Configure-to-order (CTO) manufacturing is a production approach in which manufacturers build or assemble products according to customer requirements using predefined components and configuration options.
For production planners, the challenge is coordinating the different components, operations, and resources needed for each configuration. Multi-level bills of materials (BOMs), shared production resources, and changing customer priorities make it difficult to maintain a reliable schedule.
This article is written for production planners and production managers at configure-to-order manufacturers using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. It explains the scheduling challenges of CTO manufacturing and how advanced visual scheduling can help.
What is configure-to-order manufacturing?
Configure-to-order manufacturing allows customers to select from predefined product options. Manufacturers then produce or assemble the selected configuration using components and subassemblies that may already be in stock or need to be manufactured.
CTO differs from other production approaches in how customer-specific products are configured. In make-to-stock (MTS) manufacturing, finished products are produced for inventory based on expected demand. In make-to-order (MTO) manufacturing, production begins in response to customer orders. CTO, by contrast, focuses on building products from predefined configuration options.
What makes configure-to-order manufacturing challenging?
CTO manufacturers must manage product variety while ensuring that the correct materials, production activities, and resources are available for each customer order.
Product configuration complexity. Different configurations require different combinations of components and subassemblies. Multi-level BOMs describe these requirements, including components that must be manufactured before subsequent operations can begin.
Customer expectations and delivery deadlines. Manufacturers need to deliver the selected configuration within the agreed timeframe. Delays in purchased components, internally manufactured parts, or production operations can affect final assembly and delivery commitments.
Inventory management. Some components are held in stock, while others must be purchased or manufactured. Manufacturers need to balance material availability with inventory levels across different product configurations.
Quality control. Each configuration must meet the required specifications and quality standards, despite variations in components and assembly combinations.
IT systems. CTO manufacturing depends on accurate information about configurations, materials, production orders, and resources. Business Central provides manufacturing functionality such as production BOMs, routings, production orders, and material requirements planning. Detailed scheduling helps planners translate production requirements into a workable sequence of operations.
What is production planning and scheduling?
Production planning determines what needs to be produced, in what quantity, and within which timeframe. Production scheduling translates those requirements into a detailed sequence of operations, specifying when work should take place and which resources should perform it.
Production planning |
Production scheduling |
| Determines production and material requirements | Determines operation timing and sequence |
| Considers demand, inventory, and supply | Considers resource assignments, capacity, and priorities |
| Typically covers longer time horizons | Focuses on detailed production execution |
For CTO manufacturers, this distinction matters because each configured product can require a different combination of components and production operations. A production plan identifies what is needed, while a schedule helps coordinate the activities required to complete the customer order.
Resource capacity is an important consideration. Infinite-capacity scheduling allows operations to be scheduled even when their combined workload exceeds available capacity. Finite-capacity scheduling considers available resource capacity when calculating operation timing.
Business Central provides production scheduling based on routings, operation times, and resource calendars. It uses infinite capacity by default, although selected work and machine centers can be configured as capacity-constrained resources. Advanced scheduling adds further capabilities for coordinating capacity, material availability, and production priorities.
How can production scheduling help configure-to-order manufacturers?
Production scheduling helps CTO manufacturers make more informed decisions about resource workloads, delivery commitments, and changing production priorities.
Better visibility into capacity. A detailed schedule shows when operations are planned and which resources they require. Planners can identify potential bottlenecks and assess whether the available capacity can accommodate the production workload.
More reliable delivery commitments. By reviewing operation timing, resource capacity, and material constraints, planners can assess whether customer orders can be completed as scheduled. This provides a stronger basis for discussing delivery dates.
Room to respond to urgent orders and disruptions. When an urgent order arrives or a production disruption occurs, planners can adjust the schedule and assess the effect on other commitments. This helps them respond to changes without treating each order in isolation.
Specific scheduling challenges for configure-to-order manufacturing
The scheduling challenges of CTO manufacturing arise from the relationships between component production, material availability, assembly, and customer-specific orders.
Coordinating machine-based component production with manual assembly
CTO manufacturers often combine machine-based component production with labor-intensive assembly. These activities have different capacity requirements: machine operations depend on available machine and work-center capacity, while assembly depends on the resources assigned to that work. Planners must coordinate the production sequence so that components are ready when final assembly is scheduled to begin.
Scheduling around lead times and material availability
Purchased and internally manufactured components have different lead times, meaning the time needed to obtain or produce them. Planners must account for these when scheduling subsequent operations, since available machine capacity does not mean production can begin before the required materials are ready.
Understanding how order changes affect components and shared resources
A configured product may depend on several components, subassemblies, and production operations. When an order changes, planners need to understand which activities are affected and whether the change influences other orders sharing the same resources.
Adjusting the schedule while keeping its consequences visible
Urgent orders, delayed materials, and resource disruptions can require changes to an established schedule. Planners need to see the current operation sequence and evaluate the consequences before adjusting production priorities.
How does advanced visual scheduling support configure-to-order production scheduling?
Advanced visual scheduling builds on production scheduling by combining scheduling calculations with interactive graphical views. For CTO manufacturers, this means planners can assess resource capacity, material availability, and production priorities while seeing how operations fit together on a timeline.
Netronic, part of Boyum IT Solutions, offers the Visual Advanced Production Scheduler (VAPS) for Business Central. Planners can use its finite-capacity scheduling capabilities to calculate operation timing against available resource capacity.to calculate operation timing against available resource capacity, giving them a schedule that reflects what the shop floor can realistically deliver rather than what was originally planned.
Planners can also use Earliest Material Availability Date (EMAD) calculations in VAPS to identify when required components are expected to become available. Supported scheduling functions can consider this information, while predefined alternative machine centers provide additional options for assigning operations.
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VAPS in Business Central: operations on each machine center, color-coded by material availability based on the latest EMAD calculation.
Interactive Gantt charts show operation timing and resource assignments. Planners can move operations through drag and drop, with changes potentially triggering the rescheduling of affected operations according to the applicable constraints. This lets planners see the downstream impact of a rush order or priority change before committing to it.
Next steps for configure-to-order manufacturers
Effective CTO production scheduling requires planners to coordinate component availability, production capacity, and assembly requirements while responding to changing customer orders. A practical first step is to identify where current schedules most often break down, such as material shortages, overloaded resources, or late order changes, and evaluate how a finite-capacity visual schedule could help planners address those situations earlier.
Learn more about advanced production scheduling in Business Central
What happens when visual scheduling alone is no longer enough to manage production complexity? Our white paper, Understanding advanced production scheduling: Finite capacity, scheduling assistance and scenario planning, explores how manufacturers can go beyond visualizing their schedules to coordinate capacity constraints, material availability, alternative resources, and changing priorities. It also explains how advanced scheduling works in Business Central and when VAPS may be the right choice compared to VPS.
Learn more about production scheduling for configure-to-order manufacturers, or explore VAPS to see how it supports detailed production scheduling in Business Central.