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Opcenter APS

Advanced Planning and Scheduling enhances the orchestration of your manufacturing processes

Digitalization is changing everything, and manufacturers must react quickly and intelligently to unexpected changes, while being able to respond to shorter lead times and satisfy customer demands. These challenges are faced not only by large enterprises, but also small and medium businesses. Opcenter APS (formerly known as "Preactor APS) Advanced Planning and Scheduling software solutions have been specifically developed to meet this need, using advanced algorithms that balance demand and capacity to generate achievable production schedules.

Opcenter APS Advanced Planning and Scheduling Siemens Software

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Opcenter APS products can be used for long-term strategic planning covering months and years, medium-term tactical planning with a few weeks planning horizon and for detailed sequencing and scheduling.

Opcenter APS can be installed out of the box, and can be customized and configured where necessary. It can be used standalone to manage planning and scheduling, and is also designed for integration with other software such as ERP, MES, Data collection, Forecasting, Demand Planning and OEE applications.

Opcenter APS products are designed to work alongside and facilitate, rather than replace, existing systems. They can be tightly integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing execution system (MES), accounting and forecasting software, shop floor data collection and spreadsheets

Opcenter APS is a family of production planning and scheduling software products that improve the synchronization of your manufacturing processes, giving you greater visibility and control to increase utilization and on-time delivery, while reducing inventory levels and waste. Opcenter APS is a highly customizable capacity planning and scheduling package.

Opcenter APS is not a single point solution. It is a family of products that have different levels of functionality and pricing so you can select the system that satisfies both your needs and budget. Upgrading to another product as your needs change is simple and easy. Products from the Opcenter APS range can be used for long-term strategic planning covering months and years ahead, medium-term tactical planning with a few weeks planning horizon and for detailed sequencing and scheduling.

Opcenter APS is a strategic decision support tool that combines forecast and long-term orders that target stock levels and bucketed resource capacities to ensure that future demand is met. It is an essential planning tool for companies that want to enhance competitiveness, increase profits and improve customer service. Effective purchasing of economic quantities of raw materials and timely use of this raw material is key to reducing one of the greatest production problems – unnecessarily high stock levels of both finished product and raw material and the possibility of this stock reaching its sell-by date before being consumed.

Who uses Opcenter APS?

Many companies, ranging from small and medium-sized businesses to large corporations, employ Opcenter APS as part of their global supply chain solution. These companies are located around the world. The software’s flexibility means that it is used by companies in almost every sector of manufacturing, services and logistics.
• Automotive and aerospace
• Chemicals and pharmaceuticals
• Electronics and electrical equipment
• Food and beverage
• Furniture and wood products
• Glass and ceramics
• Machinery and precision engineering
• Metals and metal fabricated products
• Oil and gas
• Packaging, printing and publishing
• Rubber and plastics
• Textiles and apparel
• Transport and logistics

Opcenter APS Benefits

• Better forward visibility of production
• Improved utilization and efficiency
• Reduction of inventory and work-in-progress (WIP)
• Easier impact analysis and change management
• Better customer service

Key Features

1. Real-time Visibility and Control: Opcenter APS provides real-time visibility into production schedules, resource capacities, and material availability. This enables manufacturers to monitor the production process closely, identify bottlenecks, and make informed decisions to maintain smooth operations.

2. Optimized Production Scheduling: Using advanced algorithms and mathematical models, Opcenter APS optimizes production schedules while considering multiple constraints like machine availability, labor capacity, and raw material availability. This leads to improved throughput and better utilization of resources.

3. Reduced Lead Times: By streamlining production processes and eliminating inefficiencies, Opcenter APS helps manufacturers reduce lead times significantly. This means quicker response times to customer demands and an increased ability to meet tight deadlines.

4. Improved Resource Utilization: Opcenter APS ensures optimal utilization of resources by balancing workloads across machines and personnel. This results in higher productivity, reduced idle time, and overall cost savings.

5. Enhanced On-time Deliveries: With improved planning and scheduling capabilities, manufacturers can enhance on-time deliveries and meet customer expectations consistently. This strengthens customer relationships and boosts customer loyalty.

6. What-if Analysis: Opcenter APS includes what-if analysis functionality, allowing manufacturers to simulate various scenarios and assess the impact of changes on production schedules. This feature helps planners make contingency plans and respond swiftly to unexpected events.

7. Multi-site Planning: For businesses with multiple manufacturing facilities or production sites, Opcenter APS supports multi-site planning. It synchronizes production activities across different locations, ensuring a cohesive and harmonized planning process.

