Integrations / ERP / KARAT
KARAT Integration Guide for Production Scheduling with SkyPlanner APS
This KARAT integration guide shows partners and IT teams how to connect IS KARAT to SkyPlanner APS. SkyPlanner integrates with KARAT in both directions, using KARAT’s own interfaces:
- Production orders (výrobní příkazy) and production jobs (výrobní zakázky) with their operations, item cards, BOMs, routings, machines, workplaces, human resources, stock and issued purchase orders flow in.
- Planned start and finish dates go back to the production data in KARAT.
- Operator timelogs can post back through KARAT terminal reporting, if you choose.
- SkyPlanner webhooks push schedule changes as they happen.
The SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your KARAT setup during onboarding and supports it after go-live. This guide is for KARAT partners and developers who want to take part, or to build on SkyPlanner’s documented REST API (API reference) themselves.
KARAT’s integration interfaces
Agreed data interface.
KARAT Software states that the openness of ERP KARAT lets it connect to other external information systems, and that the system supports electronic data exchange in XML, EDI, ISDOC and ISDS (KARAT software development). For a scheduler, this means an interface agreed for your installation that exports open production orders, routings, resources, stock and purchase orders, and imports planned dates.
Terminal reporting interface.
KARAT’s terminal reporting module (terminálové odvádění) prepares data for export to an external system and accepts imported data according to an agreed interface (terminal reporting). It handles start, interruption and end of work, handover of operations, material issue to production and receipt of finished goods. This is the natural route for logged work from SkyPlanner.
System integration service.
KARAT Software connects IS KARAT to shop-floor data collection, automated warehouses, CAD/CAM and other specialized applications as a service (system integration). The SkyPlanner team agrees the interface with KARAT Software or your KARAT partner during scoping.
Excel and CSV.
Open production orders exported to Excel or CSV are enough for the trial load.
Authentication and licensing
- Integration user. The interface runs under a KARAT user with rights to the production, warehouse and purchasing data it reads and writes. KARAT access rights reach down to individual table keys, so scope them tightly.
- Deployment. IS KARAT runs on-premise or as outsourcing or SaaS. The transport for the agreed interface (file exchange or a service endpoint) is set up for your deployment in scoping.
- Licensing. The agreed interface and any work by KARAT Software are arranged with KARAT Software or your partner.
On the SkyPlanner side, the REST API 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
SkyPlanner reads KARAT on a schedule. Scheduled exports or reads through the agreed interface, filtered to open production orders and recent changes, pick up new work. The frequency is set per plant, from every few minutes for production orders to hourly for stock.
SkyPlanner sends webhooks when state or the schedule changes, so the write-back side is event-driven.
Data mapping
| KARAT object | SkyPlanner object | Direction | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item cards (karty), units | Products and materials | KARAT → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then polling |
| BOMs (kusovníky) | Product structure, subproducts, materials per product | KARAT → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
| Technological routings (technologické postupy), operations and times | Process steps with durations, setup and teardown times | KARAT → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
| Resources (zdroje): machines, workplaces | Workstations, workstation groups, alternative workstations | KARAT → SkyPlanner | Initial load, rarely after |
| Human resources | Personnel and operator counts per job | KARAT → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
| Production orders (výrobní příkazy), production jobs (výrobní zakázky), operations, material | Orders and jobs with due dates and material needs | KARAT → SkyPlanner | Polling every few minutes |
| Warehouse stock (sklady) | Stock balances | KARAT → SkyPlanner | Polling, hourly or on schedule run |
| Issued purchase orders (objednávky vydané) with delivery dates | Purchase orders, incoming material by delivery date | KARAT → SkyPlanner | Polling, hourly or on schedule run |
| Planned start and finish per order operation (agreed import) | Planned start and end per job | SkyPlanner → KARAT | On schedule change, via SkyPlanner webhook |
| Terminal reporting: start, stop, handover, quantities | Timelogs and operator confirmations | SkyPlanner → KARAT | Per confirmation or per shift, if chosen |
| Not in KARAT | Setting time matrix, tools as finite resources, multi-operator jobs | Maintained in SkyPlanner | Set up during onboarding |
Integration patterns
1. Initial master data load. Read item cards, BOMs, routings and resources. Map resources to SkyPlanner deliberately: a workplace with four machines becomes one workstation group or four workstations. Human resources planned with weighted planning for pre-production work, such as technologists and designers, stay out of the shop-floor schedule unless you decide otherwise.
2. Order sync. Read released production orders with their operations and material, plus issued purchase orders. SkyPlanner treats ordered material as available on the PO delivery date and updates stock when the PO is marked Delivered.
