Production scheduling for machine builders
Machinery manufacturing production scheduling software
SkyPlanner APS turns your projects, product structures, workstations, purchased parts and shifts into one finite-capacity schedule. It plans every part and sub-assembly so it is ready when final assembly needs it, and rebuilds the plan in seconds when a design changes, a supplier delivery slips or a new machine is sold. It integrates with any ERP or MES through its open REST API.
- Multi-level structures and projects
- Finite-capacity scheduling
- Any ERP or MES via REST API
- From 199 € / month
Thousands
of work orders scheduled automatically, Mamec
Real time
view of production for the whole organization, Mamec
98%
delivery reliability, up from around 50%, KJH-Comp
2 → 1
supervisors needed for scheduling, KJH-Comp
Results reported by SkyPlanner customers Mamec (industrial mixers and pumps) and KJH-Comp (welded steel structures and fully assembled products). Read all SkyPlanner APS reviews
Why machine building is hard to schedule
Deep structures, long lead parts, fixed promises
A machine is a project. Hundreds of parts and sub-assemblies from your own shop and from suppliers have to arrive at final assembly in the right order, and the customer is waiting for one delivery date.
Structures run many levels deep
Frames, modules, sub-assemblies and machined parts each have their own routing, and every branch has to be finished before the step it feeds can start.
Purchased parts set the pace
Gearboxes, drives, hydraulics and control cabinets arrive on supplier dates. One late component can stop an assembly that is otherwise ready.
Assembly capacity is people
An assembly bay only produces when fitters, electricians and testers are on shift. Machines can run overnight, assembly teams usually cannot.
Every project has milestones
Frame complete, wiring done, test run, shipment. A slip early in the project moves everything after it, and the customer notices at the end.
Designs change mid-project
Customer-driven engineering changes alter the structure and the manufacturing sequence while work is already under way, and the plan has to follow.
The spreadsheet cannot see the BOM
Spreadsheets and ERP planning load work to infinite capacity and lose the link between a module and the parts it waits for, so one late gearbox means hours of manual rework.
SkyPlanner plans a machine the way it is built: from the deepest part up to final assembly. Every level is loaded to real capacity, purchased parts gate the jobs that need them and a design change is replanned through the whole project in seconds.
Project and multi-level structure scheduling
Every sub-assembly ready when final assembly needs it.
In machine building the critical path runs through the structure. SkyPlanner schedules each branch of the project so parts and modules merge in the right order, within the capacity you actually have.
Draw the structure once
The visual editor maps how a machine is actually built: sub-products, process steps, durations, setup times and the dependencies between them. What you draw becomes the routing the scheduler plans against.
Branches merge in the right order
Sub-products feed the main product, so a module cannot enter final assembly before its parts are complete. The same editor plans whole projects, not just single orders.
One change, the whole project in view
When one step changes, the Arcturus AI engine reschedules by dependency, so the effect on later steps and on the delivery date is visible immediately instead of at the end of the project.
How SkyPlanner schedules a machine builder
Machining, welding and assembly on one plan
SkyPlanner schedules to the capacity you really have, with the parts you really have, and shows the same plan on the shop floor and in the assembly hall.
Finite capacity across machining, welding and assembly
Each machine, welding cell and assembly bay has its own shift calendar, and planned maintenance, holidays and breakdowns can be entered as exceptions. Personnel scheduling assigns people to shifts and workstations, so the plan never puts assembly work in a bay that has nobody to build it.
- No job lands on an unstaffed or blocked workstation
- Several plants scheduled together, with transfer times between sites
Purchased parts and multi-level bills of materials
A machine combines your own machined and welded parts with components bought from suppliers. SkyPlanner handles multi-level bills of materials and sub-products, calculates material needs at every level and, with material-based scheduling on, starts a job only when its parts will be there. If a supplier delivery slips, the job moves to when the parts are available.
