Asprova APS: Distinct Advantages

advantage one

100% Precise Mapping of Your Reality

Companies often handle a broad range of products, each with distinct attributes Add to that the complexity of hundreds or thousands of raw materials, various production processes, main and sub resources with unique capabilities, and alternative resources or materials. Additionally, there are diverse rules governing customer orders, contracts, supply chain logistics, inventory management, and transportation resources.

Accurately mapping these real-world conditions is a fundamental requirement for production scheduling software. If even one out of a hundred rules is mapped incorrectly, the scheduling results become useless in just one day. With scheduling, there’s no in-between: It’s either full accuracy or failure. For 30 years, Asprova has been achieving this level of accuracy for its clients without fail.

advantage two

High Calculation Speed

Calculation Speed is crucial for realistic scheduling! In a factory, unexpected events happen daily—late deliveries from suppliers, sudden rush orders, or machine breakdowns. Quick response is key to effective production scheduling. One of Asprova’s standout features is its extremely high calculation speed. With Asprova APS, schedulers can simulate changes in seconds or minutes, quickly visualize and grasp the impact to decide on the best alternative.

For example, scheduling 10 production processes results in 10! (factorial of 10) = 3,628,800 different sequencing options. For 100 processes, it’s ≒10¹⁵⁸—a mind-boggling number of possibilities. In real-world production scheduling, at least 10,000 operations need to be managed. Imagine how challenging it is to find the absolute optimal solution in a limited time frame. The number of calculations for 10,000 processes is 10000! ≒10³⁵⁶⁶⁰.

As a true APS system, Asprova can handle and optimize this level of complexity—something “APS” modules in ERP or MES systems can’t even come close to achieving.

advantage three

Comprehensive Scheduling

Asprova is a holistic APS system that offers orchestrating end-to-end scheduling across your entire operation. In production scheduling, there is no middle ground—it’s either 100% accurate or not at all.
To achieve realistic scheduling outcomes, all relevant factors must be considered holistically and factored in accordingly. Every aspect of the value-added chain —supply chain, inventory management, purchase orders, material fluctuations, and even equipment maintenance—is interconnected.
Scheduling that focuses only on isolated areas or ignores the supply chain is of limited value.

advantage four

Precise Sequencing–No Bucket Scheduling

Asprova APS automatically creates an exact and optimal sequence for each resource to minimize stagnation between processes, synchronize processes, and achieve the shortest possible lead times.
In bucket-oriented scheduling, foremen or machine operators decide the sequence of order processing. This can lead to situations where, for example, in a single-day bucket with five processes, the lead time for all orders could increase by up to 500%—compared to an optimized sequence scheduled by Asprova. Now, imagine how much worse stagnation and lead times could get with a weekly bucket schedule.

advantage five

Solving Excess Inventory and Part Shortages

The most common disruptions in production continue to be missing parts—regardless of the industry. On the other hand, many manufacturing companies struggle with high inventory levels. How does this contradiction happen? Incorrect MRP calculations in ERP systems lead to both high inventory and frequent missing parts.

Issue 1: Calculating the start time for production orders based on fixed lead times. This ignores the fact that the actual lead time, even for the same product, can vary depending on the workload of all processes and resources.
Issue 2: ERP systems schedule production with infinite capacity. This approach may work for simple production processes (e.g., continuous processes over a long period). But who has such simple processes today, apart from the chemical or oil industries? Most manufacturing companies have complex parallel, converging, and diverging processes.

Asprova’s software schedules realistic and precise production timing for all orders and resources—accurate to the day, hour, and minute. Only with this foundation can a correct MRP calculation be achieved in the ERP system.

With the implementation of Asprova APS, users can drastically reduce both part shortages and inventory levels.

advantage six

Synchronizing Parallel and Converging Processes

In manufacturing companies with parallel processes, there are always merging and possibly branching processes. Asprova APS calculates the optimal timing for these nodes to meet the targeted completion date.
It also sequences all upstream and downstream processes for maximum efficiency—ensuring perfect synchronization of parallel processes—allowing even the most complex products to move through production with minimal lead times. Industries like machinery and aerospace often manage hundreds or even thousands of parallel and converging processes, making precise scheduling essential.

advantage seven

Precise Long-Term Simulations

Asprova APS can simulate mid- to long-term plans (5–10 years) with precision—using the same Routings, BOMs, Resources with finite capacities, and shift calendars as in detailed scheduling, all within minutes! This enables management to assess the feasibility of sales forecasts months or even years in advance, simulate workforce requirements, adjust shift plans as needed, or evaluate the impact of planned equipment investments.

advantage eight

Predictive KPI

Everyone has past KPI, but they only reflect what’s already happened and can no longer influence current outcomes. Asprova APS gives you a glimpse into the future via simulation. With each scheduling run, you can instantly generate hundreds of standard or custom predictive KPI, such as on-time delivery rates, capacity utilization, value-added time, setup time, stagnation time, production and delivery lead times, manufacturing costs, and more. These predictive KPI can be broken down into:

Periodic KPI for specific timeframes
Product KPI for specific products
Resource KPI for specific resources
Customer KPI for specific customers

advantage nine

Precision in Delivery Time Calculation

Asprova schedules completion dates with pinpoint accuracy—down to the day, hour, and minute. By optimizing production sequences and minimizing lead times, you can achieve exceptionally reliable results, boosting both on-time delivery performance and customer satisfaction.

advantage ten

Linking Sales Orders and Production Orders

Visualizing the links between sales orders and production orders is vital for effective scheduling and control. Asprova automatically creates order networks (1-to-1, n-to-1, 1-to-n, n-to-n), making it easy to see how orders relate.
Asprova APS not only displays the timing and quantity relationships between sales orders and production orders but also the entire order network, with all individual links. Schedulers can intuitively navigate this network through the software’s Object Browser, seamlessly moving between tables and Gantt charts.

advantage eleven

Simultaneous Visualization

The human brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text, with visual data making up about 90% of the information it handles. In Asprova APS, data structures and visualizations are integrated into a unified coding framework, ensuring that any changes in the data are reflected across all views without time lag. For example, when a scheduler moves an order in the Gantt chart via drag and drop, dates, times, and inventory levels in the table update instantly—no need to wait for the change to complete. This real-time synchronization allows the scheduler to see the impact of manual adjustments immediately, such as overstock, shortages, delays, or resource overload.