3. Schedule write-back. When the engine places or moves a job, a SkyPlanner webhook triggers an import of planned start and finish dates into KARAT through the agreed interface. The import target in KARAT, the resource reservations or the operation dates on the production order, is fixed during onboarding scoping.
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 KARAT. If yes, they import through the terminal reporting interface as start, stop and quantity events per operation. If no, operators keep reporting on KARAT terminals and SkyPlanner reads those reports.
5. Ownership and conflict rules. Write them down before go-live:
| Data | Owner |
|---|---|
| Item cards, BOMs, routings, quantities, order status | KARAT |
| Operation sequence, start and finish times, machine assignment | SkyPlanner |
| Setting time matrix, tool and operator requirements, alternative resources | SkyPlanner |
| Shifts and non-working days | One system, chosen in scoping |
| Operation reports, material issues and receipts | KARAT, entered there or posted from SkyPlanner timelogs |
Pick one writer of order dates. If APS KARAT still saves plans back into production data, switch that off for orders SkyPlanner schedules, so the two never overwrite each other.
Typical project steps
Implementation is normally completed within weeks after onboarding starts. Before that, validate the schedule in the 30-day free trial with machines, routings and open production orders exported from KARAT as CSV or Excel.
- Mapping. Fix the mapping table, ownership rules, sync frequencies and whether operation reports post back.
- KARAT interface. Agree the export and import format and transport with KARAT Software or your partner, and set up the integration user. Test on a copy database first.
- Initial load. Item cards, BOMs, routings, resources.
- Order and purchase order sync. Scheduled reads with filters and retries.
- Constraint setup in SkyPlanner. Setting time matrix, tools, operator counts per job and alternative machines or personnel.
- Schedule write-back. Test the planned-date import and, if chosen, the terminal reporting import.
- Parallel testing. Run SkyPlanner beside the current plan, compare dates, fix master data.
- Go-live. Switch on write-back once the data matches.
What to plan for in a KARAT integration
- The interface is agreed per installation. Budget scoping time with KARAT Software or your partner, and write the export and import format down as part of the mapping.
- Plan ownership. APS KARAT saves plans into production data on closing. Decide which orders it still plans, if any.
- Master plan across plants. Decide per plant which orders SkyPlanner schedules.
- Existing terminal integrations. If terminal reporting already exports to another system, reuse the agreed interface for SkyPlanner timelogs instead of adding a second one.
- Time units. Check units of operation times in routings on the first load. Every duration depends on it.
Who configures and supports the KARAT integration
- The SkyPlanner team configures it during onboarding and supports it after go-live, across the agreed export, import and terminal reporting flows. Every plant runs KARAT differently, and this is where that know-how goes.
- KARAT Software or your KARAT partner can take part. They know your installation and data structures, and can set up the agreed interface and integration user 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, KARAT finite capacity scheduling, the KARAT page and the ERP integrations hub. For scheduling basics, see production scheduling.
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.
99.2%delivery reliability
“SkyPlanner has brought visibility to identifying bottlenecks and clarified production management.”
Toni Tuori, Production Manager
Piristeel · Roof safety and rainwater systems
Delivery reliability reached 99.2% this year, and scheduling saves up to four hours of working time per day.
Fewerstoppages from material shortages
“The value SkyPlanner brings us is that it is a tool that works in daily use, especially for setting delivery dates.”
Tommi Männistö, Production Planning Manager
Eskomatic · Contract machining
Automatic load scheduling gives more accurate delivery dates, and production stoppages caused by material shortages have fallen sharply.
FAQ
How does SkyPlanner connect to KARAT?
Through an agreed KARAT data interface in XML for orders, master data and planned dates, and through KARAT terminal reporting for logged work. The SkyPlanner team sets it up with KARAT Software or your KARAT partner during onboarding.
How does SkyPlanner pick up changes in KARAT?
SkyPlanner reads KARAT on a schedule set per plant, filtered to open production orders and recent changes. SkyPlanner’s own webhooks push schedule changes as they happen.
How are planned dates written back to KARAT?
As an import of planned start and finish dates per order operation through the agreed interface. The SkyPlanner team fixes the import target, resource reservations or operation dates on the production order, during onboarding scoping.
Can operator timelogs post back to KARAT?
Yes, if you choose. KARAT terminal reporting accepts imported data by an agreed interface, so SkyPlanner timelogs post as start, stop and quantity events per operation.
Should a KARAT partner propose APS KARAT or SkyPlanner?
SkyPlanner, when the customer’s plan changes often and must run on live data. APS KARAT plans on data exported from production, and planners build variants before saving one back (KARAT). SkyPlanner replans automatically, plans changeovers, tools, crews and material, and has unlimited users, 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 KARAT, no credit card needed. Start the trial, or talk to sales to scope the integration.
