Production planning is a central but often inefficient process in many companies. Planning is often carried out manually in Excel spreadsheets or inflexible tools that do not sufficiently take into account all relevant parameters such as material availability, machine capacity or production cycles. This results in unnecessary waiting times, material changes, high set-up costs and sub-optimal machine utilization.
Together with the customer, Liquam has developed AI-based planning software that automates the entire production plan, adapts it in real time and ensures maximum efficiency.
A practical example:
Until now, a manufacturing company needed two employees an entire week to prepare the production plan for the coming week. The process was characterized by manual entries, recurring reconciliations and a high risk of errors. The result: slow response times for changes, a lack of transparency and unnecessary costs.
In this project, Liquam has developed tailor-made, AI-based production planning for a medium-sized machine manufacturer, which is precisely tailored to the customer's requirements and framework conditions. The starting point was a comprehensive analysis of existing planning processes, production structures and system landscapes. Together with the customer, all relevant parameters were recorded — from machine and material availability to production cycles and personnel planning to the interfaces of the ERP and MES systems. The aim was to reduce manual work steps, eliminate bottlenecks and increase efficiency.
At the heart of the solution is intelligent planning software that automates and dynamically controls the entire production process. The AI creates the optimal production plan, determines the order sequence in such a way that material changes and set-up times are minimized, and ensures the best possible utilization of machines and personnel. It reacts in real time to changes — such as in the event of material shortages or machine failures — and automatically adjusts the plan without manual intervention.
For maximum transparency, a live dashboard was developed that visualizes planning, simulates alternative scenarios and enables data-based decisions. Integrated monitoring continuously analyses the results and continuously improves the algorithms. The solution is seamlessly integrated and can be flexibly extended, for example to include predictive maintenance, quality forecasts or comprehensive supply chain planning.
