Integrations / ERP / QAD Adaptive ERP
Does QAD Adaptive ERP Have Finite Capacity Scheduling? CRP, Line Scheduling and SkyPlanner APS
Partly. QAD Adaptive ERP loads production lines finitely in the Advanced Repetitive Line Schedule Workbench. Discrete work orders get their capacity view from Capacity Requirements Planning (CRP), which schedules backward from due dates and leaves overloads to the planner. QAD’s sequenced scheduler is a separate product, QAD Advanced Scheduling. Plants that need every machine, person, tool and material scheduled finitely run SkyPlanner APS beside QAD.
This article uses QAD’s Enterprise Edition 2020 and 2021 user guides, the latest public ones. QAD Adaptive ERP is the current name for the same ERP, including the former Enterprise Edition, QAD Cloud ERP and MFG/PRO.
How QAD plans capacity, step by step
1. Capacity master data
Capacity starts in Work Center Maintenance (14.5), grouped by Department Maintenance (14.1). A work center’s capacity comes from its machines or personnel times the hours in the shop calendar. Routing Maintenance (14.13.1) holds the operations for an item, each with queue, setup, run, wait and move times. Product Structure Maintenance (13.5) holds the components.
2. MRP and work orders
MRP creates planned orders. Work Order Maintenance (16.1) and Work Order Release/Print (16.7) turn them into released work orders. The standard routing is copied into each work order and can be changed in Work Order Routing Maintenance (16.13.13), until a limit QAD states plainly: “Once the work order status is Exploded, Allocated, or Released, no more changes can be made to the routing.” (source)
3. Capacity Requirements Planning: backward from the due date
Recalculate Capacity Plan (24.1) runs after MRP. It explodes routings for planned, firm planned and released orders and dates every operation. QAD describes the logic: CRP “takes the due date of an order or repetitive schedule and schedules each of its operations from the last operation in the order routing or process backward to the first one.”
Load counts only setup and run time. “Queue, wait, and move times are excluded from load calculations.” The whole operation load lands on one day: “The system assigns the entire load for an operation to its scheduled start date.” Input/Output Inquiry (24.4) and Input/Output Report (24.5) compare planned and actual load. (source)
4. Advanced Repetitive: finite loading for lines
Repetitive plants set up lines in Production Line Maintenance (18.22.1.1) and schedule them in the Line Schedule Workbench (18.22.1.10). QAD’s guide describes the goal: “Run a production line with repetitive schedules, forward scheduled to capacity limits.” The workbench sequences quantities on the line with changeovers, and the results become repetitive schedules.
5. The scheduling workbenches
The Master Scheduling Workbench and Production Scheduling Workbench schedule discrete and repetitive items on production lines. QAD says “the PSW lets you schedule discrete and repetitive items on production lines,” sequencing items within a day and shift. Both “are .NET UI-only scheduling tools,” and both “require an active Maintenance license before you can access them.” (source)
6. QAD’s separate planning products
- QAD Advanced Scheduling, introduced in 2024, schedules plant-floor work “on a sequence-sensitive continuous time-line (Gantt chart)” (QAD blog). QAD describes the result as “a minute-by-minute, line-by-line optimized production schedule for each plant.”
- QAD DSCP Production Planning builds a constrained multi-site production plan.
- QAD Redzone is QAD’s connected workforce product, fed by the schedule.
What stays with the planner
- Overloads. CRP reports load against capacity. “If a work center or machine is over- or under-loaded, you can modify either its capacity or the timing or amount of the load.”
- Manual dates are overwritten. “When you run CRP, all open operations for selected work orders are rescheduled. That means that if you have manually adjusted your operation start and stop dates, they will probably be changed unless you also adjusted the work order release and due date to match.”
- Load in one day. Multi-day operations put their whole load on the start date, so daily load views spike and then drop.
- Lead time from an average. If order quantities differ from the average used for lead time, “CRP may schedule the start date for an order’s first operation before the release date for that order.”
- Released routings are frozen. No routing changes after Exploded, Allocated or Released.
- Setups do not depend on sequence. Each routing operation has one setup time, whatever ran on the machine before.
- Workbenches in one UI. MSW and PSW run in the .NET UI only.
Sources: QAD Manufacturing User Guide, Planning and Scheduling Workbench guide.
When QAD’s native scheduling is enough
Core QAD does the job when:
- You run repetitive lines and schedule them in the Line Schedule Workbench or PSW.
- A weekly CRP load view per work center is enough for your delivery promises.
- Machines in a work center are interchangeable, and operators do not limit output.
