Integrations / ERP / Monitor ERP
SkyPlanner APS for Monitor ERP: Finite Capacity Production Scheduling
SkyPlanner APS is a finite capacity scheduling add-on for Monitor ERP that schedules every work center, operator, tool and material at once. Monitor G5 shows you where the overload is. SkyPlanner removes it, and Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes.
SkyPlanner integrates with Monitor ERP in both directions: manufacturing orders, operations, work centers and materials flow in, and planned operation dates and logged work flow back. The SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your Monitor G5 setup during onboarding.
Pricing is from 199 € per month with 5 workstations included, and each extra workstation is 20 € per month. The free trial runs for 30 days with up to 20 workstations and no credit card.
What changes in your production
No more dragging rows in the priority plan.
The Arcturus engine sequences every open operation on every work center in one run. The planner reviews the result instead of building it by hand, one work center at a time.
Overloads solved, not just shown.
Every machine, person and tool gets a finite schedule with real shifts, absences and overtime. Two manufacturing orders never land on the same machine at the same hour. When a machine is full, work moves to an alternative machine or person.
Delivery dates for every order, not one order line.
Each manufacturing order gets a finish date from the whole plant’s schedule. Sales answers customers from the plan, and the plan already includes every other order.
Fewer changeovers.
SkyPlanner knows the setup time between each pair of products, in both directions. Blue to red can take 30 minutes and red to blue 60. The engine runs jobs in the order that loses the least time.
Shared tools and crews respected.
A die or fixture in use on one machine is never booked on another. A job that needs three operators gets three people with free shifts.
Material checked before work starts.
SkyPlanner schedules against stock and open purchase orders. A job waiting for a supplier delivery is planned after the delivery date instead of stalling at the machine.
Operators see their queue.
Each operator sees the next jobs on a phone or tablet and logs work as it happens. The office sees progress live, and the logged work goes back to Monitor.
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.
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.
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.
How the Monitor ERP integration works
- Monitor sends the work. Manufacturing orders with their operations, work centers, setup and unit times flow into SkyPlanner, together with material needs, stock and purchase orders.
- SkyPlanner builds the schedule and keeps it current. The Arcturus engine plans every operation on every workstation in seconds and replans as production changes.
- Dates and logged work go back. Planned start and finish per operation return to the manufacturing order in Monitor, and reported time and quantities keep both systems in step.
The integration runs on Monitor’s own interface, the Monitor ERP API, so nothing is installed in Monitor. Every plant runs Monitor G5 differently, so the SkyPlanner team maps your work centers, operation rows and order flow during onboarding and supports the integration after go-live. The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs. Your Monitor partner or your own developers can also build on SkyPlanner’s documented API (API reference).
Endpoints, field mapping, versions and write-back are explained in the Monitor ERP integration guide for production scheduling.
What moves between Monitor ERP and SkyPlanner
| Monitor ERP | SkyPlanner | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Part (Artikel) | Products and materials | In |
| BOM and routing (Beredning): operation rows with setup, unit and queue time | Process steps with durations and setup times | In |
| Work center (Produktionsgrupp), alternative work centers, pool members | Workstations, workstation groups, alternatives | In |
| Production schedules and calendar exceptions | Shifts and absences | In |
| Manufacturing order (Tillverkningsorder) with operations and due date | Order and jobs with due date and priority | In |
| Manufacturing order materials, stock, purchase orders | Material needs, stock, incoming deliveries | In |
| Manufacturing order operation: planned start, planned finish, work center | Planned start, end and workstation per operation | Back |
| Operation reporting: time and quantity | Timelogs and quantities from operators | Both, one channel chosen |
Setup time matrices, tools as finite resources and multi-operator jobs live in SkyPlanner, set up during onboarding.
Monitor priority planning and finite capacity scheduling
Monitor G5 is a capable planning ERP. It shows load per work center and calculates finish dates. The work of resolving overloads still sits with the planner, and Monitor’s own help says so:
- Orders are registered without checking other orders’ load. With the default setting, an order is registered “as per the requirement date in BOM and routing regardless of the work center’s capacity.” (Monitor help)
- The Loading plan shows overloads, it does not fix them. Master planning is “a loading plan where any overload might require the entire order to be replanned with regard to quantity and dates.” (Monitor help)
- Priority planning works one work center at a time. It “shows all operations for the work center in all manufacturing orders,” and the planner drags rows to set the order. (Monitor help)
- Check delivery times plans one order line. CDT finds free capacity for the line you are quoting, and its manual replanning items “are not saved.” (Monitor help)
So the plant-wide finite schedule has to come from a dedicated scheduler. SkyPlanner sequences every work center together and keeps the result current. Every step of Monitor’s planning is explained in Does Monitor ERP have finite capacity scheduling?
