Master Scheduling

With Macola ES's Master Scheduling (M/S), the Available-To-Promise and Rough Cut Capacity functions have been greatly enhanced to serve as a true Master Scheduling function with multiple What-If schedules.

Important advantages of Master Scheduling are:

• Maintain master production schedules
• Maintain forecasts
• Interface to sales forecasting package
• Available-to-promise inquiry
• What-If analysis
• View schedules
• Perform rough cut capacity calculations

Master Scheduling (M/S) makes a statement of what the company expects to manufacture. It reflects the overall, long-term production plans, taking into account the company's sales forecast, material availability and plant capacity. Macola ES's Master Scheduling allows you to closely manage the critical few indicators which, in turn, drive the material and production plan of your remaining items.

Available-to-Promise inquiry
Macola ES's Available-to-Promise Inquiry is one of the most advanced and comprehensive systems available. It provides on-line and current Available-to-Promise (ATP) information for individual inventory items and is a powerful tool to aid order processing, sales personnel and production planning. It virtually eliminates manually reviewing the master schedule required by other systems.

Flexible Master Scheduling
Macola ES's Forecast Order applications in Master Scheduling allow users to quickly enter and maintain their sales forecast. Macola ES's separate Forecast Orders file enables users to manipulate the forecast without affecting the schedule until the forecast is merged into the master schedule. For added convenience, sales forecast orders can be changed, deleted and copied forward using the Forecast application. Additional features of the Forecast application include:

• The Forecast Order Entry application allows users to enter forecasts for finished goods, replacement parts and components.
• Copy and distribute functions are also included within the Forecast Order Entry applications, facilitating the ongoing maintenance of the forecast.
• If Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is in use, forecast orders will be merged into MRP and used to drive requirements.

"What-if" schedules
Master Scheduling allows three separate schedules to be maintained to do "What-If" analysis. Each one of these schedules allows analysis of load vs. capacity using rough cut capacity planning and also allows flexible period based demand vs. supply analysis. All the M/S reports and inquiries will allow reporting against any one of the "What-If" master schedules.

Enhanced Rough Cut Capacity Inquiry
Macola ES's Rough Cut Capacity Inquiry application provides the ideal link to show how the master schedule will utilize the capacity of your company, and whether or not the current schedule is feasible within its current capacity. This unique inquiry works as a feedback to management and to the master scheduling process. The Rough Cut Capacity Report is sequenced by work centers within departments and shows a variety of information, including Machine or Labor Hours, Capacity Hours versus Scheduled Hours, and net Variance Hours.

M/S can be integrated with Production Order Processing (POP) and Shop Floor Control (SFC). It easily lets you see which work centers are over-scheduled and which work centers are under-scheduled, helping you manage and maximize production. Reports and inquiries Include:

• M/S by period report/inquiry
• M/S detail report/inquiry
• What-If comparison reports
• Rough Cut Capacity report/inquiry
• Forecast Consumption report/inquiry