Integrations / ERP / abas ERP
abas ERP Integration Guide for Production Scheduling with SkyPlanner APS
This abas ERP integration guide shows partners and IT teams how to connect abas ERP to SkyPlanner APS. SkyPlanner integrates with abas ERP in both directions:
- Parts, production lists, machines, work orders, stock and purchase orders flow in.
- Planned start, end and machine per operation go back to the work orders.
- Operator timelogs come back for completion confirmations.
- SkyPlanner webhooks push schedule changes as they happen.
The SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your abas installation during onboarding and supports it after go-live. This guide is for partners and developers who want to take part, or to build on SkyPlanner’s documented REST API (API reference) themselves.
The abas ERP interfaces
- abas REST API. “The Abas REST API is a web interface for real-time data access to Abas ERP.” (abas) This is the main route for reading work orders, production lists, stock and purchase orders, and for writing planned dates back.
- abas Connect. A cloud integration platform to “configure interfaces and connections to third-party systems yourself.” (abas) Use it for event-style flows that push changed work orders out of abas.
- abas ESDK (Essentials SDK) and the AJO Java API. The partner route for server-side logic inside abas. Public sample code uses classes such as
de.abas.erp.db.schema.part.Product. (GitHub) - MS SQL Connector and ODBC. “The MS SQL Connector enables flexible and automated export of ERP data.” (abas) Read and export only. Never write planning results through it, because abas business logic would not run.
- abas Data Import Toolkit and file exports. Bulk loads, and the fast path for the SkyPlanner trial.
Authentication
On the abas side, access runs through the abas web services with a technical user or token, configured on your installation. Use a dedicated integration user with rights limited to the objects in the mapping table. Your abas partner sets this up, because abas schemas and permissions differ per installation.
On the SkyPlanner side, the REST API authenticates with an API token (SkyPlanner Settings > API) and is documented in Swagger/OpenAPI. An API token is enough to start. The integration tutorial walks through the first calls.
Events and polling
abas documents no public webhook subscription API. Outbound changes come from one of three sources:
- an abas Connect flow that sends changed work orders to the integration
- an ESDK event handler that fires when a work order or operation is saved
- scheduled polling of the abas REST API, filtered to open work orders and changes since the last run
On the other side, SkyPlanner sends webhooks when state or the schedule changes, so the write-back to abas is event-driven.
Data mapping
| abas ERP object | SkyPlanner object | Direction | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part / product (Teil, Artikel) | Products and materials | abas → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
| Production list (Fertigungsliste): materials and multi-level structure | Product structure, subproducts, materials per product | abas → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
| Operations (Arbeitsgänge) with processing and setup times | Process steps with durations and setup times | abas → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
| Machines and resources, capacity calendar | Workstations, workstation groups, shifts, absences | abas → SkyPlanner | Initial load; shifts daily or kept in SkyPlanner |
| Released work order (Betriebsauftrag) with quantity and due date | Order and jobs with due date and priority | abas → SkyPlanner | Polling every few minutes, or abas Connect push |
| Stock levels | Material stock | abas → SkyPlanner | Hourly or before each schedule run |
| Purchase order with delivery date | Incoming material on its delivery date | abas → SkyPlanner | Hourly or before each schedule run |
| Work order operations: planned start, end, machine | Scheduled start, end and workstation per operation | SkyPlanner → abas | On schedule change, via SkyPlanner webhook |
| Completion confirmations (Rückmeldungen) | Timelogs and quantities from Mobile Confirmations | SkyPlanner → abas | Per confirmation or per shift |
| SkyPlanner constraint data | Setting time matrix, tools as finite resources, alternative machines and personnel | Maintained in SkyPlanner | Set up during onboarding |
Integration patterns
1. Initial master data load. Read parts, production lists and machines through the abas REST API, or load them once with a file export. Map each abas machine to a SkyPlanner workstation deliberately. Decide whether a machine group becomes one workstation group or several workstations.
2. Order sync. Read released work orders with their operations, plus stock and open purchase orders. SkyPlanner treats ordered material as available on the PO delivery date and updates stock when the PO is marked Delivered. So the schedule checks both stock and incoming purchases.
Schedule released work orders, not work order suggestions (Fertigungsvorschläge). Suggestions are MRP output and change with the next MRP run.
3. Schedule write-back. For every operation the engine placed or moved, the integration writes planned start, end and machine to the work order operation through the abas REST API. Writing through the API keeps abas validation in place, the same as when a planner edits the work order.
4. Shop-floor confirmations. Operators log work with SkyPlanner Mobile Confirmations or the Production Timer. Timelogs keep the schedule current and go back to abas as completion confirmations. If your plant already confirms through abas PDC terminals, keep one channel for confirmations to avoid duplicate entries.
5. Ownership and conflict rules. Write them down before go-live:
| Data | Owner |
|---|---|
| Parts, production lists, quantities, work order status | abas ERP |
| Operation sequence, start and end times, machine assignment | SkyPlanner |
| Setting time matrix, tools, operator counts, alternative resources | SkyPlanner |
| Shifts and absences | One system, chosen in scoping |
| Completion confirmations and stock postings | abas ERP, fed by SkyPlanner timelogs or PDC |
SkyPlanner does not need abas APS. If abas APS is also licensed, let SkyPlanner own operation dates, because two planners writing the same dates overwrite each other. Once SkyPlanner owns them, Autopilot reschedules automatically on every meaningful change and the new dates go back to abas, with no optimization run to start.
