APS (in English advanced planning and scheduling), also known as Advanced Production Planning and Scheduling, refers to a manufacturing management process through which resources, such as raw materials and production capacity, are optimally allocated to meet demand. APS is a decision support tool for planning and scheduling that uses advanced software tools and techniques.

The Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) system offers decision-making support in various areas, including allocating overtime, prioritizing orders, splitting production lots, negotiating delivery dates, and processing orders.[1]​.

APS systems are especially popular in environments where typical planning methods cannot meet expectations.

Production planning is intrinsically very difficult due to the dependency that exists between the components of the system and finding an optimal solution is very complex to find.

Traditional planning and scheduling methods MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) uses a staged process to reserve material and availability. Materials and capacity are planned separately and many systems do not consider finite availability of materials or secondary constraints.

Due to these limitations, it is often not a good option in some plants.

Unlike MRP systems, APS simultaneously plan stock and production based on available materials, workload, and plant capacity.

APS systems allow you to obtain the following benefits:.

The use of an APS system is positioned as one of the best alternatives available to industries that need advanced planning and planning systems, especially adapting to the requirements of large-scale companies that use massive processing systems with different types of products.

APS includes the following functionalities: