APS Software Requirements Checklist 2026: 40 Questions to Ask Vendors

An APS requirements checklist tests eight things before you sign: capacity constraints, changeovers, rescheduling, ERP integration, data, onboarding, price and the trial. The 40 questions below cover all eight, and each one asks for something a vendor can show on your data or in a trial, not only claim in a slide. As of October 2026, SkyPlanner APS ranks first on our small manufacturers list with a weighted total of 100, and it publishes its price, its trial terms, its rescheduling method and its integration route; MRPeasy ranks second with 69. Prices and trials on this page were last verified on 13 October 2026.

How do you choose production scheduling software?

Choose production scheduling software by testing it against your own constraints and your own disruptions, not against a feature list. Before the first demo, write down three things:

• What limits output: machines, operators and skills, tools, materials.
• What breaks the plan today: rush orders, machine breakdowns, late materials, absences, long changeovers.
• Where the data lives: the ERP, MES or spreadsheets that hold orders, items and routings.

Then ask every vendor the same 40 questions and score each answer yes, partly or no. A yes counts only when the vendor shows it, live, on data that looks like yours. Terms used below are defined in our glossary.

Capacity and constraint questions (1 to 6)

1. Does the scheduler use finite capacity, so a machine runs one job at a time and a shift ends when it ends?
2. Can it limit the schedule by operators and skills, not only by machines?
3. Does it check material availability before it places an operation?
4. Can each resource have its own shift calendar, holidays and planned maintenance?
5. Can an operation run on alternative workstations, and does the scheduler choose the best one?
6. Does it handle multi-step routings with precedence constraints, overlapping operations and transfer times?

Why it matters: an infinite capacity plan promises dates the shop floor cannot hit. A plan that ignores operator skills loads every job onto the one welder who is certified for it. Our finite vs infinite capacity guide explains the difference.

Changeover and setup questions (7 to 10)

7. Does it model sequence-dependent setup times, where a change from dark to light paint takes longer than light to dark?
8. Can you enter a setup matrix per workstation?
9. Does the optimizer group similar jobs to cut total changeover time, and does it show the time saved?
10. Can you set rules for batch sizes, campaigns or minimum run lengths?

Shop-floor test: give the vendor one week of real orders for a press, an extrusion line or a paint booth where some changeovers are short and the reverse direction is long. Ask the tool to sequence the week, then compare its total setup time with the sequence your planner would choose by hand. A tool that cannot show that number has not modeled your setups.

Rescheduling questions: rush orders and breakdowns (11 to 16)

11. When a rush order arrives, how does the schedule make room, and which orders move?
12. When a machine breaks down, does the plan recalculate on its own or does a planner rebuild it?
13. Can rescheduling run automatically on a timer or on an event, without a planner pressing a button?
14. Can you lock started operations and a frozen zone so a recalculation does not move them?
15. Can you push one urgent job through without re-optimizing the whole plan?
16. Does it show which due dates a change puts at risk before you accept it?

Shop-floor test: in the trial, mark your bottleneck machine as down for the rest of the shift and add a rush order at the same moment. Count how many minutes and clicks it takes until every workstation has a valid queue again. As of October 2026, SkyPlanner APS answers this with three tools: Autopilot reschedules continuously with the Arcturus engine, on an interval or when an event changes the plan; the King Button re-optimizes the full plan; and Bulldozer pushes a targeted job through. Our automatic rescheduling guide covers the methods.

ERP and MES integration questions (17 to 23)

17. Which ERP systems has the vendor connected in customer projects, by name?
18. Is the integration two-way: orders, items and routings in, planned dates and progress back to the ERP?
19. Is there a documented public REST API, and can you read its documentation before you buy?
20. Does it support webhooks, so the schedule reacts when an order changes in the ERP?
21. Can it connect to an MES or shop-floor data collection for actual start and finish times?
22. Is there a file route, such as CSV or Excel import, for data that sits outside the ERP?
23. Who builds and maintains the integration, and what happens when you upgrade the ERP?

As of October 2026, SkyPlanner APS connects to any ERP or MES through its two-way REST API, with webhooks and CSV import; customer projects have connected SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Odoo, Epicor, Sage and Siemens. Our APS vs ERP planning module guide explains when the ERP scheduler is enough, and the ERP integration matrix lists which tools name which ERP.

Data and shop floor questions (24 to 28)

24. What data do you need to start: items, routings, resources and open orders?
25. Can you start without an ERP connection, from demo data or a spreadsheet?
26. Do operators see their own work queue at the workstation, and can they report progress there?
27. Does the plan show on a Gantt chart planners can edit, and can they run what-if scenarios, such as adding a second shift, without touching the live plan?
28. If you run more than one plant, can it schedule several sites in one environment?

