Planning and control for the entire production

• Instead of Excel: PLANNING BOARD as an intuitive tool for manual production planning with assistance functions
• Vendor-independent Software-as-a-Service offer with shortest payback times
• Planning efforts in factories reduced by up to 80 percent
• Optimization of capacity utilization and delivery reliability within a few weeks

PLANNING BOARD is one of the latest digital innovations at DMG MORI. After the platform-based software-as-a-service offering passed its baptism of fire with around 80 pilot users, the program is now available to the entire market. The market launch is being accompanied by two special offers: Firstly, with a 30-day "trial run" installation of PLANNING BOARD; secondly, with the purchase of a DMG MORI machine, customers receive the cloud-based products of PRODUCTION PLANNING & CONTROL in a bundle for four months free of charge for testing.

As a pioneer in the digitization of machine tool manufacturing, DMG MORI makes a digital value proposition across the entire value chain.

Planning redefined

Planning, control and feedback form the foundation of every production. Developed by DMG MORI subsidiary ISTOS GmbH in Düsseldorf, the cloud-based PLANNING BOARD, together with the coordinated modules PRODUCTION FEEDBACK and PRODUCTION COCKPIT, creates an extremely simple entry into the digitization of your own factory. And this applies regardless of manufacturer and application as well as across process boundaries.

PLANNING BOARD, PRODUCTION FEEDBACK and PRODUCTION COCKPIT are cloud-based modules that can be used immediately and are maintenance-free. In addition, their use requires no training. This makes the offer particularly interesting for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. The achievable added value results from the possibilities to optimize planning times, reduce lead times, efficiently reduce bottlenecks in production, determine exact delivery dates and recognize availabilities.

Christian Methe, Managing Director of ISTOS GmbH, is optimistic about the market success of "his" digital planning and control tools in view of the features and advantages, and justifies his confidence with an arc of tension from everyday problems to technical solutions: “In our private lives, we gratefully use the possibilities offered by digitization to make our lives easier. For example, we let Google Maps guide us efficiently from A to B.” In manufacturing, on the other hand, companies would often still forgo digital options and use EXCEL or paper documents for production planning, for example. “Even though about 90 percent of plants have schedule changes on the first shift.” And rhetorically asking, he adds, “So why not resort to some kind of navigation to efficiently route orders through production?”

Together with the coordinated modules PRODUCTION FEEDBACK and PRODUCTION COCKPIT, the cloud-based PLANNING BOARD creates an extremely simple entry into the digitization of your own factory.

The cloud-based products from the DMG MORI digital portfolio would take over precisely such navigation, Nadine Martin, Director Business & Communication at ISTOS GmbH, makes the benefits concrete. “PRODUCTION PLANNING & CONTROL already pays for itself after six months, as the planning, feedback and visualization functions as if from a single source and brings about a reduction in the planning effort in the factories of up to 80 percent.” In addition, there would be a noticeable optimization of capacity utilization and delivery reliability within a few weeks, as well as an increase in the utilization of bottleneck machines in the order of 20 percent. The solution includes the following modules:

Digital planning board instead of Excel: 

The PLANNING BOARD is the intuitive tool for manual production planning with assistance functions. The software is suitable for the simple replacement of EXCEL or paper and takes into account limited resources such as workstations, machines and employees.

This is production speaking: 

PRODUCTION FEEDBACK provides real-time feedback from the shop floor; also called shop floor data collection. Meanwhile, PRODUCTION FEEDBACK gives the machine operator an overview of all current production tasks and is directly connected to PLANNING BOARD.

Everything at a glance: 

Although simply structured, the PRODUCTION COCKPIT is a dashboard that can be individually configured and visualizes all production information at a glance – whether delivery reliability, order figures or the status of orders with position, delay and progress are relevant.

Four steps to optimal planning

“Setting up and using the cloud-based PRODUCTION PLANNING & CONTROL solution is extremely simple, despite the comprehensive as well as holistic possibilities of the bundle,” promises Nadine Martin. And indeed: Once registered and logged in, the necessary master data must first be created or imported. The same applies to the relevant workstations, employees and articles. Then configure the article routings and the first production orders can be created.

Customer testimonials

This reads enthusiastically and is obviously inspiring, as evidenced by some customer quotes. For example, for Carmelo Bonanno of frabona GmbH, PRODUCTION PLANNING & CONTROL is the “single point of truth” for all production-related information. The company can use it to close planning gaps and efficiently intercept and distribute order peaks. Scott Pardoe from RICOH also praises the transparency and accuracy with which production lead times can be determined. Hans Schacherbauer from HS-ferinnotec GmbH is one of the users who have been able to improve their capacity utilization by 20 percent thanks to PLANNING BOARD and PRODUCTION FEEDBACK. Chris Santelmann from Santelmann-Zerspanungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG also explicitly praises the real-time communication between planning and production. His succinct conclusion: “Exactly fitting our requirements as a contract manufacturer.”

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