Integrations / ERP / Sylob
Does Sylob ERP Have Finite Capacity Scheduling? Sylob Planning and CADPLAN vs SkyPlanner APS
Yes, per work center. In Sylob 9 each work center (centre de charge) runs at infinite or finite capacity, and a finite work center takes one operation at a time. Sylob’s own training advises starting with infinite capacity. Optimized scheduling under constraints sits in CADPLAN, the APS that Sylob interfaces with the ERP. SkyPlanner APS is the cloud scheduler that runs beside Sylob ERP, on your own manufacturing orders within a 30-day trial.
How Sylob ERP plans production, step by step
Sylob plans at several levels: “Plan Industriel et Commercial (PIC), Plan Directeur de Production (PDP), plan de charge, ordonnancement court terme,” plus a digital shop-floor plan and employee planning. (Sylob) The production chain has six parts.
1. Articles, nomenclatures and gammes
Items are articles, bought or manufactured. A manufactured article carries a multi-level bill of materials (nomenclature) and a routing (gamme) with its operations, times and milestones. Sylob prepares manufacturing orders “à partir des opérations, temps et jalonnements définis dans vos gammes”, from the operations, times and milestones defined in your routings, and supports alternative routings. (Sylob)
2. Work centers and their calendars
Every operation runs on a work center. Sylob defines it as “un groupe de ressources capable de réaliser la même tâche dans les mêmes conditions”, a group of resources that do the same task under the same conditions. A work center is of type Machine or labor (main d’œuvre). (Forterro knowledge base)
The setup fields that drive capacity:
- Nombre de ressources: the number of machines or people. Capacity is resources times calendar hours.
- Capacité maximum: a threshold above which the work center counts as overloaded, used as a visual alert in the load plan.
- Attente amont / Attente aval: waiting hours before an operation and before the next one, for transit, drying or cooling.
- Semaine type: the standard week, with exceptions that widen or narrow hours or change the number of resources.
- Type de capacité: infinite, or one of three finite values.
3. Net requirements (CBN)
Sylob calculates net requirements (CBN) and gross requirements (CBB) and links planning changes to purchasing and production. (Sylob) Sylob schedules backward: “Sylob planifie au plus tard.” Operations are placed late, toward the need date.
4. The load plan (plan de charge)
A load calculation places OF operations on the work centers. With infinite capacity, Sylob uses need dates only and “Plusieurs opérations peuvent être réalisées en même temps”: several operations can run at once. Overloads become visible in the load plan, and the planner smooths them. The load plan “fonctionne en simulation”, in simulation mode, to test assumptions per work center and to flag late components, undeliverable orders and missing tools.
Forterro rebuilt the load plan in Sylob 9. In its own words, the earlier version was “plus d’un outil de visualisation plutôt qu’un outil de planification dynamique”, more a visualization than a dynamic planning tool, and was often worked around in Excel. (Forterro) The planner now lists the OFs behind the load, sorted by margins and priorities, shifts them and validates.
5. Finite capacity planning
With finite capacity, “une seule opération est permise sur le centre de charge”: one operation at a time, and the work center is treated as a bottleneck. The three finite values decide how employee planning is built: without employee planning, with one employee for the whole operation, or with several employees in sequence. The planner works in the activity “Planifier à capacité finie” so that no two operations overlap.
