Industry-specific manufacturing planning with SCHULER MCS
The industry-specific ERP system SCHULER MCS, scalable for use in any size of company, has been more precisely aligned to the specific needs of the woodworking trade for the Holz-Handwerk. The manufacturing planning module group in particular offers an array of fundamental innovations for an even more efficient manufacturing process.
Configurable work plans
Within SCHULER MCS, the efficient product configurator forms the underlying basis for the economical production of widely diverse product variants. It is now also used for work plans which document every work step of the manufacturing process. In the same way as sales articles, the work plans are configured on a order-specific basis. They are created on the component level, for example for a door, a carcase, drawer etc. and are automatically generated depending on the sales article and its variants. This allows products encompassing a wide range of different variants to be drawn up using only minimal workplan master data. The extremely high reusability of the work plans renders the work plan master data easily understandable and manageable for users, simplifies the maintenance of master data and so saves a lot of time.
Manufacturing planning based on manufacturing orders
Manufacturing planning takes place at SCHULER MCS on the basis of automatically created work plans. This is done by generating call forward commands from manufacturing orders, for example according to delivery dates, and so collating the components which have to be produced together on a workstation-related basis. A distinction can also be made here according to article groups and manufacturing types. The manufacturing orders supply all the necessary information on resources/materials, variants and work plans. Integrated operation and shift calendars permit the free selection of manufacturing intervals such as week, day and / or shift. SCHULER MCS is also oriented towards lean data structures and high performance, and so offers a high level of security for the in-process information flow.
Delivery date check
As early as the order entry stage, SCHULER MCS checks whether it is possible for the order to be manufactured by the week of the specified delivery date. This is done taking into account the lead time, already planned capacity and known capacity bottlenecks. This substantially improves the reliability of delivery promises and flags up orders with potential deadline issues at an early stage.
Added value with manufacturing lists
The data needed for manufacturing, for instance in the form of paper lists, as files for display on a monitor or reading using downstream programs, is automatically generated with SCHULER MCS. Substantial added value has now been achieved with the automatic generation of dimensioned component sketches, a particular benefit when manufacturing non-standard furniture designs.
SCHULER MCS edition for the 50 year HOMAG jubilee
With the SCHULER MCS edition, SCHULER is now offering an attractive industry-specific software package to mark HOMAG’s 50-year jubilee. This ERP solution is suited for any size of company, and comes as a combination of software and service designed for two users. The scope of the software ranges from the basic order processing module including AutoCAD-based 3D graphics and the manufacturing module inclusive of manufacturing documents and machine data provision through to materials logistics, finance and CRM based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV. 30 service days can be used for installation, training and coaching. Its modular structure makes SCHULER MCS edition easily upgradable with a choice of additional modules. The special sales campaign runs until December 31, 2010.
In-process performance controlling and part tracking with time and attendance tracking and PDA
The proportion of personnel costs relative to production value is higher for woodworking shops than is the case in industrial enterprises. This makes a practical and economical system of monitoring personnel performance and implementing suitable control measures all the more effective in small and medium-sized businesses. For this type of company, SCHULER offers a lean solution designed to carry out an on-going comparison of generated performance with time spent. Daily feedback, for instance by means of barcode and scanner, tracks the progress of orders all along the entire process chain. Transparency in production is substantially increased, and a company’s performance is quickly revealed. After around 60 days, the collated data and performance targets can be defined for each cost unit. These can form the basis for measures such as bonus payments to reward an improvement of the average group performance, and so encourage improved achievement.