mechanical plant engineering industry

Planning and scheduling with the PPS system waySuite

Machines and equipment are not catalog items. They represent capital goods for customers that have to be designed, constructed, and then manufactured to their exact specifications. For machine and facility builders, this requires complex planning processes. From machine options to completely newly developed systems, order processing therefore must link processes from development/design with processes from production and procurement and to subsequently synchronize and optimize them.

Young Engineer woman working with machine in factory.

PPS System waySuite: Delivery reliability in machine and facility construction

Machines and equipment are not off-the-shelf products. They are capital goods tailored to meet the precise requirements of customers, necessitating design, engineering, and manufacturing to their exact specifications. This demands intricate planning from manufacturers of machinery and facilities. Ranging from customizable machine features to entirely new systems, the order fulfillment process must integrate and align development and design processes with those of production and procurement, with the aim of synchronizing and refining these workflows (also known as engineer-to-order processes).

Production planning alone is not enough

Procurement, production, assembly, and delivery must be coordinated with engineering capacities and project support at the customer’s. This presents the following challenges in the planning/control of these processes:

High penalties

In the quotation phase, not all parts lists/work plans are available throughout, because the design/development can only begin after the order has been received. This means that it is not possible to schedule a quotation in a planning system, as a series manufacturer could, for example. Nevertheless, binding delivery dates must be promised during the quotation phase, which are often subject to high penalties.

Long-distance planning

Various purchased parts that are critical to delivery time, such as electronic components, cast parts, or special ball bearings, must be pre-ordered on the basis of empirical values before the design/development is started. Otherwise, competitive delivery times cannot be achieved.

Growing parts lists

To meet delivery deadlines, production and procurement processes must start parallel to engineering. As design progresses, the parts lists “grow” and trigger new production and purchased parts in the daily MRP runs of the planning system. This creates a high degree of planning uncertainty, while at the same time there must be a way to prevent already pre-scheduled long-distance parts from being ordered twice and/or “cannibalized” by other orders.

Selection of our customers

With PPS system support for short lead times

APS Software waySuite with the modules wayRTS and wayPRO

Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) in machine and facility engineering is now possible efficiently thanks to integrated engineer-to-order planning with the waySuite and its wayRTS and wayPRO modules. In a planning environment, the processes from production/procurement (realtime APS Software wayRTS) are connected and synchronized with the processes from engineering (wayPRO). The planner can navigate elegantly between network plans, production orders, and commercial part orders in a user interface.
waySuite (wayRTS and wayPRO) is the optimal planning software for machine and facility engineering, and it can be used with any ERP system. The advantages are:

Foto der Grenzebach Gruppe, People, valantic Referenz waySuite

Case Study

Grenzebach plans and controls supply chain processes with valantic’s waySuite

Grenzebach serves the global markets of the glass and construction materials industries as well as interlogistics with custom-tailored automation solutions. Together with valantic, the company implemented a location and function-spanning planning solution for networked control of all value-creation processes.

valantic Reference wayRTS, KNAPP AG, pick it easy

Case Study

KNAPP AG optimizes supply chain with aps system wayRTS

KNAPP is one of the global market leaders among suppliers of complete intralogistics solutions and automated storage systems. KNAPP’s business is project-driven. In order to reduce order throughput times, optimally utilize capacities, and increase on-time delivery, the company continuously improves its planning organization and processes. The APS software wayRTS plays a central role in this.

valantic Reference TGW Logistics - APS Software wayRTS, waySuite

Case Study

TGW: Transparent planning with APS software wayRTS waySuite

TGW Logistics relies on the valantic APS software wayRTS / waySuite for top planning reliability, increased efficiency, productivity, transparent planning and performance in the supply chain. Even during its switch to SAP S/4HANA, TGW Logistics Group always had a transparent planning picture with the valantic APS software suite.

MAN Energy Solution Zuerich Production planning APS System waySuite

Case Study

APS waySuite at MAN ES: Production planning AI-optimized

MAN Energy Solutions has been using valantic's APS waySuite production planninng system for more than a decade. Thanks to IT-supported planning processes along the entire value chain - quotation, project management, engineering, production planning, procurement, personnel planning, scheduling, supplier tracking, testing and assembly - MAN ES achieves exceptionally high delivery reliability.

