Integrations / ERP / Exact
Does Exact Online Have Finite Capacity Scheduling? Shop Orders, MRP and Production Planning Explained
Exact Online Manufacturing plans production with MRP and production lead times. It stores planned dates and planned hours for every routing step of a shop order. It does not place each step on a machine against free capacity, and Exact itself says its manufacturing software extends with “een gespecialiseerde productieplanning add-on”, a specialized production planning add-on. Plants that need every machine, person, tool and material scheduled finitely run SkyPlanner APS beside Exact Online.
How Exact Online plans production, step by step
1. Editions
Exact sells Exact Online Manufacturing in Essentials, Plus, Professional and Premium editions (features and prices). Essentials covers planning and running work orders. MRP comes with Professional and Premium, and Premium adds advanced MRP. A master production schedule “only applies if you have a Professional or Premium subscription.” (Exact Online help)
2. Work centers
Work centers hold labor and machine hourly rates, set under Master data > Manufacturing > Work centres. In the REST API, a work center has a code, a type, a production area and one capacity value: “Capacity of the work center” (API reference).
3. Bills of materials and routing steps
A bill of materials holds materials and operations. “Operations, or routing steps, are tasks that are done on the shop floor. You can link resources and add estimated times for running and setup.” (Exact Online help) Only active BOM versions are used in shop orders.
4. Shop orders
A shop order is created from a quotation, a sales order, demand planning or by hand. Exact selects the active BOM version and copies its routing steps and material lines. Statuses run Open, In process, Finished and Completed, and a shop order can be marked In planning, On hold or Released. “The purpose of releasing a shop order is that you authorise the shop floor to start production of the planned parts.” (source)
Each routing step of a shop order carries a planned start date, planned end date, planned setup hours, planned run hours and a work center (ShopOrderRoutingStepPlans).
5. MRP
“The MRP overview (Material Requirements Planning) helps you better plan your manufacturing orders.” (source) MRP turns sales orders, stock, forecasts and lead times into order advice for purchase and shop orders. Exact describes the timing: “Productieorders worden ingepland, rekening houdend met productiedoorlooptijden.” Production orders are planned with production lead times. MRP also flags capacity: “Met MRP signaleer je oorzaken die impact hebben op de materiaal- en capaciteitsplanning.” (Exact MRP)
6. Shop floor registration
With Shop Floor Control, operators register material use, quantities and hours with start and stop on a workplace screen, phone or tablet (Shop Floor Control). Time entries are booked per shop order, operation and activity, setup or run.
7. Detailed planning
This is the step Exact hands to an add-on. “Zo is Exact productiesoftware eenvoudig uit te breiden met een gespecialiseerde productieplanning add-on.” And: “Deze add-on begeleidt je in de productieplanning en aansturing van de werkvloer.” The add-on guides production planning and steering of the shop floor. (Exact for manufacturing)
What stays with the planner
- Dates come from lead times. MRP plans production orders with production lead times, so two shop orders can claim the same machine on the same day.
- Capacity is flagged, not solved. MRP signals causes that affect capacity planning. The planner decides which order moves.
- A work center is one capacity value. Several machines and people inside a work center share it. The API exposes no work center calendar or shifts.
- Changeovers are times per step. Setup hours sit on each routing step. Exact documents no sequence-dependent changeover between products.
- Tools and operator counts are not scheduled resources. Exact’s documentation describes rates and estimated times, not shared tools or multi-operator jobs.
- Every change means rebalancing. After a rush order or a breakdown, the planner re-runs MRP and adjusts shop order dates.
- “Capacity planning” in Exact means projects. Exact’s capacity planning and planning board articles cover employee planning on projects, not the shop floor.
When Exact Online’s own planning is enough
Exact Online Manufacturing does the job when:
- Lead times are generous and stable, and MRP advice decides what to make.
- One bottleneck decides the plan and the rest of the shop has slack.
- A supervisor sets the sequence at the machine.
- Changeovers do not depend on which product ran before.
- People, tools and material arrival do not change the order of work.
When you need a finite capacity scheduler
You have outgrown lead-time planning when several of these are true:
- The planner spends hours each week moving shop order dates to fit the machines.
- Delivery dates slip although MRP shows every order on time.
- Changeover time depends on the product that ran before.
- Operators, shifts and absences limit the plan as much as machines.
- Dies, molds or fixtures are shared between machines.
- Material availability decides which shop order can start.
