Integrations / ERP / JobBOSS²
JobBOSS² Integration Guide for Production Scheduling with SkyPlanner APS
This JobBOSS² integration guide shows partners and IT teams how to connect JobBOSS² by ECI to SkyPlanner APS. SkyPlanner integrates with JobBOSS² in both directions, using ECI’s own APIs:
- Orders and Order Line Items, Order Routings, Estimates, Routings and materials, Work Centers, Employees, the Company Calendar, Job Requirements and purchase order lines flow in.
- Planned start and end dates go back to each Order Routing step.
- Operator timelogs can post back as Time Ticket Details, if you choose.
- SkyPlanner webhooks push schedule changes as they happen.
The SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your JobBOSS² setup 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. A US job shop has already done exactly that:
JobBOSS²’s integration interfaces
ECI publishes its manufacturing APIs, with OpenAPI specifications, on the ECI Manufacturing API Documentation site. Two matter for scheduling:
- JobBOSS² API (v1). REST and JSON, specific to JobBOSS². It reads and writes orders, Order Line Items, Order Routings, Estimates, Routings, materials, Job Requirements, Work Centers, the Company Calendar, Employees, purchase orders, Time Tickets and Time Ticket Details. ECI states it “is currently only supported for JobBOSS² hosted (Cloud) customers.”
- ECI ERP API (v2.1). A product-agnostic REST API for Deacom, M1 and JobBOSS². For JobBOSS² it covers jobs, job operations, job materials, parts, part operations, work centers, purchase order lines and timecard lines. ECI notes that “the actual ERP database could be a cloud hosted ERP or on premises install,” so this is the route for on-premise JobBOSS².
Both APIs share the same conventions: filter expressions such as lastModDate[gte]=, a fields= parameter, sort=, and paging with take and skip, where take defaults to 200. “All dates submitted to the API are assumed to be in UTC.”
ECI’s rule for both: “All APIs must be activated by ECI before use.” Ask your ECI account manager early.
Authentication and access
- API users. The integration uses an API user issued from ECI’s Integration Engine Management Console. The API user decides which product, customer and database the calls reach.
- OAuth 2.0 client credentials. The client ID and secret buy a token at the Authentication API token endpoint. Every call then sends
Authorization: Bearer [token]. - Scope. Grant the API user the resources the mapping table below needs, and nothing else.
On the SkyPlanner side, the REST API authenticates with an API token (SkyPlanner Settings > API) and is documented in Swagger/OpenAPI. The integration tutorial walks through the first calls.
Events and polling
Neither ECI API documents webhooks. The JobBOSS² side is polled: filter Order Line Items, Order Routings and purchase order lines on lastModDate since the last run, and page with take and skip. The frequency is set per shop, from every few minutes for jobs to hourly for stock.
SkyPlanner sends webhooks when state or the schedule changes, so the write-back side is event-driven.
Data mapping
| JobBOSS² object (JobBOSS² API resource) | SkyPlanner object | Direction | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
Estimates (/estimates), materials (/materials) | Products, materials, product structure | JobBOSS² → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
Routings (/routings): work center, setup time, cycle time, team size, machines for job | Process steps with durations and setup times | JobBOSS² → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
Work Centers (/work-centers): hours per shift, runs on shift 1 to 3, working days | Workstations, workstation groups, efficiencies | JobBOSS² → SkyPlanner | Initial load, rarely after |
Company Calendar (/company-calendars), Employees (/employees) | Shifts, non-working days, personnel | JobBOSS² → SkyPlanner | Daily, or own shifts in SkyPlanner |
Orders and Order Line Items (/order-line-items): job number, due date, priority, quantity to make | Orders with due dates and priorities | JobBOSS² → SkyPlanner | Polling every few minutes |
Order Routings (/order-routings): job steps, status, hours left | Jobs per process step | JobBOSS² → SkyPlanner | Polling every few minutes |
Job Requirements (/job-requirements), purchase order lines (/purchase-order-line-items) | Material needs, purchase orders by delivery date | JobBOSS² → SkyPlanner | Polling, hourly or on schedule run |
Order Routing estimatedStartDate, estimatedEndDate, workCenter, employeeCode (PATCH) | Planned start and end, machine and operator per step | SkyPlanner → JobBOSS² | On schedule change, via SkyPlanner webhook |
| Time Ticket Details (POST): job, step, work center, employee, setup time, cycle time, pieces finished and scrapped, start and end time | Timelogs and operator confirmations | SkyPlanner → JobBOSS² | Per confirmation or per shift, if chosen |
| Not in JobBOSS² | Setting time matrix, tools as finite resources, alternative machines and personnel | Maintained in SkyPlanner | Set up during onboarding |
For on-premise JobBOSS², the same objects read through the ERP API resources /jobs, /job-operations, /job-materials, /parts, /part-operations, /work-centers and /purchase-order-lines, and timelogs post to /timecard-lines.
