Integrations / ERP / proALPHA ERP
SkyPlanner APS for proALPHA: Finite Capacity Production Scheduling
SkyPlanner APS is a finite capacity scheduling add-on for proALPHA that schedules every machine, operator, tool and material. Planners stop rebuilding the plan in Excel, and Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes.
SkyPlanner integrates with Proalpha in both directions: work orders, operations, resources, parts and stock flow in, and planned operation dates, machine assignments and operator confirmations flow back. The SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your Proalpha 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
The Excel plan goes away.
The schedule lives in one place, built from your Proalpha work orders. Everyone works from the same plan instead of a planner’s spreadsheet or notebook.
Every resource is finite.
Machines, people and tools each get real shifts, absences and overtime. A fixture in use on one machine is never booked on another. A job that needs three operators gets three people with free shifts.
Fewer changeovers.
SkyPlanner holds 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.
Material checked before work starts.
SkyPlanner schedules against stock and incoming purchase orders. A job waiting for a supplier delivery is planned from the delivery date on, instead of stalling at the machine.
Changes replanned automatically.
When a machine stops, a rush order lands or work finishes early, Autopilot reschedules automatically. Your locks and priorities stay in control.
Operators see their queue.
Each operator sees the next jobs on a phone or tablet and logs work as it happens. The confirmations go back to the Proalpha work order.
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.
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.
How the proALPHA integration works
- Proalpha sends the work. Open work orders (Fertigungsaufträge) with their operations, resources and setup and process times flow into SkyPlanner, together with parts and stock.
- 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, machines and confirmations go back. Planned start and end per operation, the assigned resource and operator confirmations return to the work order in Proalpha.
The write-back uses Proalpha’s own REST APIs from the Proalpha API Portal: setWorkOrderOperationDates, changeWorkOrderOperationResource and operationDataEntry. Every plant models Proalpha differently, so the SkyPlanner team maps your resources and work orders during onboarding and supports the integration after go-live. The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs. Your Proalpha partner or your own developers can also build on SkyPlanner’s documented API (API reference).
Interfaces, field mapping and ownership rules are in the proALPHA integration guide for production scheduling.
What moves between proALPHA and SkyPlanner
| proALPHA | SkyPlanner | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Part (Teil) | Products and materials | In |
| Work order (Fertigungsauftrag) with quantity and due date | Order and jobs with due date and priority | In |
| Work order operations with target setup and process time | Process steps with setup times and durations | In |
| Resources, resource groups, alternative resource groups | Workstations, workstation groups, alternative workstations | In |
| Resource calendars | Shifts, absences and efficiencies | In |
| Stock per MRP area | Material stock | In |
| Purchase orders with delivery date | Incoming material on its delivery date | In |
| setWorkOrderOperationDates | Planned start and end per operation | Back |
| changeWorkOrderOperationResource | Workstation assigned by the schedule | Back |
| operationDataEntry | Timelogs and quantities from operators | Back |
SkyPlanner’s setting time matrix, tool resources and operator counts per job are set up in SkyPlanner during onboarding.
Proalpha APS and finite capacity scheduling
Proalpha ships its own APS inside Proalpha Production. The vendor describes it like this:
- APS at the core. “APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) is the core of Proalpha Production.” (Proalpha)
- Optimized multi-resource planning. APS “allows optimized resource planning according to managerial targets such as delivery reliability and cycle times.” An operation can use any number of resources with synchronized availability.
- Automatic order planning. In a Proalpha customer reference, APS plans and sequences orders automatically (“automatisch geplant und eingetaktet”). (Proalpha)
- Manual changes on top. “Finite planning allows manual changes to the sequence in which orders are processed on short notice.”
- Process models instead of routings. Proalpha “completely dispenses with bills of materials and routings for production planning” and plans on product process models.
- Live feedback required. Plant data collection “enables precise advanced planning and scheduling (APS).” (Proalpha)
That optimization depends on clean process models, resource calendars and live shop-floor feedback, set up in a Proalpha project. Proalpha’s own Dr. Markus Berg calls paper confirmations typed in at the weekend “für eine APS-Planung zu ungenau”, too imprecise for APS planning (IT&Production). Plants without that setup keep planning in Excel next to the ERP. SkyPlanner schedules machines, people, tools, materials and changeovers at once in one engine, with Autopilot rescheduling and an integration configured by the SkyPlanner team. It gives them a finite schedule of their own work orders within the trial, at a public price. Every step is explained in Does proALPHA have finite capacity scheduling?