A company parameter can add a constraint on critical component availability to finite planning. (Forterro)
Since release 2025.Q4.1 a new activity, “Planifier les opérations dans un Gantt”, sits next to the existing ones. It starts from a prior load calculation. The planner moves operations by drag and drop, changes the work center or the number of resources, freezes an operation or a whole OF, and realigns an OF as early or as late as possible. “Les modifications du planning sont répercutées en production uniquement lorsqu’elles sont validées”: changes reach production only once validated. (Forterro)
6. CADPLAN, the APS layer
For optimized scheduling Sylob offers CADPLAN, “la solution logicielle paramétrable CADPLAN, qui s’interface parfaitement à l’ERP Sylob et le complète”. Sylob describes “un algorithme d’ordonnancement à capacité finie sous contraintes”, unlimited launch scenarios, and a Gantt or list view, with the aim to reduce setup time and tool changes. (Sylob)
Forterro’s CADPLAN user training covers the production system, sites, hours and resources, its methods data (manufactured references, phases, tasks, gammes), simulation definitions with OF selection and hypotheses, short and medium term calculations, smoothing and standard heuristics, and interactive editing of the result. Trainees must already master the technical data of the ERP. (Forterro training program)
What stays with the planner
Sylob documents the boundaries of its own planning clearly:
- Infinite first. “Dans la pratique, privilégier le type de capacité \”Infinie\” dans un premier temps.” Sylob advises infinite capacity at the start. Finite capacity needs “un ordonnanceur dédié”, a dedicated scheduler, highly reliable technical data and production declarations close to real time. (Forterro)
- Infinite places work without capacity. In Sylob’s own example, three OFs due on the same day land on one work center “sans tenir compte de la capacité du centre de charge”, without regard to its capacity, and the center is overloaded.
- One operation per finite center. A finite work center runs one operation at a time, and Sylob treats it as a bottleneck.
- Capacity as an alert. Capacité maximum marks overload on the load plan. The planner resolves it.
- Planner validates every change. Plan changes reach production only when validated, and the new Gantt cannot undo the last change. Forterro recommends validating as you go.
- Load figures not yet in the new Gantt. “Les notions de charge utilisée et charge disponible ne sont pas présentes sur cette version d’interface (à l’étude).” Used and available load are not shown in the 2025.Q4.1 Gantt.
- Several planning programs. Forterro lists separate activities for loads, scheduling, finite planning, employee planning and project planning, and notes that none of them was “simple et ergonomique” before the new interface.
CADPLAN adds optimization and has its own boundaries:
- A separate tool with its own data. Sylob describes CADPLAN as interfaced with the ERP, with its own methods data and calculation rules.
- Planner-run simulations. The published workflow is define a simulation, select OFs, set hypotheses, run the calculation, then edit the result.
- No public terms. Sylob publishes no price or license terms for CADPLAN.
Without a finite layer for the whole plant, plants see overloaded work centers, need dates that assume free capacity, and a shadow plan in Excel.
When Sylob ERP’s own planning is enough
Sylob’s load plan and finite work centers do the job when:
- One or two bottleneck work centers limit the plant and the rest has slack.
- Each bottleneck runs one operation at a time.
- Lead times are long and a weekly load review is fast enough.
- A planner validates the plan and sequences jobs at the machine.
- Changeovers, shared tools and material arrival do not decide the order of work.
If you run CADPLAN, test it against the checklist below. Whichever scheduler you choose, one system owns the operation dates.
When you need a finite capacity scheduler
You have outgrown load-plan planning when several of these are true:
- Delivery dates slip although the backward-scheduled need dates looked fine.
- Bottlenecks move with the product mix.
- Work centers have several machines and each one must be scheduled.
- Changeover time depends on which product ran before.
- Molds, dies or fixtures are shared between machines.
- People, shifts and absences limit the plan, and some jobs need several operators at once.
- Material arrival from purchase orders decides which job can start.
- Rush orders and breakdowns force a replan several times a week.
- Operators need their own queue on a phone or tablet.
What to look for
Ask every vendor, CADPLAN included, about each point:
- Every resource finite at once: every machine, operator and tool, each with shifts, not one bottleneck at a time.
- A setting time matrix: sequence-dependent, asymmetric changeover times between products, used to minimize total setup.
- Tools as finite shared resources, so one fixture is never on two machines at once.
- Multi-operator jobs staffed with people who have free shifts.
- Material-aware scheduling against stock and incoming purchase orders, not stock alone.
- Alternative machines and personnel the engine uses when the primary resource is busy.
- Automatic rescheduling when production progresses or orders change, without a planner defining and running a simulation.
- Operator queues on phone or tablet, with declarations back to the plan.
- A trial on your own OFs before any license or project decision.