- Need dates for purchasing flow back to your ERP
- Due dates for individual process steps, so each module is ready on its milestone
Machining, welding and assembly see the same plan
Machinists, welders and assembly technicians see their own work queue in a simple worker view or the SkyPlanner shop-floor app. They start, pause and complete jobs and report progress as they go, so the schedule always reflects what has actually been built. Logged hours also make future duration estimates more realistic.
Engineering changes, late parts, new machines sold
A late gearbox reshuffles the project in seconds
When an engineering change arrives, a purchased part is late or a test run calls for rework, the Arcturus AI engine rebuilds the schedule in seconds. Lock jobs that must not move, raise priorities or fast-track an urgent project.
- Add a new machine as a sales prospect scheduled as a simulated order and see the earliest realistic delivery date, without disturbing confirmed projects.
- Reserve capacity for a likely deal, and turn the prospect into a production order with one change of status when it is won.
- Quote the ship date from the projects already in your halls and the parts already on order.
Production is under control in a different way, and our understanding of capacity is on a completely different level. SkyPlanner gives the big picture but also makes it really easy to drill into the details. Compared to where we started, this is a whole different world.
Hannu Ryynänen, CEO, Mamec Oy
Industrial mixers and pumps for the process industry, plus high-tech contract manufacturing · Mamec’s SkyPlanner APS review
Integrates with any ERP or MES
Your ERP keeps the BOMs and purchase orders. SkyPlanner decides when each module gets built.
SkyPlanner connects to all ERP and MES systems through its open REST API, including in-house systems. Orders, projects and structures flow in, planned times and material need dates flow back. It also runs standalone, so you can start scheduling before an integration is in place.
From your ERP
ERP · MES · CSV · Manual
- Sales orders & projects
- Products & BOMs
- Materials & purchase orders
- Customers & due dates
SkyPlanner APS
Schedules production
- Workstations
- Shifts
- Structures
- Purchased parts
- Sub-assemblies
- Priorities
- Schedule
Back to your ERP
ERP · Reports · Management
- Planned start & end times
- Material need dates
- Progress & logged hours
- Delivery dates
- SAP S/4HANA
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
- Oracle NetSuite
- Infor
- Epicor
- IFS Cloud
- Sage X3
- Odoo
- Infor VISUAL
- ProfitKey ERP
Where SkyPlanner fits
Used by machine builders of every size
From one assembly hall to groups building in several plants, whether you build boats, trailers, forestry machines or pumps and valves. If your machines are built from many levels of parts and the ship date is a promise to the customer, SkyPlanner plans it.
Machinery segments
- Industrial machinery and production lines
- Process equipment, pumps and valves
- Packaging and food-processing machinery
- Material handling, cranes and conveyors
- Agricultural and forestry machinery
- Boats and shipbuilding
- Specialty vehicles and trailers
- Machine tools and automation cells
- Special-purpose and test equipment
- Contract manufacturers of complete assemblies
Why SkyPlanner
Why machine builders plan their projects in SkyPlanner
SkyPlanner APS is AI production scheduling software for machinery manufacturers that want every part, sub-assembly and purchased component planned to real capacity and a ship date they can promise, without replacing their ERP. It runs on its own from day one and connects to any ERP or MES through an open REST API.
Multi-level structures and projects
Draw the machine once in the visual editor. Sub-products, process steps and dependencies become the routing, and every branch is finished before the step it feeds.
Purchased parts gate the plan
Material-based scheduling starts a job only when its parts will be there, and need dates for purchasing flow back to your ERP.
Engineering changes in seconds
The Arcturus AI engine rebuilds the finite-capacity schedule in seconds when a design changes, a supplier slips or a test run calls for rework.
Ship dates sales can promise
Schedule a new machine as a simulated order and see the earliest realistic delivery date without disturbing confirmed projects.
Published price, free trial
From 199 € / month with 5 workstations included. Start a 30-day free trial with up to 20 workstations and no credit card.
Any ERP or MES, 29 languages
Schedule on your own before any integration, then connect any ERP or MES through the REST API. The user interface comes in 29 languages for plants in several countries.