- Rush orders and breakdowns force a replan several times a week.
What to look for
- Routing step scheduling, with a start, end and workstation for every step.
- All resources finite at once: machines, people and tools.
- Automatic overload resolution, not dates you move by hand.
- A setting time matrix for sequence-dependent, asymmetric changeovers.
- Tools as finite shared resources, and jobs that need several operators at once.
- Material-aware scheduling that checks stock and incoming purchase orders.
- Two-way Exact Online integration that writes planned dates back to
ShopOrderRoutingStepPlansand posts time and receipts.
The options fall into three groups:
- Planning inside Exact Online: MRP and shop order dates. The planner sets the sequence.
- Planning add-ons and APS projects from planning vendors, connected to Exact in a configuration project.
- Cloud APS with shop-floor execution, where SkyPlanner sits. It schedules every resource automatically beside Exact Online, replans as production changes and puts the schedule in operators’ hands.
Where SkyPlanner fits
SkyPlanner APS is a specialized production planning add-on for Exact Online. Every workstation is finite, and the Arcturus AI engine schedules every routing step in seconds. Machines, people, tools and materials are scheduled together in one engine. It sequences by job priority, completion date and customer priority.
The setting time matrix holds the changeover time between each pair of products in both directions, and the engine picks the order with the least setup. Tools are finite shared resources, and a job can need several operators at the same time. When a machine or person is unavailable, the engine uses the alternatives you define.
Material-driven scheduling simulates future inventory from stock and incoming purchase orders. Ordered material counts as available on its delivery date, so work is planned only when material is there.
Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes, within your locks and priorities. Planners adjust jobs on a Gantt timeline, and operators log work on phone or tablet with Mobile Confirmations.
Choose SkyPlanner when moving shop order dates by hand takes hours every week.
Choose SkyPlanner when changeovers, shared tools or multi-operator jobs decide what can run next.
Choose SkyPlanner when you want the specialized planning add-on Exact points to, live in weeks.
Start with an Excel export of your open shop orders in the 30-day free trial (up to 20 workstations, no credit card). 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. Implementation is normally completed within weeks after onboarding starts.
SkyPlanner integrates with Exact Online in both directions. Shop orders, routing steps, material plans, work centers, stock and purchase orders come in through the Exact Online REST API. Planned start and end dates go back to each routing step, and operator hours post as time transactions. The SkyPlanner team configures the integration during onboarding and supports it after go-live. Your Exact partner or in-house developers can work on the documented REST API (API reference) with just an API token. On Exact Globe+, the same schedule runs on your production orders, with the data route agreed with your Globe+ partner.
Read how the pieces connect on the SkyPlanner for Exact Online page, or go straight to the Exact Online integration guide. Other ERPs are in the ERP integrations hub.
SkyPlanner reviews from manufacturers
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.
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 Exact Online have a production planning tool?
Exact Online Manufacturing has MRP, a master production schedule in Professional and Premium, and shop orders with planned dates per routing step. For detailed production planning, Exact points to a specialized production planning add-on. SkyPlanner APS is a specialized production planning add-on, with a finite schedule for every machine and person.
Is Exact Online MRP finite capacity scheduling?
No. MRP calculates order advice from demand, stock and lead times, and plans production orders with production lead times. A finite capacity scheduler places each routing step only where the machine, people and tools are free.
Does Exact Online have a planning board for production?
The capacity planning and planning board articles in Exact’s help cover employee planning on projects. For the shop floor, SkyPlanner gives an interactive Gantt of every routing step, and the dates go back to Exact Online.
Does Exact Online handle sequence-dependent setup times?
Exact Online stores setup and run hours per routing step. SkyPlanner APS adds a setting time matrix. It stores changeover times between product pairs (blue to red 30 minutes, red to blue 60) and sequences jobs to minimize them.
How does SkyPlanner APS connect to Exact Online?
SkyPlanner integrates with Exact Online in both directions through the Exact Online REST API with OAuth 2.0, and the SkyPlanner team configures it during onboarding. It reads ShopOrders and ShopOrderRoutingStepPlans, and writes PlannedStartDate and PlannedEndDate back to each routing step. SkyPlanner webhooks push schedule changes as they happen.
Can I test SkyPlanner before integrating it with Exact Online?
Yes. Export your open shop orders and routing steps to Excel, import them into SkyPlanner during the 30-day trial and compare the schedule with your current plan. No credit card is needed. See pricing, start the trial or talk to sales.
