
Optimum utilization and linking the resulting information streams is no longer conceivable without the qualified use of specialized IT systems. That makes series producers or companies in the automotive industry absolute pioneers in the implementation of IT-supported customer and supplier relationships as well as cross-company business processes (EDI, Collaborative Commerce).
The APplus feature ensures correct transmission of shipping orders, offer planning accuracy and provide for seamless documentation.
Series Production Highlights
With APplus, you are able to optimally network your information flows and always keep an eye on resource availability. On the basis of master data (e.g. parts lists or routings), you plan your series production and have the necessary transparency for production control at your disposal at all times in order to be able to intervene in time if necessary. This is how you secure your delivery reliability with integrated quality management.
Advanced Planning & Scheduling
Your forward-looking, comprehensive and detailed planning tool.
Shop floor control
The right information at the right time at the right place.
Plant data collection
Efficient PDA including staff work time logging and much more.
Bestandteile der ERP-Lösung
für die Serienfertigung

- General contracts in purchasing and sales
- Delivery schedules
- Just-in-time delivery schedules
- Transportation
- Container management
- Consignment warehouse
- Anticipation of credit
- Automatic linkage of ATL@S processes
- Feinplanung APS
However, the specific requirements that series manufacturers place on their IT systems are not limited to the correct transmission of delivery call-offs, shipping orders and shipping notifications. They also have very high demands on the planning accuracy and documentation of their production processes. It is particularly important to be able to react flexibly to changed quantity and deadline requirements. This is because the reported requirements are subject to ever greater fluctuation ranges - with ever shorter lead times. In addition, the traceability of the delivered products is highly relevant for certain product conditions or raw materials.
Compliance with defined quality assurance procedures and cycles as well as the documentation of their results also place high demands on suppliers. In addition, extremely high transparency in cost structures is required. This is the only way to ensure that money is still earned despite the constant pressure on prices. The special APplus modules for series manufacturers and automotive suppliers fully cover all these requirements and enable appropriate handling for all industry-specific processes - regardless of whether it involves the production of individual parts or the delivery of complete system components.
With job tracking, you can call up the status and progress of a production job at any time. Traffic light signals indicate the respective status of the workflow and the material used. This way, you can immediately recognise a delay and react accordingly. Each employee also has the option of having their task pool displayed in a personalised, user-centric portal. In addition, critical jobs can be displayed transparently right away. The modern software architecture of APplus (XML web services) pays off especially where modern EDI processes are to be implemented - a significant contribution to cost reduction.
APplus for series manufacturers networks the most diverse company departments and functional areas, coordinates processes in a targeted manner and controls them across companies. The result is integrated information processing. The benefits quickly become clear: shorter throughput times, higher productivity and more speed thanks to the smooth exchange of information in the process chain. And last but not least, this efficiency contributes to improved supplier evaluation.

Advanced Planning & Scheduling
For APplus, advanced planning and scheduling involves a forward-looking, comprehensive and detailed planning tool for managing a company's entire supply chain. Users have a full palette of simple, user-friendly tools and filter functions for automated planning at their disposal.
Any follow-up steps such as materials resource planning or generating order proposals can also happen automatically if desired. Information about workshop orders and work cycles is visually formatted as a planning board (Gantt chart). This way overdue work steps and deadlines can be identified and graphically displayed via forward scheduling.
Shop floor control
The objective of effective shop floor control is to provide information on work cycles, material, capacity and personnel everywhere it is actually needed, as well as to support the workshop with order processing. Both the process chains in production and the activities for the employees involved in manufacturing are controlled in APplus via the status of the work cycle. Here the scheduler explicitly approves the workshop orders for production.
Then the information about the capacity situation and the availability of the needed materials is available to the scheduler. The employees involved in manufacturing can see vital information on their login screen, such as the activities they have to carry out and information on which materials they need. This eliminates the time-consuming, expensive process of printing documents.



Plant Data Collection
Whether logging orders or tracking staff work time—optimized and secure plant data collection from APplus means all information regarding relevant company processes meshes without issue. Regardless of whether the data is related to personnel, orders or materials. This component provides the actual status of the processes in the company in just a few mouse clicks.
High-quality industrial terminals are used as devices for recording data. Alternatively, a computer-based input screen is used, which, due to its online capability, also permits the collection of decentralized time reporting at subsidiaries or even for service calls or site installations.
EDI processes
All of these business processes between customer and supplier are implemented based on standardized Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) processes. Different manufacturers and countries, however, prefer different standards, such as VDA, ODETTE or EDIFACT. These standard also frequently modified and supplemented for a particular manufacturer. In order to be able to reliably portray all possible variants of electronic communication in series production and the automotive industry, you need a lot of experience with the various EDI standards and the different communication processes.
For this APplus relies on the tried-and-tested XML-based Business Integration Server (BIS) from SEEBURGER AG. Alternatively, the myOpenFactory platform is available. Thanks to its comprehensive functionality, the solution provides greater transparency, faster response times and greater process reliability. The result is a reduction down to essential content. Another big advantage of myOpenFactory is the ability to reach all business partners with just a single interface.