Integrations / ERP / Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform
Plex Integration Guide for Production Scheduling with SkyPlanner APS
This Plex integration guide shows partners and IT teams how to connect the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform to SkyPlanner APS. SkyPlanner integrates with Plex in both directions:
- Jobs, parts, routings, work centers, inventory and purchase orders flow in.
- Planned start and end times per operation go back to Plex.
- Operator confirmations feed Plex production reporting.
- SkyPlanner webhooks push schedule changes as they happen.
The SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your Plex 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.
Plex integration interfaces
Plex is one multi-tenant cloud platform, so every tenant runs the current release. There are four routes:
- Plex Connect REST APIs. Plex launched Plex Connect in 2015 as “a new REST/JSON API.” (source) Versioned collections cover parts, suppliers, customers, purchase orders, work centers and tools.
- Plex Custom APIs. Plex’s datasheet says “The developer portal is also available for creating unique APIs.” (source) Partners use this for objects without a standard collection.
- Plex UX Data Sources. Plex exposes its data sources over REST. Jobs, job operations, production records and inventory containers are usually read here.
- Plex Classic Data Sources. The legacy SOAP route, used only where a Classic data source has no UX equivalent.
SkyPlanner uses Plex Connect for master data and purchasing, and Plex Data Sources for jobs, operations and production data.
Access and the PCN
API access is set up per app in the Plex Developer Portal, where the API collections the integration needs are enabled. Every call targets a PCN, the Plant Control Number that identifies a plant or legal unit in Plex. A group with three plants has three PCNs, and the integration maps each PCN to its own SkyPlanner setup or to workstation groups in one.
Data Source calls use web service credentials per PCN. Create a dedicated integration account with only the data sources it needs.
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.
Sync model
The Plex side runs as a scheduled sync. SkyPlanner reads new and changed jobs, operations and inventory from Plex Connect and Data Sources on a set frequency per plant. A Plex partner can also push changes from Plex straight to SkyPlanner’s REST API on Plex-side triggers, for example when a job is created.
SkyPlanner sends webhooks when state or the schedule changes, so the write-back side is event-driven.
Data mapping
| Plex object (interface) | SkyPlanner object | Direction | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part (Plex Connect parts collection) | Products and materials | Plex → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then delta sync |
| Bill of Materials (Data Source) | Product structure, subproducts, materials per product | Plex → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
| Routing and part operations: work center, standard times (Data Source) | Process steps with setup and run times | Plex → SkyPlanner | Initial load, then on change |
| Work center: machine, cell or area (Plex Connect work centers) | Workstations, workstation groups, efficiencies | Plex → SkyPlanner | Initial load, rarely after |
| Job and job operations: quantity, due date (Data Source) | Orders and jobs | Plex → SkyPlanner | Every few minutes, or pushed on job creation |
| Inventory and containers (Data Source) | Stock balances | Plex → SkyPlanner | Hourly or before each schedule run |
| Purchase orders with expected receipts (Plex Connect purchase orders) | Incoming material on its delivery date; stock updates when marked Delivered | Plex → SkyPlanner | Hourly or before each schedule run |
| Tools (Plex Connect tools) | Tools as finite shared resources | Plex → SkyPlanner | Initial load; then maintained in SkyPlanner |
| Planned start and end per operation and work center (Custom API or Data Source) | Schedule | SkyPlanner → Plex | On schedule change, via SkyPlanner webhook |
| Production records: quantities, start, finish, stoppages | Timelogs and operator confirmations | SkyPlanner → Plex | Per confirmation or per shift |
| SkyPlanner constraint data | Setting time matrix, operator count per job, alternative work centers and personnel | Maintained in SkyPlanner | Set up during onboarding |
Integration patterns
1. Initial master data load. Load parts, BOMs, routings with part operations, work centers and tools. Decide the workstation level deliberately. A Plex work center can be a single machine, a cell or an area, and SkyPlanner should schedule at the level where one queue runs.
2. Job sync. Read released jobs with their operations, quantities and due dates, plus inventory and open purchase orders. SkyPlanner treats ordered material as available on the PO delivery date and updates stock when the PO is marked Delivered. The schedule checks stock and incoming purchases together.
3. Schedule write-back. For every operation the engine placed or moved, SkyPlanner sends planned start, end and work center back to Plex through the agreed Custom API or data source. Plex keeps the job, its quantity and its status.
4. Shop-floor confirmations. Operators log starts, quantities and stoppages with Mobile Confirmations, Production Timer or Quick Log Mode, and the schedule updates as work happens. The confirmations go back to Plex as production records. Pick one channel per work center: operators confirm in SkyPlanner or at the Plex Control Panel, not both.
