Coronavirus and Manufacturing: How APS Can Help

We have never been here before. With the entire globe being on lockdown, this is definitely one of the most challenging times for individuals as a whole, let alone supply chain and manufacturing. As the coronavirus continues to make waves across all countries, we are finding ourselves in quite a bind in terms of keeping the economy and manufacturing running. Having said that, it isn’t all bad, with some production companies finding themselves being busier than they were before. 

This pertains to the food industry, toiletry/paper industry, and medical industry sectors such as medicines and surgical masks. While other manufacturing companies have found themselves struggling, these companies as of right now are manufacturing and operating stronger than ever. This is why utilizing the most advantageous software for your operation is a must and can aid with proper demand inventory planning - no matter what product you are producing. The coronavirus may be shaping and reconstructing supply chains for a long period of time, therefore, developing a plan for unforeseen instances such as this with an adequate software may be an advantageous investment. While many companies already utilize softwares such as ERP and MRP, you may be looking for a software that is more specific and focused directly on your operation. 

This is where Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Software can come into play and there are various features associated with the software that can greatly aid during economic downfalls and crisis events. Therefore, here are a few of the features of APS that can greatly enhance your operation. 

Features of APS That Can Aid With the Coronavirus 

The features of APS that can aid with the coronavirus pertain to the following: 

• Demand Planning - Demand planning is definitely a crucial topic amongst manufacturing facilities right now. With demand uncertainty and the inability to foresee the future in this matter, this has hindered some production facilities greatly. While some companies can’t keep up with demand, others can’t receive enough. Utilizing APS can help with any form of demand planning and essential cut costs within your facility during volatile time. Cutting costs and utilizing the minimum to keep things running is what many manufacturers are in need of right now. 
• Inventory Planning - A nightmare situation would be stocking up on large sums of inventory with the mindset that the facility will sell all of it within a short period of time - all right around the time that the coronavirus began to take over the globe. If you are struggling with your inventory and understanding the appropriate amount to make during this time, then APS can aid with a creation of a production plan that ensures for low inventory and meeting your demand in the most low cost way possible. 
• Resource Planning - Resource planning pertains to the action of efficiently assigned resources they have to jobs tasks, or project that are needed to be completed. This also pertains to scheduling start and end dates for each tasks or project based on resource availability. Resource planning is an integral component of any operation and allocating tasks or jobs during this time may be challenging. This is where APS is able to create production plans and schedules and effectively allocate tasks to jobs/machines. 
• What If Scenarios - What If scenarios allow you to move tasks and jobs around and ultimately get a visual representation of the most advantageous schedule for your production process. This can greatly enhance the way your facility is operating and locate areas that are in need of efficiency enhancement as well as bottleneck decrease. What If scenarios are by far one of the most advantageous tools of APS software. 

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Software allows manufacturers to have thorough visibility into their manufacturing operation and ultimately locate any areas that are in need of efficiency enhancement. During this time, there is a lot of demand and economic uncertainty and APS is able to aid with your demand planning and ensure that your production runs as smoothly as possible. Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Software has become a must-have for modern day manufacturers that are seeking to to bring their operation to the next level and combat the coronavirus. 

Advanced Planning and Scheduling Software 

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software has become a must for modern-day manufacturing operations due to customer demand for increased product mix and fast delivery combined with downward cost pressures. APS can be quickly integrated with a ERP/MRP software to fill gaps where these system lack planning and scheduling flexibility and accuracy. Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) helps planners save time while providing greater agility in updating ever-changing priorities, production schedules, and inventory plans.

• Create optimized schedules balancing production efficiency and delivery performance
• Maximize output on bottleneck resources to increase revenue
• Synchronize supply with demand to reduce inventories
• Provide company-wide visibility to capacity
• Enable scenario data-driven decision making

Implementation of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) software will take your manufacturing operations to the next level of production efficiency, taking advantage of the operational data you already have in your ERP.