10 Myths About APS
When Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) systems first surfaced, many ERP proponents rushed to dismiss this exciting technology without taking time to understand how powerful it was. Despite the thousands of success stories, there are still consultants and ERP vendors who still resort to spreading myths in a losing battle against progress.
This list has been compiled over the last twenty years by seasoned proponents of Finite Capacity Scheduling systems. It has been based on countless success stories and is as valid today as it has ever been. The purpose of reviewing this list is to counter some of the misinformation that has been published over the years about scheduling. Most of these myths have been spread by those who do not understand the nature of either the problem or the solution.
MYTH 1: ERP SYSTEMS CAN HANDLE MY SCHEDULING PROBLEMS.
Unless your ERP system comes with an APS system this one is dead wrong. Solving scheduling problems with standard ERP/MRP logic is equivalent to trying to solve a three-dimensional problem with two-dimensional logic. In other words, it simply can’t be done in a timely manner.
MYTH 2: IF I BUY SCHEDULING SOFTWARE FROM MY ERP VENDOR, I WON’T HAVE ANY DATA INTEGRATION PROBLEMS.
Unless your ERP system comes with an APS system this one is dead wrong. Solving scheduling problems with standard ERP/MRP logic is equivalent to trying to solve a three-dimensional problem with two-dimensional logic. In other words, it simply can’t be done in a timely manner.
MYTH 3: BECAUSE I HAVE SO MANY CHANGES, MY SCHEDULE IS USUALLY OUT OF DATE BEFORE IT IS PUBLISHED.
Unless your ERP system comes with an APS system this one is dead wrong. Solving scheduling problems with standard ERP/MRP logic is equivalent to trying to solve a three-dimensional problem with two-dimensional logic. In other words, it simply can’t be done in a timely manner.
MYTH 4: MY SCHEDULERS KNOW OUR ERP SOFTWARE DOESN’T HELP THEM SCHEDULE, SO THEY HAVE DEVELOPED THEIR OWN HOMEGROWN SOLUTIONS USING EXCEL SPREADSHEETS.
Unless your ERP system comes with an APS system this one is dead wrong. Solving scheduling problems with standard ERP/MRP logic is equivalent to trying to solve a three-dimensional problem with two-dimensional logic. In other words, it simply can’t be done in a timely manner.
MYTH 5: BECAUSE WE ARE IMPLEMENTING LEAN CONCEPTS, MY CONSULTANTS TELL ME WE DON’T NEED A COMPUTER -BASED SCHEDULING SYSTEM.
Unless your ERP system comes with an APS system this one is dead wrong. Solving scheduling problems with standard ERP/MRP logic is equivalent to trying to solve a three-dimensional problem with two-dimensional logic. In other words, it simply can’t be done in a timely manner.
MYTH 6: SCHEDULING SYSTEMS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE.
Unless your ERP system comes with an APS system this one is dead wrong. Solving scheduling problems with standard ERP/MRP logic is equivalent to trying to solve a three-dimensional problem with two-dimensional logic. In other words, it simply can’t be done in a timely manner.
MYTH 7: I CAN IMPLEMENT MY OWN SCHEDULING SYSTEM.
Unless your ERP system comes with an APS system this one is dead wrong. Solving scheduling problems with standard ERP/MRP logic is equivalent to trying to solve a three-dimensional problem with two-dimensional logic. In other words, it simply can’t be done in a timely manner.
MYTH 8: MY BUSINESS IS DIFFERENT THAN ANYONE ELSE’S.
Unless your ERP system comes with an APS system this one is dead wrong. Solving scheduling problems with standard ERP/MRP logic is equivalent to trying to solve a three-dimensional problem with two-dimensional logic. In other words, it simply can’t be done in a timely manner.
MYTH 9: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MY NEEDS CHANGE AND I HAVE MADE MAJOR MODIFICATIONS? WILL I ORPHAN MYSELF FROM NEWER VERSIONS OF THE SCHEDULING SOFTWARE?
Unless your ERP system comes with an APS system this one is dead wrong. Solving scheduling problems with standard ERP/MRP logic is equivalent to trying to solve a three-dimensional problem with two-dimensional logic. In other words, it simply can’t be done in a timely manner.
MYTH 10: I DON’T WANT TO KEEP DATA IN TWO SYSTEMS.
Unless your ERP system comes with an APS system this one is dead wrong. Solving scheduling problems with standard ERP/MRP logic is equivalent to trying to solve a three-dimensional problem with two-dimensional logic. In other words, it simply can’t be done in a timely manner.