Typical project steps
Implementation is normally completed within weeks after onboarding starts. Before that, the 30-day free trial runs on your own data. Export open work orders, operations and machines from abas to CSV or Excel, import them and validate the schedule before any integration work.
- Mapping workshop. Fix the mapping table, ownership rules, sync frequencies and the confirmation channel with your abas partner.
- Interface setup. Enable the abas REST API or abas Connect flows and create the integration user. Sandbox first, then production.
- Initial load. Parts, production lists, machines and calendars.
- Order, stock and purchase order sync. Polling or Connect push, with retries.
- Constraint setup in SkyPlanner. Setting time matrix, tools, operator counts and alternative machines or personnel.
- Schedule write-back. Planned dates to work order operations; confirmations added here.
- Parallel run. Compare SkyPlanner’s dates with the current plan and fix master data.
- Go-live. Switch on write-back once the data matches.
What to plan for in an abas ERP integration
- Customized schemas. Most abas installations carry custom fields and objects. Define field-level scope per object with the partner, and do not assume another plant’s mapping fits yours.
- No separate routing. Operations live in the production list, not in a routing object. Tools copied from SAP or Business Central projects look for routings and miss data.
- “Scheduling” means MRP. In abas English, Scheduling is the MRP run.
- Setup and processing times. Check units and whether setup is per work order or per piece before import. Wrong units distort every duration.
- Stale calendars. Machine calendars must cover the scheduling horizon, or capacity disappears from the plan.
- SQL for reading only. The MS SQL Connector and ODBC export data. Writes go through the REST API, abas Connect or ESDK.
- Login-gated documentation. Official abas help sits behind the customer portal. Confirm field names with your partner instead of guessing.
The abas ERP integration: who configures and supports it
The work covers mapping your production lists, machines and work orders, plus SkyPlanner constraints such as the setting time matrix and tools.
- The SkyPlanner team configures it during onboarding and supports it after go-live. Most abas installations are customized, and this is where that know-how goes.
- Your abas partner can take part. The partner knows your schema, custom fields and ESDK apps and can set up the REST API access or Connect flows. SkyPlanner provides the REST API, Swagger/OpenAPI documentation and webhooks.
- Your own developers can build on it against the same REST API with an API token. The SkyPlanner team assists when needed. Product documentation is public at SkyPlanner docs.
SkyPlanner starts from 199 € per month with 5 workstations included, billed monthly. The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs, together with your plan, so you see the full cost before you start. See how abas plans capacity in Does abas ERP have finite capacity scheduling?, the overview on the abas ERP page, and other systems in the ERP integrations hub.
SkyPlanner reviews from manufacturers
2 hsaved every week
“SkyPlanner has taken our production planning from Excel spreadsheets to real-time production optimization.”
Kalle Kalliomäki, Supply Chain Specialist
UTU · Electrical switchboards and switchgear
Production planning saves 2 hours of working time every week, and a new work queue reaches the line in seconds.
+90%production efficiency
“Efficiency has gone up 90% in production.”
Abdul Rucyinga, Head of IT
Laboratory & Allied · Pharmaceutical manufacturing
Production efficiency is up 90%, and a three-month optimized plan across all workstations takes under 30 minutes.
100%delivery reliability since 2021
“SkyPlanner gives us visibility into capacity and makes planning predictable.”
Dan Berglund, COO/CFO
Opes Corporation · Chemical and food manufacturing
Delivery reliability has been 100% for the entire time SkyPlanner has been in use, since 2021.
6 monthsof free capacity visible to sales
“SkyPlanner creates the foundation and reliability for all production planning.”
Anu Järvinen, Production Manager
Fredman Operations · Food-safe packaging papers
Sales sees free capacity six months ahead, and schedule-change requests that took an hour or more are answered in seconds.
FAQ
Which abas interface does the integration use?
The abas REST API for reading orders and master data and for writing planned dates back. An abas Connect flow or an ESDK event handler can push changed work orders out of abas. File exports cover the trial and bulk loads.
Does abas ERP support webhooks?
abas documents no public webhook subscription API. Changes reach SkyPlanner through abas Connect flows, ESDK event handlers or polling every few minutes. SkyPlanner’s own webhooks make the write-back event-driven.
Can we use the MS SQL Connector for the integration?
For reading, yes. It exports abas data efficiently. Planning results go back through the REST API, abas Connect or ESDK, so abas business logic validates every change.
Where do planned dates land in abas?
On the operations of the released work order (Betriebsauftrag): planned start, end and machine. abas keeps quantities, status and costs.
Can SkyPlanner keep abas stock and purchase orders in the schedule?
Yes. Stock levels and open purchase orders are read from abas hourly or before each schedule run. Ordered material counts as available on its delivery date.
Should an abas partner propose abas APS or SkyPlanner?
SkyPlanner, when the customer wants the whole plant on a live schedule fast. The current abas APS generation came with service pack Abas 2024.Q3.1 and optimizes through drag and drop or optimization runs. SkyPlanner connects to the abas REST API, replans automatically, plans changeovers, tools, crews and material, and gives operators Mobile Confirmations, from 199 € per month. (abas)
Can we test SkyPlanner before building the integration?
Yes. The 30-day free trial supports up to 20 workstations with a CSV or Excel export of your work orders, no credit card needed. Start the trial, or talk to sales to scope the integration.
