Global system supplier Achenbach Buschhütten GmbH & Co. KG relies on the APS system FELIOS for detailed scheduling and shift planning, gaining greater transparency and better plannability of its complex configure-to-order process.
The company, based in Kreuztal, Germany, manufactures highly complex, customised machines and plants for flat rolling and foil slitting of non-ferrous metals. With an average lead time of twelve months, components made up of around 80 assemblies, a multitude of work steps and five or more bottleneck machines along the manufacturing process, planning is an enormous challenge and can hardly be handled manually.
With FELIOS, Achenbach Buschhütten achieves forward-looking planning and optimised utilisation of all resources and capacities along the value chain.
"We were no longer able to plan our production sequences sensibly with an ERP system alone."
Planning with the ERP system alone was no longer effective or sustainable, so Achenbach decided to introduce an APS system. FELIOS stood out above all as software tailored to the needs of machinery and plant engineering, as it was developed specifically for the requirements of one-off and small-batch manufacturing and is continuously being improved.
Since introducing the system in mid-2017, the company has reduced its lead times by two to three months and now has the foresight it needs in the directly value-adding areas of production and engineering. Thanks to FELIOS, Achenbach can not only plan optimally for the long term but also respond quickly and efficiently to short-notice and unforeseen events.
FELIOS takes the planning-relevant data from the ERP system and, on this basis and taking into account all actually available resources and capacities, calculates a production sequence with the best possible overall result.
The result
"Since then, we have achieved significantly higher on-time delivery and transparency. As soon as an order comes in, we can predict whether there will be bottlenecks and, if so, where we can optimise early and in a targeted way."
Jochen Steiner, Head of Plant Planning & Control, Achenbach Buschhütten GmbH & Co. KG
Register for the PDF download and find out how FELIOS optimises production planning at Achenbach Buschhütten and what results the company has achieved.
Find out more about our wide range of software solutions, tailored to the complex requirements of your market.
