Does Epicor Kinetic Have Finite Capacity Scheduling? Native Scheduling, APS and SkyPlanner APS Explained

Kinetic has three planning layers. MRP (with Forecasting and MPS included) plans material. Scheduling and Resource Management is a separate module that schedules jobs against resources. APS is a further module that Epicor describes as “an extension to Scheduling”. (Epicor brochure)

1. Jobs and the method of manufacture

Epicor calls a production order a Job. Each job is built from a method of manufacture: a BOM for materials and a bill of operations for routing. Each operation points to a Capability, a Resource Group or a Resource. On the Epicor User Help forum, experienced users agree that a capability excludes the other two, while a specific resource can still be named inside a group. Epicor’s brochure lists Automated Scheduling by Capability, where the engine picks the individual resource, as an APS feature. (forum)

2. Resources: finite or infinite, one by one

Capacity lives on resources (machines, people, tools) grouped into resource groups. A resource group can hold any number of resources, and the system assigns the actual resource by availability. Each resource has its own calendar, capacity, queue time and move time.

Finite is a per-resource choice. Forum troubleshooting starts with the resource’s “Finite” checkbox, and Epicor’s brochure says: “Define each resource with either finite or infinite capacity. When a piece of the schedule is moved, the resource is rescheduled according to its type.” This is how Kinetic supports the common hybrid: finite on bottlenecks, infinite everywhere else.

3. The finite horizon

A Finite Load Horizon stops the schedule from making finite adjustments too far into the future. Epicor describes it as a time fence or cutoff date “for finitely scheduling load on the resource.” Beyond it, operations load infinitely. Forum users set the horizon on the resource, the resource group and in Site Maintenance on the Planning tab.

On top of that, each scheduling tool has its own finite checkbox. Miss one layer and the run schedules infinitely. One forum answer to a “finite not working” question: “Be sure the site maintenance > planning tab has a finite horizon value filled in also.” (forum)

4. Scheduling Blocks, Setup Grouping and Dual Resource Constraints

Scheduling Blocks model periodic setup needs such as tool changes. Setup Grouping groups work by criteria you define to streamline setups.

Dual Resource Constraints let an operation hold one secondary resource, a tool or an employee, beside the primary resource during finite scheduling. A machine that needs a certified operator is the classic case.

5. Global Scheduling

Global Scheduling is the plant-wide run. Its help text says it uses “scheduling on all jobs that are eligible for Global Scheduling” and calculates days late from the global schedule start date. Job scheduling priority affects the order. You can also schedule a single job from Job Entry, let MRP schedule the jobs it creates, and schedule forward or backward. Forum users query the scheduled resource allocations from the ResourceTimeUsed table, filtering out what-if records. (forum, forum)

6. The scheduling boards

Planners work in three Gantt-style boards with drag and drop:

Board	Use
Job Scheduling Board	Move and lock one job’s operations
Resource Scheduling Board	See and resequence load on one resource or group
Multi-Resource Scheduling Board	Compare several resources and move work between them

Supporting tools include a what-if mode, the Change Impact Informer, the Overload Informer, job locking, and late-status and material-availability alerts. A Related Materials grid shows constrained materials with their PO, job and lead time. On the shop floor, operators report work through Start Activity and Labor Entry.

7. What APS adds

APS keeps the same engine and adds:

• More than two constraints. Epicor: “The Advanced Planning and Scheduling module provides the ability to use more than two resource constraints.”
• Capability and Dependent Capability scheduling.
• Minimum WIP scheduling and Balanced Optimization across priority, slack and setup.
• Optimization Rules per resource, plus rate-based and dimensional scheduling.
• Unlimited What-If and capable-to-promise in Order Management.
• Multi-Plant Communication and material as a hard constraint with supplier calendars.

Stay with Kinetic Scheduling, or license APS, if most of these hold:

• One site or a few, with resources in resource groups and calendars that reflect real shifts.
• Mostly standard routings, and planners who accept priority-rule results from Global Scheduling and fine-tune on the Job Scheduling Board.
• Capacity pressure on a few bottlenecks. Schedule those finite, keep the rest infinite. Bluesky ERP recommends exactly this once the basics work. (Bluesky ERP)
• You already license APS, keep lead times and standards clean, close jobs on time, and have an admin who knows the engine.
• You need capable-to-promise inside Order Management.

If that is you, get the finite layers right and keep the data clean.

SkyPlanner APS runs in the cloud beside Epicor Kinetic and closes each gap listed above. Kinetic keeps MRP, jobs and costing. SkyPlanner takes over the detailed operation schedule and keeps it current, so the planner stops resequencing by hand.

Choose SkyPlanner when:

• The two-constraint limit blocks you. The Arcturus engine puts workstations, people, tools and materials in one finite capacity schedule, built in seconds. A tool in use on one workstation is blocked on every other one.
• The finite layers keep slipping. In SkyPlanner every workstation is finite against its shifts. There are no per-tool checkboxes or horizons to align.
• Jobs need a crew. A job can have several operators at one workstation at the same time, each with real shifts, leave, absences and overtime. When a person or machine is out, the engine moves work to alternative workstations and personnel.
• Rush orders must jump the queue. Fast Track, Dynamic Priorities and customer priority move urgent work forward. Running Time Lock keeps a running job in place, and Bulldozer pushes downstream jobs. Planners can still move jobs on an interactive Gantt timeline, and the engine keeps the rest consistent.
• The plan cannot wait for the next run. Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes and replans only when needed. Your rules, locks and priorities stay in control.
• Purchased parts decide the start date. The schedule checks stock and incoming purchase orders. Material on an open Kinetic PO counts as available on its due date, and stock updates when the PO is marked Delivered.
• Changeovers depend on sequence. The setting time matrix stores the changeover time between product pairs, asymmetric where needed (blue to red 30 minutes, red to blue 60). The scheduler picks the order with the least setup, with no APS optimization project.
• The plan must reach the shop floor. Operators see their queue and log work on phone or tablet with Mobile Confirmations, Production Timer and Quick Log Mode. Logged work posts back to Kinetic as labor.
• You want to be live in weeks. Implementation is normally completed within weeks after onboarding starts.

Start with a CSV export of your jobs and resources in the 30-day free trial (up to 20 workstations, no credit card). You see your own finite schedule before any integration work. After that, pricing is from 199 € per month with 5 workstations included, billed monthly, cancel any time. The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs, together with your plan, so you see the full cost before you start.

SkyPlanner integrates with Kinetic in both directions. Jobs, operations, resources and PO releases come in over the Kinetic REST API and BAQs. Planned operation dates go back through Kinetic’s schedule engine (ScheduleEngineSvc.MoveJobItem), logged labor through LaborSvc, and webhooks push schedule changes as they happen. Every plant runs Kinetic differently, from capability routing to BPM customizations, so the SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your setup during onboarding and supports it after go-live. Your Epicor partner or own developers can also build on SkyPlanner’s documented REST API (API reference) with just an API key. Product documentation is public at SkyPlanner docs.

Read how the pieces connect on the Epicor Kinetic page, or go straight to the technical route in the integration guide. To walk through your own Kinetic resources and jobs with us, book a demo.