- Changeovers are short or do not depend on the product that ran before.
- Released work orders rarely change sequence once they start.
If that fits, keep routings, work center capacity and shop calendars realistic, and run CRP after each MRP run.
When you need a finite capacity scheduler
You have outgrown the core tools when several of these are true:
- Delivery dates slip although CRP shows acceptable load by week.
- Planners re-enter operation dates after every CRP run, or keep the real sequence in a spreadsheet.
- You run small batches of discrete work orders across many machines.
- Changeover time depends on which product ran before.
- Operators, shifts and absences limit output as much as machines.
- Dies, molds or fixtures move between machines or presses.
- Late material decides which job can start.
What to look for
- Every resource finite at once: machines, people and tools, not work center totals.
- Operation-level sequencing by priorities and due dates.
- A setting time matrix with sequence-dependent, asymmetric changeover times.
- Tools as finite shared resources and multi-operator jobs.
- Material-aware scheduling that checks inventory and incoming purchase orders.
- Automatic rescheduling when progress or orders change.
- A clean QAD data path. Reads through QXtend Outbound or the business document REST APIs, writes through QXtend Inbound into Work Order Maintenance. Ask every vendor which QDocs it uses and who supports it after go-live.
For the general method, see the finite capacity scheduling guide.
Where SkyPlanner fits
SkyPlanner APS closes each gap listed above. Every workstation, person and tool is finite. The Arcturus AI engine builds an operation-level schedule in seconds, sequenced by job priority, completion date, customer priority, Fast Track and Dynamic Priorities.
Its setting time matrix holds the changeover time between each pair of products in both directions, and the engine picks the order with the least setup. Tools are finite shared resources, several people can work the same job at once, and work moves to alternative machines or personnel when the primary one is unavailable.
Material-driven scheduling simulates future inventory from stock and incoming purchase orders, so a job is planned when its material is there. Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes, and Running Time Lock freezes the next hours of work so the floor is not disrupted. Operators log work on phone or tablet with Mobile Confirmations, Production Timer and Quick Log Mode.
Choose SkyPlanner over QAD Advanced Scheduling and the scheduling workbenches when:
- Your work is discrete work orders on machines and people. QAD describes Advanced Scheduling as a line-by-line schedule for each plant. SkyPlanner sequences every operation on every machine, operator and tool.
- CRP keeps moving your dates. SkyPlanner writes the work order release and due dates that match its schedule, the condition QAD names for keeping dates through a CRP run.
- Changeovers, tools, crews and material decide the sequence. The setting time matrix, finite tools, multi-operator jobs, alternative workstations and purchase-order arrivals sit in one schedule.
- Planners and operators work in the browser. The workbenches run in the .NET UI only. SkyPlanner users are unlimited, and Mobile Confirmations put the queue on every phone or tablet.
- You want a live schedule in weeks. Test SkyPlanner on your own QAD work orders in the trial, and go live within weeks after onboarding starts.
Start with an Excel export of open QAD work orders in the 30-day free trial (up to 20 workstations, no credit card). After that, pricing is 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.
SkyPlanner integrates with QAD Adaptive ERP in both directions through QAD QXtend. The SkyPlanner team configures it during onboarding, and your partner or developers can work on the documented REST API. See the SkyPlanner for QAD Adaptive ERP page, the QAD Adaptive ERP integration guide or all ERP integrations.
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.
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
Is QAD CRP infinite capacity?
CRP does not cap load at capacity. It schedules operations backward from the order due date and reports load against capacity, and the planner resolves overloads by changing capacity or the timing of the load.
What is the QAD Line Schedule Workbench?
It is the Advanced Repetitive program (18.22.1.10) that schedules production lines forward to capacity limits, with changeovers. It covers repetitive schedules on lines, not discrete work orders across machines.
Is QAD Advanced Scheduling part of QAD Adaptive ERP?
QAD offers Advanced Scheduling as its own product, introduced in 2024, and presents it with DSCP Production Planning and QAD Redzone. Core Adaptive ERP planning is MRP, CRP and Advanced Repetitive.
Does QAD handle sequence-dependent setup times?
On repetitive lines through the Line Schedule Workbench changeovers. For discrete work orders, each routing operation carries one setup time. SkyPlanner’s setting time matrix stores changeover times between product pairs in both directions and sequences jobs to minimize them.
Can I test SkyPlanner before integrating it with QAD?
Yes. Import open work orders, routings and work centers from QAD as Excel or CSV during the 30-day trial and compare the schedule with your current plan. See pricing, start the trial or talk to sales.