Monitor ERP today and with SkyPlanner
| Monitor G5 planning | Monitor G5 with SkyPlanner APS | |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Load shown per work center; planner resolves overloads | Every machine, person and tool finite, with shifts |
| Sequencing | Rows dragged in the priority plan, one work center at a time | All work centers sequenced in one run, in seconds |
| Delivery dates | CDT quotes one order line | Every order dated from the plant-wide schedule |
| Changeovers | Same-tool orders filtered and grouped by hand | Jobs ordered for the least total setup |
| Tools and crews | Setup clashes shown for manual checking | Tools finite; multi-operator jobs staffed |
| Materials | Material coverage checked per order line in CDT | Jobs start when stock or deliveries are there |
| Changes | Planner reapplies New finish and replans | Autopilot replans within your locks and priorities |
| Shop floor | Recording terminal and machine integration | Operator queue and logging on phone or tablet |
How to choose a scheduler for Monitor ERP
Monitor’s own priority planning fits a plant with one or two bottleneck work centers and a planner who works the priority plan every day. Beyond that, buyers compare four groups. Custom planning screens are built by Monitor consultants for one plant. Shop-floor and OEE tools report time and quantities back to Monitor but do not build a finite schedule. Enterprise APS suites do not list Monitor among their documented ERP integrations. Cloud APS with shop-floor execution is where SkyPlanner sits.
- Choose SkyPlanner when your planner spends hours a week dragging rows in the priority plan and resolving overloads from the Loading plan.
- Choose SkyPlanner when bottlenecks move with the product mix, and one work center at a time is no longer enough.
- Choose SkyPlanner when changeovers decide your output. The setting time matrix orders jobs for the least total setup.
- Choose SkyPlanner when shared tools, setters and crews decide what can run next.
- Choose SkyPlanner when material arrival decides which job starts. Stock and purchase orders gate every operation.
- Choose SkyPlanner when the plan changes daily. Autopilot replans after a breakdown or rush order, and the new dates go back to Monitor.
How to get started
- Start the free trial. 30 days, up to 20 workstations, all Basic features, no credit card.
- Model your production. Create machines, people and shifts in SkyPlanner, or import them. Assisted onboarding is available.
- Load your manufacturing orders. Export open manufacturing order operations and work centers from Monitor to Excel, import them and compare SkyPlanner’s schedule with your priority plan.
- Connect Monitor ERP. The SkyPlanner team configures the two-way integration to your Monitor G5 setup and supports it once you are live.
Pricing. Plans are billed monthly per workstation, and you can add or remove workstations or cancel at any time. See pricing for the details, and other ERPs in the ERP integrations hub.
FAQ
What is the best scheduling add-on for Monitor ERP?
SkyPlanner APS is a finite capacity scheduling add-on that integrates with Monitor ERP in both directions: manufacturing orders, operations, work centers and materials flow in, and planned operation dates and logged work flow back. Every work center, operator, tool and material is finite, and a directional setting time matrix sequences jobs for the least setup. Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes. Pricing is from 199 € per month, and the free trial runs for 30 days.
Does Monitor ERP have finite capacity scheduling?
Monitor G5 is capacity-aware. The Loading plan shows load against capacity, and Priority planning calculates a New finish per operation for one work center at a time. Resolving overloads across the plant is the planner’s job. SkyPlanner APS adds a finite capacity schedule for every work center, person, tool and material next to Monitor ERP.
Do we need to install anything in Monitor G5?
No. SkyPlanner runs in the cloud beside Monitor and connects through the Monitor ERP API, Monitor’s own documented interface.
Does SkyPlanner replace Monitor’s manufacturing module?
No, it works on top of it. Monitor keeps parts, BOMs and routings, manufacturing orders, purchasing, stock, reporting and finance. SkyPlanner schedules the manufacturing order operations against real capacity and sends planned dates back.
Can SkyPlanner use our pool work centers and alternative machines?
Yes. Pool members and alternative work centers become alternative workstations in SkyPlanner. When the primary machine is busy, the engine moves the job to an alternative, and the chosen work center goes back to the operation in Monitor.
How much does SkyPlanner cost for a Monitor ERP shop?
From 199 € per month with 5 workstations included, plus 20 € per month per extra workstation. A workstation is a production resource with its own scheduled work queue. The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs, together with your plan, so you see the full cost before you start.
How long does implementation take?
Implementation is normally completed within weeks after onboarding starts. The team maps your work centers and operation rows, connects manufacturing orders and purchase orders, and sends planned dates back. Everything is tested against your current priority plan before go-live.
Can we test SkyPlanner before integrating with Monitor ERP?
Yes. The 30-day trial runs on an Excel export of your open manufacturing orders from Monitor. You see a finite capacity schedule of your own production before any integration work starts.
