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OMP includes a fully automated Order Promiser which replies to order requests in real time. It contains true Capable-to-Promise (CTP) functionality, taking into account the availability of machine capacity, raw materials, tooling and other resources. In addition, the planning tool takes into account the type of demand, such as MTO versus MTS, and short-term orders versus week orders. The planning system also reacts immediately to unforeseen events, making sure you can keep your promises.

OMP can easily be set up in a multi-site environment. Products will be allowed to follow alternative production routes, taking into account equipment specifics in the different facilities. The overall production cost takes into account machine and material efficiencies, transport costs, and the availability of specific resources, etc. The total cost-based mathematical solver will propose the most cost-efficient plan to fit the constraints.

OMP can handle make-to-order (MTO) and make-to-stock (MTS) products simultaneously. Capacities can be reserved for specific customers or product types and planners always see the impact of their planning decisions. The OMP mathematical solvers carefully balance the risk of late MTO delivery and the risk of an MTS stockout, taking into account all the cost aspects and constraints. In addition, production and performance analysis functionality gives insight into repeat product demand patterns, allowing you to decide which products should be managed on an MTS basis.

OMP’s integrated Transport Planning functionality is based on ful-cost optimization, taking into account trip and load optimization at the same time. Because it is integrated in the planning system, it provides constant and accurate visibility from both sides – the transport planner sees the actual order completion time, and the production scheduler and shop floor operators see the planned truck departure times. Any conflict arising from a delay or a change on one side will immediately be visible in the conflict handling framework.

In OMP, available space for work-in-process (WIP) between the different operations can be defined as planning and scheduling constraints. Available space can be expressed by volume (m³), floor space occupation (m²), or length (m), depending on the production unit. WIP graphs are dynamically calculated from the production schedule and are visualized as a Gantt chart. You can then immediately evaluate how a change in the schedule impacts the WIP volumes. Adequate WIP levels in front of each conversion machine are maintained by synchronizing the corrugator and conversion schedules. Interactive WIP graphs clearly visualize future WIP levels, allowing you to take action in the event of a predicted material run out or WIP overload.

OMP includes a Paper Supply Chain Network Designer to help align paper and packaging production. This solution checks the actual and expected demand emerging from the box plants, including which widths are needed when and where. The built-in mathematical solver verifies stock levels, calculates production and transport costs, and optimizes make-or-buy decisions to create a cost-optimal paper production plan. And it takes care of slitting optimization on the paper machines at the same time.

Our Demand Management functionality can certainly help you to improve forecasting in your make-to-stock business. The solution uses a statistical engine, including specific models suited to the B2B context, to generate reliable forecasts. It includes extended functionality to manage and cleanse historic demand data.

Mathematical optimization has been at the core of the OMP solution since its foundation. Our deckling optimizers for the various industries are based on a relevant-cost model, taking into account all the elements generating costs, including capacity utilization, material setup, trim waste, work-in-process, and handling costs etc. However, it’s not a black box. You can configure the solver to suit your specific situation and you can also enforce certain decisions manually. You control how the mathematics turns your strategy into reality.

OMP allows planning, deckling and scheduling to be run in fully automatic mode, relying on the built-in decision support functionality that normally takes all routine work out of the planner’s hands. A diagnostics framework constantly verifies whether action is needed, for example in the event of a machine running out of work, a rush order coming in, or a machine stopping. In automatic mode, intelligent algorithms will then decide what action to take and how to adjust the plan, taking into account the desired KPIs. In general, this will generate far better results than improvised ad-hoc decision-making.

The OMP Shop Floor solutions for the packaging industry constantly feed a history database, registering production rates, setup times and waste percentages for each product. AI techniques allow OMP to overrule default production rates or waste percentages based on analysis of similar products, making the schedule more reliable and robust. In addition, the schedule is adapted automatically whenever the system notices that a given order on a machine is running slower or faster than expected.

In OMP, assembly structures can be defined, involving components that follow completely different routings or that are purchased externally. The planning system will ensure that production orders are launched at the right moment to produce the right quantity of each component at exactly the right time, while the scheduling system will ensure synchronization between the different production orders.

OMP has a solution called OMP Corrugator Lab, allowing past order packages to be optimized against equipment under consideration for investment. The tool behaves like a real planner, displaying the trim, production costs, and paper widths used for your order mix. The tool can also be used to simulate other scenarios, for example to find the best mix of paper widths to run on your machines. You can either purchase and install the Corrugator Lab to do these simulations yourself, or OMP can do them for you as a consulting project.

The OMP Quality Tracing solution allows quality checks to be traced. You define the required quality checks per machine and the order or product type. This will prompt the operator to take a sample and register the quality test result in OMP. The quality tracing details are stored in the history database for reporting, later analysis and detailed order tracing.

OMP supports paperless communication between resource preparation and production. The resources needed (stereos, dies, inks or special materials) for the current schedule are displayed for the work preparation department in a separate OMP window. Once prepared, the resource is marked as ready. Machine operators always clearly see the actual status of each resource.

OMP gives machine operators online access to accurate schedule and order information to ensure production according to specifications. The machine queue and all order details are clearly displayed, showing customer data, product data, order progress, routing, inks, setup, pallets, and earlier complaints, and more. The queue also immediately reflects every change in the schedule or order progress. Simple click actions allow detailed information on customer, product, inks, required resources, printing info and production feedback from previous machines to be visualized.

OMP can be configured to prevent operators from deviating from the machine schedule, unless the sequence is overruled by a supervisor indicating the reason. Schedulers will be alerted when a sequence is overruled. Before leaving for the day for example, schedulers can set aside a “reference schedule”, which is a schedule snapshot for later comparison with the actual production, allowing deviations to be easily detected.

The OMP solution can be fully integrated into your IT environment by means of standard integrations. This includes integration with order-to-cash systems, and a wide variety of shop floor devices such as machine controllers, conveyor systems, ink kitchens and high-bay storages. If the production machines lack an advanced controller allowing us to integrate with it, the OMP CMI kit can be used as a bridge between any machine and the OMP tools. This allows for automatic production feedback and online updates to the planning modules.