5. Ownership and conflict rules. Write them down before go-live:
| Data | Owner |
|---|---|
| Parts, BOMs, routings, job quantity and status, inventory | Plex |
| Operation sequence, start and end times, work center assignment | SkyPlanner |
| Setting time matrix, tool and operator requirements, alternative resources | SkyPlanner |
| Shifts and absences | One system, chosen in scoping |
| Production records | Plex, posted from SkyPlanner confirmations |
A changed job quantity or routing in Plex is a new version of the job. SkyPlanner re-reads it, and Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes.
Typical project steps
Implementation is normally completed within weeks after onboarding starts. Before that, the 30-day free trial runs on your own data. Export open jobs, operations and work centers from Plex to Excel or CSV, import them and validate the schedule before any integration work.
The project then runs in seven steps:
- Mapping. Fix the mapping table, PCN and workstation levels, ownership rules and sync frequencies.
- Plex access. Enable the Plex Connect collections in the Developer Portal and set up the Data Source account per PCN.
- Initial load. Parts, BOMs, routings, work centers, tools.
- Job and purchase order sync. Jobs, operations, inventory and open purchase orders on schedule.
- Constraint setup in SkyPlanner. Setting time matrix, operator counts per job, alternative work centers and personnel.
- Write-back and confirmations. Planned times and production records into Plex.
- Parallel run and go-live. Run SkyPlanner beside the current plan, fix master data, then switch on write-back.
What to plan for in a Plex integration
- Picking the right data source. Plex has many data sources with overlapping fields. The hardest part of a Plex integration is choosing the one that returns the quantity or status you mean. Agree on each source by name in scoping.
- Work center granularity. A work center that is really an area with four machines needs four workstations or a group with efficiencies, or the schedule overbooks it.
- Units of measure. Process plants run batches in grams or liters, and the next step runs in pieces. Convert per operation on import.
- Containers vs part totals. Plex tracks inventory in containers on the floor. Sum the containers the schedule may use, and exclude held or quarantined stock.
- Standard times. Check setup and run times on part operations against actual production records before the first schedule run.
- Multiple PCNs. Keep plants apart in the mapping, so one plant’s jobs never land on another plant’s work centers.
The Plex integration: who configures and supports it
The work covers mapping to your jobs, routings, work centers and PCNs, plus the constraints SkyPlanner schedules with: setting time matrix, operator counts and alternative resources.
- The SkyPlanner team configures it during onboarding and supports it after go-live, covering the SkyPlanner side and the agreed Plex interfaces. Every plant runs Plex differently, and this is where that know-how goes.
- Your Plex partner can take part or build it. The partner knows your PCN, data sources and Custom APIs. SkyPlanner provides the REST API, Swagger/OpenAPI documentation and webhooks.
- Your own developers can build on it against the same documented REST API with an API token. An API token is enough to start, and the SkyPlanner team assists when needed. Public documentation, including purchase orders and the products and materials API, is at SkyPlanner 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, so you see the full cost before you start. See how Plex’s own scheduling compares in Plex finite capacity scheduling, the overview on the Plex page, and other systems in the ERP integrations hub.
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.
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.
100%delivery reliability since 2021
“SkyPlanner gives us visibility into capacity and makes planning predictable.”
Dan Berglund, COO/CFO
Opes Corporation · Chemical and food manufacturing
Delivery reliability has been 100% for the entire time SkyPlanner has been in use, since 2021.
FAQ
Does Plex have an API for production scheduling data?
Yes. Plex Connect provides REST/JSON APIs for parts, purchase orders, work centers and tools. Plex Data Sources expose jobs, operations, production records and inventory. Plex Custom APIs cover anything else.
Who builds the Plex integration?
The SkyPlanner team configures the two-way integration to your Plex setup during onboarding and supports it after go-live. Your Plex partner or your own developers can also build on SkyPlanner’s documented REST API, and an API token is enough to start.
Why connect SkyPlanner instead of adding Plex Finite Scheduling or Finite Scheduler?
Plex places finite scheduling in its MES/MOM capabilities (source) and markets Finite Scheduler as “An Adaptive Plex MES Integration” (source). SkyPlanner connects to the Plex package you already run, is live within weeks after onboarding starts, and Autopilot replans automatically on every meaningful change. The SkyPlanner team configures and supports the two-way integration, and your Plex partner can own the Plex side.
Do we need to install anything in Plex?
No. Access is configured in the Plex Developer Portal and per PCN. SkyPlanner runs in the cloud beside Plex.
Can Plex push changes in real time?
The Plex side runs as a scheduled sync, typically every few minutes. A Plex partner can also push new jobs to SkyPlanner’s REST API on Plex-side triggers. In the other direction, SkyPlanner’s webhooks push schedule changes as they happen.
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 Plex, no credit card needed. Start the trial, or talk to sales to scope the integration.
