturers, the real constraint over the last decade has been their market. Manufacturing production has seen its share of ups and downs in the last ten years. It wasn’t that our facilities couldn’t produce more, many manufacturers just didn’t have the orders to warrant increased production.

Shifting Your Paradigms

Early indications are that many of the market constraints on US manufacturers may be melting away in 2018 through 2020. (Along with a few policy constraints.) Manufacturing GDP is expected to slightly outpace GDP for all industries (2.5%) and grow by 2.8%. (Some analysts are predicting even higher numbers, but like our customers, we prefer to focus on more conservative estimates when doing mid-term forecasting.) The stock market is also at an all-time high, indicating strong investor confidence and more money for investment. Oil prices are expected to remain low, keeping the cost of manufacturing and transportation of goods to market in check.

In other words, it’s time to take your focus off the market constraints you can’t do much about and place it on the constraints that are within your control. If you have outdated policy or paradigm constraints, it’s time to rethink your thinking. If you have physical constraints – leverage them to set the optimal pace for uninterrupted production flow.

Time flies and so do great economies. Don’t let the best market in a decade pass you by without taking advantage of it. If your constraints are physical, here are a few resources that may help:

Video: Manage Manufacturing Constraints and Optimize Production Flow with CONLOAD

White Paper: Metrics That Drive Action

Case Study: GIW Industries

February 5, 2018
3 Ways to Put Big Data to Work in Your Factory

Is enthusiasm for Big Data wavering?

In 2015, McKinsey Global Institute claimed that the IIoT had the potential to create as much as $3.7 trillion in economic value in the global manufacturing sector by 2025. They also predicted that 80 to 100% of manufacturers will have implemented IIoT applications by then and already be reaping the benefits of data-driven insights into their operations.

When Gartner surveyed manufacturers in 2016, nearly three quarters said that their organization had invested or were planning to invest in Big Data, perhaps putting the manufacturing sector a bit ahead of schedule.

However, the Gartner survey also uncovered signs that Big Data investments may not yet be providing the anticipated returns. A full 85% of projects were still at the pilot stage. And, as further evidence that enthusiasm for Big Data may be wavering, only 11% of those who said they had invested claimed their Big Data investments were at least as important as other IT initiatives.

To drive ROI, begin with a purpose in mind

From our perspective, a large part of the reason Big Data/IIoT projects fizzle out is because team leaders and company executives don’t have a clear vision of the purpose of the initiative. They gather data as though it were a valuable raw material, but then they struggle to make anything useful out of it.

In this post, I’ll cover the three ways you can use Big Data to improve operational performance.

#1 Predictive analytics – The most common benefit espoused by Big Data enthusiasts is gaining insight into what might happen so you can prepare. Bernard Marr, a noted speaker and columnist for Forbes, describes it this way. “Big Data works on the principle that the more you know about anything or any situation, the more reliably you can gain new insights and make predictions about what will happen in the future.”

Predictive maintenance is probably one of the best-known applications of predictive analytics and Big Data. Before the IIoT, manufacturers had to guess how long a piece of equipment would last and when it would need maintenance. Unplanned downtime was common and costly.

Intelligent machines (even if that intelligence is retro-fitted) provide alerts on when the equipment is performing outside of normal parameters, e.g., running at a higher temperature indicating excess friction. And when connected to smart manufacturing tools like SyncOperations™, automated workflows and alerts to maintenance address the issue before it becomes a problem. From a demand-driven manufacturing perspective, this turns unplanned downtime into planned downtime and gives the planner/scheduler time to adjust and optimize flow.

Related resource: How Technology Will Connect Your Enterprise and Create the Demand-Driven Factory of the Future – Today.

#2 Continuous improvement – Continuous improvement is the cornerstone of any Lean initiative and has become a best-practice throughout the industry, even in those organizations that don’t consider themselves Lean. Big Data gives you the data you need to measure what matters and the ability to work with real data as opposed to someone’s best guess about what’s happening on the factory floor.

Of course, it goes without saying that a BigData initiative is only as good as the data the manufacturer has to work with – and if the right data can be accessed by the right people at the right time. In a typical manufacturing operation, data may be stored in dozens of places. Managing issues impacting production is easier with software like SyncManufacturing™ that can leverage its own data in addition to that stored in an ERP or other external system – and use it to make real-time adjustments to ensure production is flowing and resources are synchronized throughout the factory and extended supply chain.

Related resource: Metrics that Drive Action

#3 Real-time responsiveness – Finally, most manufacturing operations can be considered something like “controlled chaos.” Rush orders come in. People get sick. Raw materials shipments are delayed. Scheduling to known constraints is a piece of cake compared to optimizing flow when the unexpected happens. Demand-driven manufacturing can take signals from the shop floor to automatically synchronize production based on what is actually happening in your operations.

Related resource: Set the Right Pace for Production

Just as you wouldn’t buy a piece of equipment without knowing what it’s for, you shouldn’t launch a Big Data initiative without knowing what you want to accomplish. Beginning with a clear idea of what you want to accomplish can help keep enthusiasm high and ensure you see a return on your investment and efforts.

October 16, 2017

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