APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) - Top Competitors (Nov 2019)

Shlomi Lavi / updated: Nov 20, 2019

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APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) vs. Alternatives in 2024

Some of the main competitors for APS are Demand Solutions APS and IQMS APS.

Demand Solutions APS is available for the manufacturing sector and provides visual scheduling software that is based on materials, equipment and resources status & availability. The tool allows the review of production constraints & operational bottlenecks to allow for dynamic rescheduling of activities to optimize the production process. There is also support for reduction of work-in-progress inventory while ensuring the correct level of just-in-time inventory to meet demand requirements. Additional features include sales & operations planning as well as scenario modeling to test schedules so that KPIs can be improved.

APS also provides a similar solution but focuses on review of order & lead times, product transition times, resource allocation as well as capacity optimization to ensure that the production process can be improved. There is also a scheduling visualization tool which proactively flags areas which need attention, and also supports dynamic re-sequencing of activities in line with the planning process.

IQMS APS on the other hand allows the scheduling of entire production processes including sourcing, assembly, manufacturing, and finished goods delivery, along with support for outsourced operations and secondary production processes as well. Its features include demand versus forecasted analysis, machine selection for optimal production, rescheduling to handle unforeseen circumstances, as well as resource & material planning.

APS does not fully support all of these features and is more focused on materials allocation and resource utilization. Additionally the product includes dependency analysis to see impact of schedule changes on the entire production process so that disruptions can be minimized.