Production of a filling and closing machine, Waldner

Case Study

Production Planning and Project Planning at Waldner

Hermann Waldner GmbH & Co. KG specializes in the production of completely automatic filling and sealing machines and the appropriate packaging systems. When the company adopted SAP S/4HANA, its planning processes were further optimized. The wayRTS APS software that Waldner is using has now been expanded to include the wayPRO component for project planning and cross-project planning transparency.

Bild der valantic Referenz BBC Cellpack Projektbesprechung für die effiziente Planung mit wayRTS

Case Study

Multi-plant planning with waySuite at BBC Cellpack Technology AG

Supported by valantic's Supply Chain Excellence team, BBC Cellpack Technology has optimized its logistics and value creation processes. New, transparent multi-plant planning facilitates the handling of stock transfer orders, optimizes stocks, and increases delivery reliability. The technological basis for this is waySuite for Sales & Operations Planning.

Advantages of the PPS system waySuite for SCM planners

Produktion planning & scheduling made easys

1

Integrated production & procurement planning with project planning

waySuite provides the perfect way to plan engineer-to-order processes in a planning environment.
2

Scenario technology

With the waySuite’s intelligent scenario technology, operational, tactical, and strategic questions can be answered efficiently through simulation without disturbing the planners’ day-to-day work. A common application is the simulated creation of requests to determine delivery dates.
3

Real-time planning

PPS system waySuite is able to process changed data in real time. Material requirement planning (MRP) runs continuously and without interruption – the planner sees the effects of changes across all production stages immediately. The system can also handle very deep and heavily branched parts lists and very large numbers of active part numbers – often these factors alone make planning processes particularly complex for facility builders.
4

Optimization & automation

waySuite can fully automate day-to-day scheduling and capacity planning. Thanks to individually adjustable optimization and automation options, which can be expanded at any time, waySuite can adapt a variety of tasks.
5

Visualization

The process status can be visualized graphically at any time in a holistic and comprehensive manner. Intelligent filter functions make complexity and large amounts of data manageable. Planners will see what they need to see but will always have the opportunity to identify detailed problems via drill-downs.
6

Multi-utility capability

waySuite supports the joint transparent planning of several production facilities and takes into account the dependencies in a production network.

Advantages for management:

1

Increased competitive capabilities

Significantly shorter delivery times are a decisive criterion for the customer when awarding contracts in mechanical engineering/facility construction. waySuite makes this shortcut possible.
2

What-if questions are clarified immediately

Any what-if situations are clarified immediately simultaneously with the scenario technology, consequences can be shown transparently, the management has a secure and well-founded decision basis, for example in the case of “boss orders” or strategic questions.
3

Reduced penalty costs

Using waySuite substantially increases adherence to deadlines and thus reduces the risk of penalties, while improving the company’s reputation on the market.
4

Fast payback

waySuite implementations usually pay for themselves within approximately one year after the GoLive of the new planning, which ensures rapid success and revenue growth.
5

Great investment security

Long-standing experience with waySuite implementation in the field of machine and facility construction ensures the success of the implementation

Advantages for IT department and Sales

1

Certified interfaces

The bidirectional data exchange to market-relevant ERP systems saves the IT department a lot of effort during the implementation, as well as maintenance in the years after the GoLive.
2

In Memory Technology

The data to be calculated is stored in the main memory in waySuite. This increases system performance and eliminates the need for an additional database.
3

Secure deadlines for inquiries

The feasibility of inquiries and the delivery date can be determined quickly and reliably without great effort

Our consulting approach

Transparency and clear structures

We analyse your planning organisation with you and find the places where there are avoidable delays and costs. We examine your ERP master data and other digital information with you and together ensure that the reality of your company, your working methods and processes can be reflected in the software. You will see: Transparency and overarching planning will shorten your lead times and help you make – and keep – better delivery promises. Get to know the PPS system waySuite and talk to us.

Peter Grau

Vice President
valantic Supply Chain Excellence

+49 89 57 83 99 0

Planning and scheduling with the PPS system waySuite

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