Integrations / ERP / E2 Shop System
E2 Shop System Integration Guide for Production Scheduling with SkyPlanner APS
This E2 Shop System integration guide shows partners and IT teams how to connect E2 Shop System (E2 SHOP) or E2 MFG to SkyPlanner APS. SkyPlanner integrates with E2 in both directions:
- Orders and jobs with their routing steps, work centers, employees and shifts, bills of materials, material requirements and purchase orders flow in.
- Planned start and end times go back to each job step, with the machine and employee SkyPlanner assigned.
- Completed steps and logged time can post back to the job, if you choose.
- SkyPlanner webhooks push schedule changes as they happen.
The SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your E2 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.
Which E2 do you run?
Settle this first, because it decides the route:
| You run | What it is today | Integration route |
|---|---|---|
| E2 Shop System (desktop, on your server) | Shoptech’s original E2 for job shops | Direct connection to your E2 server, plus files where useful |
| E2 MFG (E2 Manufacturing System) | The E2 edition for repetitive, discrete and mixed-mode work, listed by ECI “for existing customers” | Same as on-premise E2 Shop System |
| Hosted E2 SHOP | The web platform ECI rebuilt as JobBOSS² | If you now run JobBOSS², use the JobBOSS² integration guide |
ECI describes JobBOSS² as “formerly E2 Shop” and says it “combines E2 SHOP’s cloud-native, user-friendly platform with JobBOSS’ depth of functionality” (ECI). The rest of this guide covers shops that run E2 Shop System or E2 MFG.
E2’s integration routes
ECI’s published manufacturing APIs, on the ECI Manufacturing API Documentation site, serve JobBOSS², M1, Macola and Deacom. E2 connects at the installation instead, which suits on-premise E2 well: the data sits on a server your own IT team manages. The exact read and write route for your install is set during onboarding scoping.
- Direct server connection (on-premise). An integration service on your network reads open jobs, routing steps, work centers, employees, materials and purchase orders from the E2 database, and writes planned start and end times back to the job steps. Your IT team approves the access, a dedicated service account and the exact fields written. This is the main route for a live two-way integration.
- Scheduled exports and imports. E2 reports and grid exports produce CSV or Excel files of jobs, routings and work centers. SkyPlanner’s data import reads them. This is the trial route, and it also covers master data you only load now and then.
- Hosted installs. For E2 hosted by ECI, data access is arranged with ECI. Ask your ECI account manager early.
On the SkyPlanner side the REST API reads and writes orders, products, materials, process steps, timelogs and purchase orders. It authenticates with an API token in the Authorization-Token header (SkyPlanner Settings > API) and is documented in Swagger/OpenAPI. The integration tutorial walks through the first calls.
Events and polling
E2 is polled. The integration service reads jobs and routing steps changed since the last run, every few minutes for jobs and hourly for stock and purchase orders, as agreed per shop.
SkyPlanner sends webhooks when state or the schedule changes. The service receives them and writes the new dates to E2 straight away, so the write-back side is event-driven. Shop-floor events can also be read from the SkyPlanner /timelogs endpoint on a schedule.
Data mapping
| E2 object | SkyPlanner object | Direction | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parts and estimates, multi-level bills of materials | Products, materials, product structure | E2 → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
| Routing steps: work center, setup time, run time | Process steps with durations and setup times | E2 → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
| Work centers and machines | Workstations, workstation groups, efficiencies | E2 → SkyPlanner | Initial load, rarely after |
| Employees, shifts, departments, non-working days | Personnel, shifts, calendars | E2 → SkyPlanner | Daily, or own shifts in SkyPlanner |
| Orders and jobs: job number, part, quantity, due date, priority, hot-job flag | Orders with due dates and priorities | E2 → SkyPlanner | Polling every few minutes |
| Job routing steps: status, quantity done, hours left | Jobs per process step | E2 → SkyPlanner | Polling every few minutes |
| Material requirements, purchase orders with due dates | Material needs, purchase orders by delivery date | E2 → SkyPlanner | Polling, hourly or on schedule run |
| Job step scheduled start and end, work center, employee | Planned start and end, machine and operator per step | SkyPlanner → E2 | On schedule change, via SkyPlanner webhook |
| Job time and quantities completed per step | Timelogs and operator confirmations | SkyPlanner → E2 | Per confirmation or per shift, if chosen |
| Not in E2 | 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, bills of materials, routings, work centers, employees and shifts. Map work centers deliberately: a work center with three mills becomes one workstation group or three workstations, so SkyPlanner sequences each machine.
2. Job sync. Read open jobs with their routing steps, material requirements and open purchase orders. SkyPlanner treats ordered material as available on the PO delivery date and updates stock when the PO is marked Delivered. Skip closed jobs and jobs on hold. Carry the hot-job flag across as a SkyPlanner priority.
3. Schedule write-back. When the engine places or moves a step, a SkyPlanner webhook triggers the service. It writes the planned start and end time to that job step in E2, and the work center and employee when SkyPlanner moved the step to another machine or person. The Whiteboard and Planning Board then show SkyPlanner’s dates.
4. Shop-floor confirmations. Operators log work with SkyPlanner Mobile Confirmations or the Production Timer, and the timelogs keep the schedule current. You choose whether actual times post back to E2. If yes, each confirmation becomes time and quantity on the job step. If no, E2 Data Collection stays as it is and SkyPlanner reads progress from the job steps.
