Last updated: March 10, 2026
Production Planning

Plan Production Like a Pro, Not on Paper

Stop managing production orders on whiteboards and Excel sheets. ERPDrive gives you a visual, capacity-aware planning system that schedules work orders against real machine availability, calculates material requirements from your BOM, and keeps your delivery commitments on track.

The Problem

Why Production Planning Fails in Most Factories

We have spoken to hundreds of auto parts manufacturers across Pune, Rajkot, Ludhiana, and Chennai. Here are the three problems that keep coming up.

Manual Scheduling on Paper or Excel

Production supervisors maintain schedules in registers or Excel files that are outdated by the time they are printed. When a rush order comes in, the entire schedule has to be manually reshuffled. There is no system to check if the machine is already booked or if raw material is available.

Overdue Orders and Missed Deliveries

Without visibility into real capacity and material availability, production orders regularly miss their target dates. The sales team commits delivery dates without checking the shop floor, and the planning team finds out about rush orders through WhatsApp messages at the last minute.

No Visibility Into Shop Floor Capacity

Factory owners and production managers have no real-time view of which machines are idle, which are overloaded, and where the bottlenecks are. Decisions about overtime, outsourcing, or new orders are made based on gut feeling rather than data.

The Solution

How ERPDrive Transforms Your Production Planning

Replace guesswork with a system that plans, schedules, and tracks every production order from creation to completion.

Capacity-Based Scheduling

Define your machines, work centres, and their available capacity. When you create a production order, ERPDrive checks real-time availability and suggests the best slot. No more double-booking CNC machines or discovering capacity conflicts at the last minute.

Sales Order to Production Linking

Every production order can be linked to a sales order or customer PO. Your sales team sees real production status, and your planning team sees the delivery commitment. No more disconnect between what is promised and what is being manufactured.

Auto Material Requirement Calculation

When a production order is created, ERPDrive checks the linked BOM, calculates the required raw materials, checks current stock, and flags shortages. You can auto-generate purchase indents for missing materials with one click.

Real-Time Production Dashboard

See all active production orders, their status (planned, in-progress, QC hold, completed), and progress percentage on a single dashboard. Filter by machine, product, customer, or delivery date to find exactly what you need.

See Production Planning in Action

A clean, visual interface that gives your production team everything they need to plan, schedule, and track manufacturing orders.

app.erpdrive.in/production/planning
Production Planning
Live
JM
Active Work Orders
36
↑ 4 new today
On-Time Delivery
94.2%
↑ 2.1% this week
Machine Utilization
87%
↑ 5% vs avg
Pending Dispatch
12
↓ 3 overdue
Work Orders 8 In Progress
Work OrderProductQtyMachineProgressStatus
WO-2451Brake Disc FR500CNC-01
Almost Done
WO-2452Gear Shaft LH1,200CNC-03
Running
WO-2453CV Joint Outer800VMC-02
In Queue
WO-2454Flywheel Ring300HMC-01
Running
WO-2451 ready for dispatch

Key Production Planning Capabilities

Everything you need to run a well-planned, on-time manufacturing operation.

Production Order Management

Create, edit, and track production orders with quantities, target dates, and linked sales orders. View order history and status changes in a complete audit trail.

Machine Capacity Calendar

Visual calendar showing machine availability, booked slots, maintenance windows, and idle time. Drag-and-drop rescheduling for quick adjustments.

Material Requirement Planning (MRP)

Auto-calculate raw material needs from BOM, check stock availability, and generate purchase indents for shortages. Supports multi-level BOM explosion.

Backward Scheduling

Set the customer delivery date and let ERPDrive calculate the ideal production start date by factoring in process times, QC hold periods, and dispatch lead time.

Production Order Priorities

Mark orders as urgent, high, normal, or low priority. The system highlights overdue and at-risk orders so your team knows exactly what to focus on.

Work Centre & Routing Setup

Define manufacturing routes with sequence of operations, cycle times, and assigned work centres. ERPDrive uses these routes to calculate realistic production timelines.

Production Reports & Analytics

Track production efficiency, on-time delivery rate, capacity utilization, and order completion trends. Export reports for management review or customer audits.

Multi-Plant Support

Manage production planning across multiple factory locations from a single dashboard. Transfer orders between plants and share capacity data seamlessly.

Works Seamlessly With

Production planning does not work in isolation. These ERPDrive modules integrate directly with your production workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about ERPDrive's production planning module.

Yes. ERPDrive supports concurrent production orders across multiple machines and work centres. You can view all active orders on a single dashboard, prioritize by delivery date, and reallocate resources when bottlenecks arise. There is no limit on the number of simultaneous production orders.

Absolutely. When you create a production order, ERPDrive checks the linked BOM and current inventory to calculate the exact raw material requirement. It flags shortages and can auto-generate purchase indents for missing materials. This works for multi-level BOMs as well, so sub-assembly requirements are also calculated.

Yes. ERPDrive lets you backward-schedule production orders from the customer's required delivery date. The system accounts for process lead times, drying or curing time, QC hold periods, and dispatch preparation to calculate the ideal production start date. This ensures you start manufacturing at the right time to meet commitments.

You can modify quantities, reschedule dates, or cancel production orders at any stage before completion. ERPDrive automatically adjusts material reservations, updates the capacity calendar, releases any reserved machine slots, and notifies affected departments through in-app notifications.

Yes. ERPDrive supports both manufacturing strategies. Make-to-order manufacturers can link production orders directly to sales orders and customer POs. Make-to-stock units can plan production based on reorder levels, safety stock settings, and demand forecasts. Many of our customers use a combination of both approaches.

Take the Next Step

📊
Case Studies
See how manufacturers achieved 32% cost savings
💰
Pricing Plans
Starting at ₹15,000/month — all modules included
📈
ROI Calculator
Calculate your projected savings in 90 days
🚀
5-Day Go Live
See our implementation timeline — no long waits

Ready to Streamline Your Production Planning?

See how ERPDrive can replace your whiteboards and Excel sheets with an intelligent, capacity-aware production planning system.

Get a Personalized Walkthrough