APS Optimization: Key to Planning & Scheduling for Manufacturers
Navigating Infor SyteLine's capacities for Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) is like wielding a powerful tool that demands a delicate touch. Despite its astonishing capabilities, a common obstacle emerges: the complexity and scope of the tool often leaves companies grappling to harness its full potential.
In this fourth installment of our six-part series where we showcase the transformative power of Trak-Suite – the suite of applications and services designed to streamline and optimize the usage of Infor SyteLine ERP – we look at the challenges manufacturers face in adopting SyteLine APS Finite, and how Trak-Suite’s new professional services and online training process called APS Made Easier can unlock the power of SyteLine APS Finite to provide solutions to issues around inventory, internal process efficiency, data, reporting, and more.
Unleashing the Power of SyteLine's APS Finite Capability
Inherent in the use of SyteLine's APS function is a challenging dichotomy: while the standard infinite planning capability is familiar to many veteran manufacturers, they often discover that, in order to take advantage of greater functionality, they feel the need to make use of more finite capabilities. In that shift, however, we see a precipitous drop-off in overall utilization of the tool.
The crux of the problem, however, does not lie in the application itself but in the limitations of those entrusted with its implementation. It's akin to cutting mature trees with a hand saw – a feasible yet labor-intensive task. The solution lies in the untapped power of automation within APS Finite.
APS Made Easier steps in to bridge the gap between the application's potential and its implementation, empowering manufacturers to extract maximum value from their available operations.
Navigating the Benefits of APS Made Easier
Devised by The Lake Companies’ John Brown, the recognized expert on SyteLine's APS function, APS Made Easier and its combined professional services and online training process transforms the sometimes complex realm of SyteLine APS Finite into a tangible reality for manufacturers, creating a pathway for enhanced productivity, cost savings, and overall operational excellence. APS Made Easier leverages the automation embedded in SyteLine APS as well as the other Trak-Suite products with the goal of minimizing inventories, lowering costs, and elevating various facets of operations, including labor and machine utilization, efficiency, and quality.
APS Made Easier is also a training resource which offers a transformative approach that guides manufacturers in optimizing their planning and scheduling. Here's a closer look at the benefits it brings to the table:
1. Overcoming Inventory Challenges
APS Made Easier empowers manufacturers to leverage APS Finite to harvest significant value from overstocked inventories. By analyzing customer, vendor, inventory, and production data, proper use of APS Finite’s capabilities ensures optimal scheduling and material sourcing for on-time fulfillment. The results are lowered costs, improved labor and machine utilization, increased efficiency, and enhanced quality.
2. Streamlining Internal Processes
One of the primary objectives of APS Made Easier is to help organizations use APS Finite to create and utilize highly efficient internal processes. By engaging multiple stakeholders in the process and implementing best practices through optimized standard operating procedures (SOPs), manufacturers can harness built-in automations to establish a seamless flow for production, minimize setups, and make accurate delivery promises to customers.
3. Integration with Trak-Suite Applications
What sets APS Made Easier apart is its integration with other Trak-Suite applications, creating a comprehensive system that works in harmony to fill critical functionality gaps. As an example, manufacturers can leverage APS Made Easier in sync with Doc-Trak’s document automation capabilities to streamline sourcing processes; utilized with Shop-Trak’s Manufacturing Execution System (MES) software, it likewise provides production schedules for every machine, enhancing worker productivity and efficiency.
4. Strategic Business Insights
Built into APS Made Easier are not only training and implementation assistance but also key business strategies. For instance, the system can guide manufacturers in creating and implementing a perfect cycle counting system, targeting the right items with the right frequencies. This ensures accuracy in physical inventories and cycle counting, potentially eliminating the need for physical inventories altogether.
5. Comprehensive Tracking with Fact-Trak
As a part of Trak-Suite, APS Made Easier seamlessly integrates with Fact-Trak’s Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities, allowing manufacturers to track key metrics and measure the impact of improvements. This integration empowers manufacturers to track the harvesting of cash resulting from lower inventories, the accuracy of vendor lead times and product prices, and the improving accuracy of delivery performance.
The Cohesiveness of Trak-Suite
While APS Made Easier is potent on its own, its true power lies in its native integration with the comprehensive Trak-Suite ecosystem, ensuring a seamless and streamlined user experience where the whole is undeniably greater than the sum of its parts. The benefits redound across the manufacturing process, from planning and scheduling to execution and business intelligence.
Conclusion
By engaging with the APS Made Easier system, manufacturers are able to overcome the complexities that often hinder the full utilization of Infor SyteLine's APS Finite. APS Made Easier not only demystifies the intricacies of this powerful tool, but propels manufacturers towards enhanced efficiency, reduced costs, and optimized operations. This transformative system helps streamline internal processes and opens the door to synchronized planning and scheduling. The cohesiveness of Trak-Suite applications amplifies these benefits, creating a fully-realized manufacturing ecosystem.
In our next article, we will delve into Fact-Trak, Trak-Suite’s Business Intelligence (BI) application, and showcase how it adds a layer of intelligence to manufacturing processes, empowering businesses to make data-driven decisions for sustained success. To illustrate the benefits of Fact-Trak and its position within the Trak-Suite platform, we’ll look at the real-world experiences of manufacturers whose operations have undergone a positive evolution.
We invite manufacturers to learn more about APS Made Easier and Trak-Suite to witness firsthand the transformative power they bring to manufacturing operations. Request a free demo and discover how Trak-Suite can elevate your planning, scheduling, and overall business performance.