5. Ownership and conflict rules. Write them down before go-live:
| Data | Owner |
|---|---|
| Estimates, routings, quantities, due dates, job status | E2 |
| Step sequence, start and end times, machine and operator per step | SkyPlanner |
| Setting time matrix, tool and operator requirements, alternative resources | SkyPlanner |
| Shifts and non-working days | One system, chosen in scoping |
| Time, material issues, receipts, costing | E2, entered there or posted from SkyPlanner timelogs |
Pick one writer of job step dates. Planners move work in SkyPlanner, and the dates flow to E2. Dragging cards on the Planning Board for SkyPlanner-scheduled jobs stops, or the two plans drift apart.
Typical project steps
Implementation is normally completed within weeks after onboarding starts. Before that, validate the schedule in the 30-day free trial with work centers, routings and open jobs exported from E2 as CSV or Excel.
- Scoping. Confirm the E2 edition and version, the server, the mapping table, ownership rules and whether time posts back.
- Access. Your IT team creates the service account and approves read and write access. Take a full E2 backup and test on a copy of the company data first.
- Initial load. Parts, bills of materials, routings, work centers, employees and shifts.
- Job and purchase order sync. Change-based polling with retries and logging.
- Constraint setup in SkyPlanner. Setting time matrix, tools, operator counts per job and alternative machines or personnel.
- Schedule write-back. Webhook-driven date writes to job steps, plus time and quantities if chosen.
- Parallel testing. Run SkyPlanner beside the current Whiteboard, compare dates, fix master data.
- Go-live. Switch on write-back once the data matches.
What to plan for in an E2 integration
- Edition and version. E2 Shop System and E2 MFG installs differ by version. Confirm yours in scoping, and re-test the integration after any E2 update.
- Your server, your rules. On-premise E2 lives on your network. Agree with IT where the integration service runs, which account it uses and which fields it may write.
- Work centers that hide machines. A work center can be one machine, a group or a cell. Decide how each maps to SkyPlanner workstations before the first load.
- Outside services. Steps at a vendor are lead time, not your capacity. Model them as time-only steps.
- Time units. Setup and run times can be per piece, per lot or per hour. Convert on import or every duration is wrong.
- Hot jobs. E2 flags high-priority jobs. Map the flag to SkyPlanner priority or Fast Track so rush work keeps its place.
- Planning a move to JobBOSS²? Build the SkyPlanner side once. On JobBOSS², the same plan connects through ECI’s JobBOSS² API (hosted) or ERP API, described in the JobBOSS² guide.
Who configures and supports the E2 integration
- The SkyPlanner team configures it during onboarding and supports it after go-live, across the agreed objects and sync rules. Every shop runs E2 differently, and this is where that know-how goes.
- Your E2 partner or IT provider can take part. They know your server and your E2 setup and can handle access and the service account alongside the SkyPlanner team.
- Your own developers can build on it against SkyPlanner’s REST API with an API token. An API token is enough to start, and the SkyPlanner team assists when needed. Integration documentation is at SkyPlanner integration 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. See pricing, E2 Shop System finite capacity scheduling, the E2 Shop System page, SkyPlanner features and the ERP integrations hub.
Manufacturers running SkyPlanner
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.
1,000swork orders scheduled automatically
“Production is under control in a different way, and our understanding of capacity is on a completely different level.”
Hannu Ryynänen, CEO
Mamec · Industrial mixers, pumps and high-tech contract manufacturing
Thousands of work orders are scheduled automatically, with a real-time view of production for the whole organization.
98%delivery reliability, up from about 50%
“SkyPlanner plays a decisive role in maintaining our delivery reliability.”
Hannu Lahtinen, Managing Director
KJH-Comp · Sheet-metal mechanics and contract manufacturing
Delivery reliability rose from around 50% to as high as 98%, and scheduling now needs one supervisor instead of two.
FAQ
Does E2 Shop System have an API?
ECI’s published manufacturing APIs serve JobBOSS², M1, Macola and Deacom. On-premise E2 Shop System and E2 MFG connect at the installation: an integration service on your network reads and writes E2 data with access your IT team approves, and file exports cover the rest.
How are planned dates written back to E2?
Per job step. A SkyPlanner webhook triggers the integration service, which writes the planned start and end time to the job step in E2, plus the work center and employee when SkyPlanner moved the step.
Can SkyPlanner post shop-floor time back to E2?
Yes, if you choose. Each SkyPlanner confirmation becomes time and quantity on the job step. Shops that prefer E2 Data Collection keep it, and SkyPlanner reads progress from E2.
We run hosted E2 SHOP. Which guide applies?
Hosted E2 SHOP became JobBOSS². If you now log in to JobBOSS², use the JobBOSS² integration guide. If you still run hosted E2, data access is arranged with ECI during scoping.
Will the integration survive a later move to JobBOSS²?
The SkyPlanner side stays the same: workstations, constraints, the setting time matrix and your schedule. Only the E2 connection is replaced by ECI’s JobBOSS² API or ERP API.
Can we test SkyPlanner before building the integration?
Yes. The 30-day free trial supports up to 20 workstations with CSV or Excel imports from E2, no credit card needed. Start the trial, or talk to sales to scope the integration.