Integration patterns
1. Initial master data load. Read Estimates, Routings, materials, Work Centers, the Company Calendar and Employees. Map work centers deliberately: a work center with four lathes becomes one workstation group or four workstations, so SkyPlanner sequences each machine.
2. Job sync. Read open Order Line Items with their Order Routings, Job Requirements and open purchase order lines. SkyPlanner treats ordered material as available on the PO delivery date and updates stock when the PO is marked Delivered. Skip jobs on hold and closed jobs.
3. Schedule write-back. When the engine places or moves a step, a SkyPlanner webhook triggers a PATCH to /api/v1/orders/{orderNumber}/order-line-items/{itemNumber}/order-routings/{stepNumber}. It sets estimatedStartDate and estimatedEndDate in UTC, and workCenter and employeeCode when SkyPlanner moved the step to another machine or person. Dates land on the job steps the Whiteboard, Planning Board and Scheduling Advisor already show.
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 JobBOSS². If yes, each confirmation becomes a Time Ticket Detail with setup time, cycle time and pieces. If no, data collection stays in JobBOSS² and SkyPlanner reads progress from Order Routings.
5. Ownership and conflict rules. Write them down before go-live:
| Data | Owner |
|---|---|
| Estimates, Routings, quantities, due dates, job status | JobBOSS² |
| 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 tickets, material issues, receipts, costing | JobBOSS², entered there or posted from SkyPlanner timelogs |
Pick one writer of job step dates. SkyPlanner replaces Whiteboard rescheduling for the jobs it schedules, so planners move work in SkyPlanner and the dates flow to JobBOSS².
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 JobBOSS² as CSV or Excel.
- Mapping. Fix the mapping table, ownership rules, sync frequencies and whether time tickets post back.
- ECI access. Ask ECI to activate the JobBOSS² API or ERP API and create the API user. Test against a sandbox company where you have one.
- Initial load. Estimates, Routings, Work Centers, calendar and employees.
- Job and purchase order sync. Polling with
lastModDatefilters, paging and retries. - Constraint setup in SkyPlanner. Setting time matrix, tools, operator counts per job and alternative machines or personnel.
- Schedule write-back. Order Routing PATCH calls from SkyPlanner webhooks, plus Time Ticket Details if chosen.
- Parallel testing. Run SkyPlanner beside the current board, compare dates, fix master data.
- Go-live. Switch on write-back once the data matches.
What to plan for in a JobBOSS² integration
- Hosted or on-premise. The JobBOSS² API serves hosted customers. On-premise installs use the ERP API, whose resource list differs. Settle the route in step 1.
- UTC everywhere. The API reads and writes UTC. Convert to plant time, or a 7:00 start lands at the wrong hour.
- Work centers that hide machines. A work center can be a machine, a group, a cell or people. Number of machines and team size on each routing step tell SkyPlanner how many resources a step needs.
- Outside services. Steps with a vendor instead of a work center are lead time, not your capacity. Model them as time-only steps.
- Overlap and unattended steps. Routing steps can be flagged to overlap or run unattended. Carry both flags across so lights-out work is planned correctly.
- Time units. Setup and cycle times have their own units, and queue time is waiting, not machine time. Convert on import or every duration is wrong.
- Paging. Default pages hold 200 records. Page every read.
Who configures and supports the JobBOSS² integration
- The SkyPlanner team configures it during onboarding and supports it after go-live, across the agreed resources and polling rules. Every shop runs JobBOSS² differently, and this is where that know-how goes.
- Your JobBOSS² partner can take part. The partner knows your setup and can arrange API activation and the API user with ECI 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, JobBOSS² finite capacity scheduling, the JobBOSS² 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 JobBOSS² have an API?
Yes. ECI publishes the JobBOSS² API and the product-agnostic ERP API, both REST with OpenAPI specifications. The JobBOSS² API reads and writes orders, Order Routings, Estimates, Work Centers, purchase orders and Time Tickets for hosted customers.
How does the integration authenticate with JobBOSS²?
With OAuth 2.0 client credentials. ECI activates the API, an API user is issued from the Integration Engine Management Console, and each call carries a Bearer token.
Does JobBOSS² support webhooks?
ECI’s APIs document no webhooks, so the integration polls JobBOSS² with lastModDate filters on a schedule set per shop. SkyPlanner’s own webhooks push schedule changes as they happen.
How are planned dates written back to JobBOSS²?
Per job step. SkyPlanner PATCHes each Order Routing with estimatedStartDate and estimatedEndDate, plus workCenter and employeeCode when the step moved to another machine or operator.
Should a JobBOSS² partner propose ECI APS or SkyPlanner?
SkyPlanner, when the customer wants multi-resource finite scheduling running in weeks. ECI APS is a separate add-on powered by LYNQ. SkyPlanner connects through ECI’s own JobBOSS² API, plans changeovers, crews, fixtures and material, replans automatically, and starts from 199 € per month.
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 JobBOSS², no credit card needed. Start the trial, or talk to sales to scope the integration.
