Visual Scheduling Blog

Establishing configure-to-order (CTO) manufacturing processes is tempting. It promises the efficiency and scale effects of standardized (mass) production. Likewise, it pledges the flexibility and customer intimacy of a make-to-order manufacturer. However, theory and practice are two different things. I have met many configure-to-order manufacturers needing help to unleash the expected efficiency gains. Instead, they fight with ambitious customer deadlines and the mere complexity of their (semi-standardized) sub-assembly structures.

The obvious indication of this complexity is the sheer number of items and item variants in their ERP system. Combined with a multi-level bill-of-materials (BOM), this frequently leads to statements such as "we suffer from data ambiguity and fly blind when it comes to an understanding of the impacts of changes in our schedule."

This blog post describes why production scheduling is that hard and specific for configure-to-order manufacturers. Then, it provides production scheduling 101 for configure-to-order manufacturing and gives some ideas on how CTO manufacturers could tackle this challenge - especially when they work with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Following last week's shopfloor discussion episode, here is the 28th episode of the Business Central Manufacturing Show. Again, this episode originates from our Business Central Manufacturing Exchange webinar series. It is a recorded panel discussion on warehouse challenges and solutions. I hosted this panel discussion and was excited to have Žilvinas Lapačinskas (Software Baltic), Mark Hamblin (Insight Works), and James Crowter (Clever Dynamics) as my guests.

The 27th episode of the Business Central Manufacturing Show is somewhat different than all the others that you have been listening to so far. This episode is not a conversation with one guest. Instead, it is a recorded panel discussion on shopfloor challenges and solutions. I hosted this panel discussion and was excited to have Bent Korsgaard (Naveksa), Mark Hamblin (Insight Works), and Matthew Woodhouse (Clever Dynamics) as my guests.

Of course, we at NETRONIC have a passion for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and manufacturing. And although our core focus is rather narrow (scheduling), we always have been looking in a broader sense at manufacturing topics. An example that underlines is my podcast, the Business Central Manufacturing Show. 

Oftentimes, when we speak to customers (and also to partners), we are confronted with requirements that are outside our scheduling core competency. Sometimes, we are asked for shopfloor solutions and time tracking. Another time, it is product configuration. And yet another time, it is that people request some warehouse functionality from us. Not seldomly, we are also asked for manufacturing solutions that are specific to one particular industry.  

Hence, we grasped a general need for more transparency on the Business Central manufacturing apps and solutions landscape. We took that need seriously and launched the Business Central Manufacturing Exchange to address this need.

Late 2020, I kicked off an activity that I completely underestimated. I underestimated the work that it created. And I underestimated the value and insight it would generate. This activity was the State of Business Central and Manufacturing Report 2020.

Now, 16 months later, I am repeating that effort and that work. I again do broad market research on Business Central and the manufacturing industry. And again, I will share all results and findings for free. Now it is on you to help, take less than 10 minutes of your time, and fill out my questionnaire.

We decided to change our product lifecycle policy concerning our add-ins for Dynamics NAV and concerning our extensions for Dynamics 365 Business Central. We (finally) align our release policy with Microsoft's release policy.

Thus, we no longer guarantee the backward compatibility of every new feature we build. We also (eventually) stop supporting NAV (and Business Central) versions that Microsoft doesn't support anymore. However, we offer extended support for business-critical uses of our products. Overall, the streamlined lifecycle helps us gain flexibility, agility, and additional development power. This will further improve our product delivery and the value for our customers.

This blog not only outlines the changes we made. It also reflects the reasons why we are doing so.

I met with Ken Sebahar, who is the President of Solution Systems, Inc., a Microsoft Gold-Certified Partner near Chicago, Illinois. Ken and his colleague Michael host the great podcast “A Shot of Business Central and a Beer” in which they provide listeners with news and updates related to Business Central in an entertaining manner. 

Of course, with a podcast like this, beer was the ideal hook for our conversation. At the beginning of our conversation, you can learn which of us enjoys an advent calendar with German beer. If you listen until the episode's end, you also hear who loves drinking a hot wine punch at a Christmas market. Well, after and before chatting about drinks, we flew full circle on Business Central production orders, jobs, and assembly orders.

Over the weekend, IT security experts around the world sounded the alarm about the critical vulnerability in Apache Log4j library , pointing out the highest IT security risks.

This blog post is to inform you and confirm that none of our currently active marketed products is impacted by this issue.