Scheduling Software for Automotive Parts Manufacturers
Customer releases change every week, die changes eat our press time, and we are paying premium freight to hit ship windows. What scheduling software works for an automotive parts supplier?
An automotive parts supplier needs finite capacity scheduling that plans to each release window. EDGEBIC by User Solutions schedules backward from the ship date, splits high-volume runs across identical lines, overlaps stamping, welding and assembly with lot streaming, charges die and tool changes by sequence, and reschedules when releases change.
Last updated
Why Automotive Supplier Schedules Break
An automotive supplier does not ship as soon as possible. It ships to a window. Early parts pile up at the customer dock and late parts can stop their line, so the plan has to land each release on time, not just finish the work.
The capacity is real and finite: a limited number of presses, lines and die sets, with changeovers that depend on which part ran before. When the schedule treats every die change as the same length, or assumes a line is free when it is not, the gap is closed with overtime and premium freight.
- Weekly release changes force a manual rebuild of the whole schedule
- Die changes are longer than the plan assumed, so runs finish late
- Downstream welding or assembly waits for a full upstream lot
- One line is overloaded while an identical line has open time
- Premium freight is the fix for a schedule that was never achievable
- Nobody can say quickly whether a new program fits the current load
How EDGEBIC Schedules an Automotive Parts Plant
EDGEBIC by User Solutions schedules every operation to finite capacity across presses, lines, labor, tooling and shifts, with the mechanisms high-volume discrete plants rely on.
Plan backward from the release window
Backward scheduling places the last operation to finish by the ship date and works back, giving the latest safe start and warning you when a release cannot be made at current load.
Split a run across identical lines
Model identical lines as independent parallel resources and a high-volume job splits across the lines that actually have capacity in the window.
Overlap stages with lot streaming
A transfer batch lets welding or assembly start as soon as enough stamped parts exist, instead of waiting for the whole lot, which shortens lead time without extra WIP.
Die and tool changes charged by sequence
The setup matrix holds changeover minutes from one setup family to the next, so the plan reflects real die changes and the optimizer can sequence to reduce them.
Route to the press group, not one press
Group interchangeable presses of the same capability. A job routed to the group lands on whichever press frees up first.
Keep the plan honest from the floor
Operators log piece counts and start and end times on the shop-floor kiosk. A line running below rate shows up in the schedule, and only the remaining quantity is rescheduled.
Realistic promise dates across 33 locations, and higher customer satisfaction
Cummins Engine
Cummins Engine accessorizes engines for custom applications across 33 locations in the United States. Its corporate systems, old and new, could not handle job shop management the way its shops ran, and the legacy system held only basic part and engine model information for scheduling.
Using Resource Manager for Excel by User Solutions, the lineage that EDGEBIC continues, Cummins scheduled labor and machines months ahead from bills of resource that include tool, labor and machine requirements. The ability to define load and select a realistic promise date produced an increase in customer satisfaction, and the same tool scheduled make-to-stock production of engine parts.
Who Makes EDGEBIC
EDGEBIC is made by User Solutions, Inc. of South Lyon, Michigan, which has built manufacturing scheduling software since 1991. EDGEBIC is RMDB 2.0: the current generation of RMDB (Resource Manager DB), the scheduling engine behind results at the US Navy, GE, Cummins and BAE Systems. RMDB customers remain supported. EDGEBIC is an installed Windows application (.NET 8, SQLite or SQL Server) that works alongside any ERP through Excel, CSV and database import and export. See the EDGEBIC product overview.
EDGEBIC Pricing: Published, One-Time
Two editions of EDGEBIC by User Solutions, both perpetual licenses with updates included and no per-seat annual fee. EDGEBIC is an installed Windows application, not a subscription service. See EDGEBIC pricing and editions or how this compares with the market.
| Edition | What it includes | One-time license |
|---|---|---|
| EDGEBIC APS | Finite capacity scheduling and optimization: graphical routing designer, forward and backward scheduling, Theory of Constraints anchoring, parallel work centers, sequence-dependent setup, lot streaming, operator skills, and a two-layer schedule optimizer. | $25,000 |
| EDGEBIC Complete | Everything in EDGEBIC APS plus MRP, inventory, purchasing and material pegging, so material availability constrains the schedule alongside machines and labor. | $35,000 |
Read More on This Problem
Automotive Parts Scheduling FAQs
Customer Stories
Manufacturers scheduling with EDGEBIC and RMDB, the User Solutions engine behind it.
Schedule one program in a demo
Send the releases and routings for one high-volume program. We will schedule it in EDGEBIC against your lines and show whether each window holds.
Or see EDGEBIC pricing or the EDGEBIC product overview.