Security and data
SkyPlanner runs in the cloud on AWS. If your data needs to stay in a specific country, a dedicated server there is available by agreement. Data is backed up daily and backups are kept for 30 days. Users can sign in with Google or Microsoft accounts and two-factor authentication. A data processing agreement is available, and customer data is never used to train AI models.
Pricing
From 199 € / month
5 workstations included. Each additional workstation is 20 € per month. There is a free trial, and guided onboarding packages are available if you want help setting up workstations, product structures and projects.
Questions machine builders ask
Frequently asked questions
What is the best production scheduling software for machinery manufacturers?
A machine builder needs scheduling software that plans multi-level structures and whole projects to finite capacity, starts jobs only when purchased parts will be there and gives sales a ship date from the real load in the plant. SkyPlanner APS does all three, and the Arcturus AI engine rebuilds the schedule in seconds when a design changes or a supplier slips. Pricing is published, from 199 € / month, there is a 30-day free trial, and SkyPlanner integrates with any ERP or MES through its REST API.
What kind of scheduling system is SkyPlanner for an engineer-to-order machine builder?
SkyPlanner APS is an advanced planning and scheduling system built for finite capacity, so it plans a machine from its deepest machined part up through modules to final assembly, loading each machining centre, welding cell and assembly bay only to the hours it is staffed. Purchased gearboxes, drives and control cabinets gate the jobs that need them, and the Arcturus AI engine replans the whole project in seconds when a supplier slips.
What happens to a machine project when one purchased gearbox or drive arrives late?
With material-based scheduling on, a module only starts when its purchased components will be on site, so a late gearbox moves the jobs that wait for it and leaves the rest of the project running. Due dates on individual process steps such as frame complete or test run show at once which milestone is at risk, and you lock jobs that must not move while the Arcturus AI engine reshuffles the rest.
Which project and BOM data flows between SkyPlanner and IFS or Infor at a machinery manufacturer?
Sales orders and projects, products with multi-level bills of materials, materials with open purchase orders and customer due dates flow in from IFS, Infor or any other ERP or MES through the open REST API, in-house systems included. Planned start and end times for every sub-assembly, material need dates for purchasing, progress with logged hours and delivery dates flow back. Skycode builds the connection, or your own developers work from the public API documentation.
Do engineering BOMs and purchasing stay in our ERP when SkyPlanner plans the assembly hall?
Yes. Your ERP remains the home of engineering bills of materials, purchase orders, inventory and project costing. SkyPlanner decides when each machined part, weldment and module gets built and in which bay it is assembled, then hands the need dates back so buyers order long-lead components against the real assembly sequence.
How soon can a machine builder see its first project scheduled in SkyPlanner?
Today. Open the 30-day free trial with up to 20 workstations and no credit card, set up your machining, welding and assembly workstations with their shifts, and draw one machine structure in the visual editor or start from demo data. That project schedules to finite capacity on its own before any integration, and onboarding workshops then shape your structures, projects and personnel to the way your hall builds.
Is SkyPlanner right for a single assembly hall as well as a machinery group building in several plants?
Yes, machine builders of every size plan in SkyPlanner, from a boat or trailer builder with one hall to groups producing forestry machines or pumps and valves across sites. Pricing starts at 199 € per month with 5 workstations included, plus 20 € per month for each additional workstation. Multi-plant groups schedule every site together with transfer times between them, and fitters in each country work in their own language among the 29 the interface offers.
Can sales quote a ship date for a new machine before the order is signed?
Yes. Enter the machine as a sales prospect and SkyPlanner schedules it as a simulated order against the projects already in your halls and the parts already on order, showing the earliest realistic delivery date without touching confirmed projects. Reserve capacity while the deal is open, and when it is won one change of status turns it into a production order.
More industries
Production scheduling in related industries
Bring one machine. See the whole project scheduled.
Bring the structure of a recent machine with your workstations and shifts. We will schedule it with you in SkyPlanner and show how every sub-assembly is planned into final assembly, and which ship date you can hold the customer to.