8. Integration with Business Systems: Opcenter APS can seamlessly integrate with other enterprise systems, such as ERP and MES solutions. This integration facilitates smooth data exchange and ensures consistent information flow throughout the organization.

FAQ's

What is Opcenter APS?

Opcenter APS is a range of Advanced Planning & Scheduling software, that uses complex algorithms to calculate production schedules, and helps to minimize inventory levels by identifying the potential bottleneck in the system & helps to resolve it better.
Can be used for Long (Months) & Medium (Weeks) term planning, sequencing, and scheduling, whether it is a small business or big.
This application will be useful for every manufacturing organization with stakeholders like Operations Managers, Sales & Finance to do their job efficiently & hassle-free.
They can be tightly integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP), accounting and forecasting software, spreadsheets, manufacturing execution system (MES), and shop floor data collection (SFDC) systems.

What Opcenter APS do?

Opcenter APS products can be used for long-term strategic planning covering months and years, medium-term tactical planning with a few weeks planning horizon and for detailed sequencing and scheduling.

What are the key benefits of using Opcenter APS?

Opcenter APS offers several advantages, including improved production efficiency, reduced lead times, better utilization of resources, increased on-time deliveries, enhanced visibility into the production process, and the ability to quickly respond to changes and disruptions.

How does Opcenter APS work?

Opcenter APS uses algorithms and mathematical models to analyze production data, resource capabilities, and customer demand. It then generates optimized production schedules that consider various constraints such as machine availability, labor capacity, and material availability.

What industries can benefit from Opcenter APS?

Opcenter APS is applicable to a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, and more. Any industry with complex production processes and finite resources can benefit from this software.

Can Opcenter APS integrate with other business systems?

Yes, Opcenter APS can integrate with various enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, manufacturing execution systems (MES), and other business software. This integration helps streamline data exchange and ensures a seamless flow of information throughout the organization.

Does Opcenter APS support multi-site planning?

Yes, Opcenter APS supports multi-site planning, allowing businesses with multiple manufacturing facilities or production locations to optimize production across all sites. This feature helps to synchronize production activities and ensures a cohesive planning process.

Is Opcenter APS suitable for both make-to-order and make-to-stock production environments?

Yes, Opcenter APS is versatile enough to accommodate both make-to-order and make-to-stock production environments. It can generate schedules based on customer orders in make-to-order scenarios or create production plans for stock replenishment in make-to-stock environments.

How does Opcenter APS handle unexpected events and disruptions?

Opcenter APS includes real-time monitoring capabilities and what-if analysis features that allow users to simulate the impact of unexpected events and disruptions on production schedules. This helps planners make informed decisions and quickly adapt to changes to minimize disruptions.

Can Opcenter APS handle complex supply chain scenarios?

Yes, Opcenter APS can handle complex supply chain scenarios by considering the entire production process, from raw material availability to finished goods. It considers supplier constraints, transportation lead times, and other factors to optimize the entire supply chain.

How Opcenter APS can help the organization to grow business & increase the ROI?

Improved Production Efficiency & Optimal Resource Utilization: helps optimize production schedules, reducing idle time and minimizing production bottlenecks.
Reduced Lead Times & Enhanced On-time Delivery: With better planning and scheduling capabilities, Opcenter APS can significantly reduce lead times for production orders.
Flexibility to Handle Change: This enables organizations to respond quickly to changing customer demands, production constraints, or supply chain disruptions.
Data-Driven Decision Making: With real-time data and insights, organizations can make decisions about production planning, inventory management, and resource allocation.

Is Opcenter APS scalable for growing businesses?

Opcenter APS is designed to handle the increasing data volumes, complexities, and production challenges that arise as a business expands.
It can be
– configured to optimize production schedules across multiple sites.
– integrated with systems to enable real-time data exchange, ensuring accurate production planning and inventory information.
– deployed on hardware infrastructure that can be scaled up to increase server capacity, memory, and computing power.
The software’s flexibility allows businesses to define their production rules, constraints, and planning objectives to align with evolving strategies and priorities.

What are the future trends for Opcenter APS?

The future of Opcenter APS is bright. As manufacturing becomes more complex and competitive, the need for advanced planning and scheduling solutions will only increase. Opcenter APS is well-positioned to meet this demand, as it is a flexible and scalable solution that can be adapted to the specific needs of each manufacturer.

Opcenter APS Fact Sheet PDF

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