- A clear write-back to Sylob. Planned dates belong on the OF operations, and declarations on the same operations. Agree which system owns operation dates.
The options fall into three groups:
- CADPLAN is the APS module Sylob interfaces with the ERP.
- Workshop scheduling tools from French vendors that read OFs from the ERP.
- Cloud APS with shop-floor execution, where SkyPlanner sits, schedules every resource automatically beside Sylob. It keeps replanning as production changes and puts the schedule in operators’ hands.
The method behind all of them is explained in our finite capacity scheduling guide.
Where SkyPlanner fits
SkyPlanner APS covers every point on that list. Every workstation, person and tool is finite. A Sylob work center with three machines becomes three workstations in a group, each with its own queue. The Arcturus AI engine builds an operation-level schedule in seconds, sequenced by your priorities and due dates.
The setting time matrix holds changeover times between product pairs in both directions, for example blue to red 30 minutes and red to blue 60. The engine picks the order with the least setup. Tools are finite shared resources, a job can need several operators at once, and the engine uses alternative machines or personnel when the primary resource is unavailable.
Material-driven scheduling simulates future inventory from Sylob stock and open purchase orders (commandes fournisseurs). Ordered material counts as available on its delivery date, so work is planned only when material is there.
Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes, within your locks and priorities, including the Running Time Lock. Planners edit jobs on an interactive Gantt timeline. Operators see their queue and log work on phone or tablet with Mobile Confirmations, Production Timer and Quick Log Mode.
Choose SkyPlanner over CADPLAN when:
- You need a live schedule in weeks. SkyPlanner is cloud software beside Sylob ERP that reads your existing OFs and gammes. You test it on your own OFs in the trial and run live within weeks after onboarding starts.
- The plan must keep itself current. CADPLAN’s published workflow runs planner-defined simulations on selected OFs. Autopilot replans automatically on every meaningful change.
- Every resource limits the plan. Sylob’s finite centers run one operation at a time. SkyPlanner plans every machine, person and tool as finite at once, with the setting time matrix, multi-operator jobs, alternative workstations and purchase-order arrivals in one schedule.
- Operators should work from the live queue. Mobile Confirmations give every operator the current queue on a phone or tablet, and declarations go back to Sylob.
Start with a CSV or Excel export of your open OFs 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. The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs, together with your plan. Implementation is normally completed within weeks after onboarding starts.
SkyPlanner integrates with Sylob ERP in both directions: OFs, gammes, work centers, stock and purchase orders flow in, and planned operation dates and production declarations go back. The SkyPlanner team configures it during onboarding, or your Sylob partner or developers build it on the documented REST API (API reference).
Read the overview on the SkyPlanner for Sylob ERP page, the technical details in the Sylob ERP integration guide, or 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.
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.
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.
FAQ
Does Sylob ERP have a scheduling tool?
Yes. Sylob 9 has a load plan per work center, short-term scheduling with a Gantt, finite capacity planning on work centers set to finite, and employee planning. CADPLAN is Sylob’s APS module for optimized scheduling under constraints.
What is the difference between infinite and finite capacity in Sylob?
On an infinite work center, operations are placed on need dates and several can run at once, so overloads show in the load plan. On a finite work center, only one operation runs at a time and the planner schedules it with “Planifier à capacité finie”. Sylob advises starting with infinite capacity.
Is CADPLAN part of Sylob ERP?
Sylob presents CADPLAN as its APS module and describes it as interfaced with the ERP. It has its own methods data, simulation calculations and heuristics, and Forterro trains users and administrators on it separately.
Can SkyPlanner run next to Sylob ERP without CADPLAN?
Yes. SkyPlanner schedules Sylob OFs directly and writes planned dates back to the OF operations. It also checks stock and open purchase orders from Sylob before it plans a job.
Can I test SkyPlanner before integrating it with Sylob ERP?
Yes. Export open OFs, operations and work centers from a Sylob query to CSV or Excel and import them during the 30-day trial. No credit card is needed. See pricing, start the trial or talk to sales.
