Case Study · Manufacturing

From ERP Limitations to Full Production Control

How a railway industry leader implemented custom planning software to optimize rolling stock manufacturing.

Project Name • Domain

Advanced Planning System (APS) & Project Visualization (Gantt)

Industry • Client Type

Rolling Stock Manufacturing • Transportation Sector • Production & Project Management

Client

The client is one of Europe’s leading rolling stock manufacturers, delivering complex, long-term production projects in a multi-project environment. The company designs and manufactures modern rail vehicles, provides maintenance and modernization services, and manages an extensive supply chain involving thousands of components. Real-time coordination of production and project processes is a critical part of its operations, ensuring efficient execution across multiple concurrent projects.

Business Analysis

Project Challenges & Goals

The Client approached us to:

Implement an advanced project and production planning tool.
Enable scenario building and "what-if" forecasting capabilities.
Increase visibility and transparency into production progress.

Pre-Project Challenges

Lack of a flexible tool for large-scale scheduling.
Limitations in the ERP system (IFS) regarding process visualization.
Siloed data across multiple systems hindering progress analysis.
Time-consuming and manual production report generation.

Project Objectives

Create a unified system integrating all planning data.
Deploy an interactive Gantt chart handling thousands of operations.
Enable simulation of various production schedule scenarios.
Automate reporting and ensure rapid data retrieval.

Our Solution

We designed and deployed a custom planning system functioning as a seamlessly integrated extension to IFS ERP.

Advanced Gantt Module

An extensive scheduling view (Bryntum) for managing dependencies, resources, and sub-projects.

Bi-directional IFS Integration

Full synchronization of work orders, statuses, and production data with the Oracle database.

Forecasting & Scenario Planning

Ability to create multiple plan versions and evaluate their impact on live production.

Solr Search Engine

Lightning-fast data retrieval across vast volumes of project information.

Automated Reporting

Change-log generation and seamless export to PDF, XLSX, and CSV formats.

Admin Panel

Dictionary management and data ingestion capabilities from Excel files.

Key Benefits

Full, real-time control over project schedules.
Safe testing environment for changes within planning scenarios.
Reduced time required to prepare plans and analytical reports.
Enhanced visibility of production progress for executive management.
Elimination of human error resulting from manual data processing.

Solution

Przed i Po wdrożeniu

Area / Issue

Before Implementation

After Implementation

Area Schedule Visibility

Before Implementation Lack of advanced visualization (Gantt)

After Implementation Interactive and dynamic schedule

Area Scenario Planning

Before Implementation No capability to simulate changes

After Implementation "What-if" scenario module

Area ERP Integration

Before Implementation Data limited to standard IFS constraints

After Implementation Full bi-directional synchronization

Area Reporting Time

Before Implementation Manual and time-consuming process

After Implementation Automated PDF/XLSX reports

Area Data Search

Before Implementation Difficult across large data sets

After Implementation Fast filtering powered by Solr

Area Change Management

Before Implementation History difficult to track

After Implementation Comprehensive change log and audit trails

Area Progress Analytics

Before Implementation Dispersed data across multiple systems

After Implementation Centralized progress visualization dashboard

Looking to optimize production planning and gain full control over your projects?

Discover how our custom solutions can extend the capabilities of your ERP system and help you streamline production planning.