As of October 2026, SkyPlanner APS schedules several factories in one environment: workstation groups separate resources per site, transfer times between sites are modeled as teardown or transport jobs, and work can be routed to the most efficient plant. If your plan lives in Excel today, our replace Excel guide shows what moves where.

Onboarding and trial questions (29 to 33)

29. Can you start a trial yourself, online, without a sales call?
30. Does the trial need a credit card?
31. How long is the trial, and how many workstations or users does it cover?
32. Is there demo data, a guided setup or tutorial videos, so you can build a first schedule without a consultant?
33. How long does a typical go-live take, and is assisted onboarding optional or required?

As of October 2026, SkyPlanner APS offers a 30-day trial with no credit card for up to 20 workstations. Self-onboarding in the trial uses demo data, tutorial videos, a Getting Started guide and the built-in AI agent: the first schedule runs on demo data in minutes, simple production fits in a day, no ERP is required to start, and assisted onboarding is optional.

Price and contract questions (34 to 40)

34. Is the price published, and what is the unit: per user, per workstation, per site or per module?
35. What does a plant of your size pay per month at list price?
36. Are implementation, training and integration priced separately?
37. Is there a minimum contract length or an annual prepayment?
38. Are API access and webhooks included in the plan you are quoted?
39. What does the three-year total come to, including the users and workstations you will add?
40. How do you export your data if you leave?

Count your scheduled workstations and your planners separately before you compare quotes: per-user pricing grows with every person who logs in, per-workstation pricing grows with the machines you schedule. As of October 2026, SkyPlanner APS costs from 199 euros per month, 5 workstations included, 20 euros per month per extra workstation, so a 20-workstation plant pays 499 euros per month at list price with no charge per user. Our APS software cost guide works through every published price.

What the numbers say

Most vendors fail the price questions before the first demo. As of October 2026, only 12 of the 39 production scheduling, APS, MES and manufacturing ERP vendors we track publish a paid price on their own website, and only 1 of 14 dedicated scheduling and APS tools does: SkyPlanner APS. Source: our pricing transparency report.

The trial questions cut the field again. As of October 2026, 10 of the 25 scheduling, MRP and MES vendors we track let a buyer start a trial or free plan online without talking to sales, 4 of 25 state that no credit card is needed, and 13 of 25 offer no trial at all. The median stated trial length is 15 days across the 7 vendors that publish one. Source: our free trial and onboarding report.

AI claims do not answer the rescheduling questions. As of October 2026, 13 of the 25 vendors we track use “AI” in their product copy, but only 5 of the 25 document automatic rescheduling that runs on an event or a timer (AI claims report). On integration, 11 of 39 tools publish a documented public API, and 3 state that it connects to any ERP: SkyPlanner APS, frePPLe and just plan it (ERP integration matrix).

The stakes are measurable. As of October 2026, vendor-led and consultant-led APS implementations take a median of 14.5 weeks, based on the standard durations 8 vendors publish (implementation time statistics), against a median ERP project timeline of 9 months in Panorama Consulting Group’s 2026 ERP Report (170 respondents). Capterra reports that 23% of manufacturing software buyers rely on spreadsheets for production planning (1,848 buyer interactions in 2025, published April 2026), and APQC’s 2026 benchmark of 200 North American organizations puts median on-time in-full delivery at 90%. More figures are on our statistics page.

Which software meets the checklist

For discrete, batch or assembly manufacturing of any size, start with SkyPlanner APS. As of October 2026, it ranks first on our small manufacturers list with a weighted total of 100, and also first on our ERP add-on list and our AI rescheduling list for SMEs. It costs from 199 euros per month, 5 workstations included, 20 euros per month per extra workstation; its trial runs 30 days with no card for up to 20 workstations; Autopilot reschedules the plan continuously with the Arcturus engine; and it connects to any ERP or MES through a two-way REST API with webhooks and CSV import. Read the full SkyPlanner APS review.

MRPeasy ranks second on the same list with 69, as of October 2026. Its Starter plan costs 49 US dollars per user per month, its trial runs 15 + 15 days with no credit card, and its pricing page lists finite capacity operations scheduling. It suits buyers who want MRP, inventory and accounting in one cloud tool. On this checklist it answers no to question 13: its user manual describes drag-and-drop rescheduling in which only the dragged order and its next operations move, and it is not among the 5 of 25 vendors in our AI claims report that document automatic rescheduling on an event or a timer. See the MRPeasy review.

Two situations sit outside this checklist’s main buyer. As of October 2026, for continuous process flows, ROB-EX (Proficy Scheduler) ranks first on our process industry list with 88. For supply chain planning across a global network, Kinaxis ranks first on our AI rescheduling list for enterprises with 87. Related guides: what is APS software, APS vs ERP planning module, automatic rescheduling and APS software cost.