What SkyPlanner adds to proALPHA
| Proalpha with an Excel plan | Proalpha with SkyPlanner APS | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Spreadsheet kept by one planner | One live schedule from Proalpha work orders |
| Capacity | Checked by eye | Every machine, person and tool finite, with shifts |
| Sequence | Reordered by hand | Operation-level schedule in seconds |
| Changeovers | Planner’s experience | Jobs ordered for the least total setup |
| Tools and crews | Tracked separately | Tools finite; multi-operator jobs staffed |
| Materials | Checked by the planner | Jobs start when stock or deliveries are there |
| Changes | Plan rebuilt after each disruption | Autopilot replans within your priorities |
| Shop floor | Paper or terminal confirmations | Operator queue and logging on phone or tablet |
| Write-back | Dates typed into Proalpha | Dates, resources and confirmations via REST |
| Start | Proalpha project, no public price list | Your own work orders scheduled in the free trial |
How to choose a scheduler for proALPHA
Beyond the project setup above, Proalpha tunes APS with its own consultants: at KWM, “Production planning was optimized remotely together with Proalpha consultants” (Proalpha). Proalpha publishes no price; its price page answers “Das kommt darauf an” (Proalpha). A mid-sized plant that plans in Excel today gets a working finite schedule faster with SkyPlanner, and Proalpha stays the master either way.
Choose SkyPlanner over Proalpha APS when:
- Your plan lives in Excel today and you want a finite schedule of your own work orders within weeks, not after a planning project.
- You want to test on real data first, in the 30-day trial, before any license or project decision.
- Changeovers decide your output. The setting time matrix orders jobs for the least total setup.
- Shared tools and multi-operator jobs decide what can run next.
- Material arrival decides which job starts. Stock and purchase orders gate every operation.
- The plan changes daily. Autopilot replans on every change without a planner starting a run, and the new dates go back to Proalpha.
- Operators should work from their own queue on a phone or tablet, with confirmations posted to Proalpha.
- You want the integration configured and supported for you. The SkyPlanner team sets it up and runs it after go-live, at a public price from 199 € per month.
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 work orders. Export open work orders and their operations from Proalpha to CSV or Excel. Import them and compare SkyPlanner’s schedule with your current plan.
- Connect Proalpha. The SkyPlanner team configures the two-way integration to your 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 Proalpha?
SkyPlanner APS is a finite capacity scheduling add-on that integrates with Proalpha in both directions: work orders, operations, resources, parts and stock flow in, and planned operation dates, machine assignments and operator confirmations flow back. Every machine, 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 proALPHA have finite capacity scheduling?
Yes. Proalpha APS optimizes multi-resource plans against targets such as delivery reliability and cycle times, and Feinplanung lets planners adjust the sequence by hand. It needs clean process models and live shop-floor feedback. SkyPlanner APS schedules every machine, person, tool and material in one cloud engine, with Autopilot rescheduling, a public price and a trial on your own work orders.
Should we use Proalpha APS or SkyPlanner?
Choose SkyPlanner if your plan lives in Excel today. Proalpha APS plans well only once process models, resource calendars and live PDC feedback are set up in a Proalpha project, and Proalpha tunes it with its own consultants at a price it quotes per installation. SkyPlanner schedules every machine, person, tool and material in the cloud, Autopilot replans on every change, and operators work from Mobile Confirmations. You go live within weeks, from 199 € per month, after a 30-day trial on your own work orders. You do not need Proalpha APS to use SkyPlanner; if it is active, onboarding sets which system owns the operation dates.
Does SkyPlanner replace Proalpha Production?
No, it works on top of it. Proalpha keeps parts, product process models, materials management, purchasing and finance. SkyPlanner schedules the open work orders against real capacity and sends dates, resources and confirmations back.
Do we need to install anything in Proalpha?
No. SkyPlanner runs in the cloud and writes back through Proalpha’s published REST APIs. Work orders reach SkyPlanner through your Proalpha interfaces, set up during onboarding.
How much does SkyPlanner cost for a Proalpha plant?
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 resources and work orders, connects stock and purchase orders, and switches on the write-back. Everything is tested against your current plan before go-live.
Can we test SkyPlanner before integrating with Proalpha?
Yes. The 30-day trial runs on a CSV or Excel export of your open Proalpha work orders. You see a finite capacity schedule of your own production before any integration work starts.
