- low planning reliability beyond a few hours
- cost‑intensive downtime due to insufficient tank or material availability
- high coordination effort between production, logistics, and dispatching
- manual inventory and sequencing calculations
- overtime and additional shifts to cover peak demand
- reactive customer call‑offs due to lack of reliability
Economic levers in the chemical industry
Production costs
- Avoidance of unplanned downtime through transparent tank and material flow logic
- Reduction of cost‑intensive cleaning and changeover sequences
- Minimization of overtime as well as night and weekend shifts
- Reduction of capital tied up through optimized raw material and intermediate inventory levels
- Avoidance of unnecessary infrastructure or container expansions
planning and coordination effort
- Reduction of manual coordination for plant start‑ups and shutdowns
- Transparent coordination of batch and downstream processes
- Automated calculation of inventory levels, coverage, and production sequences
- Relief for key personnel through system‑supported decision logic
- Elimination of time‑consuming workarounds in the event of short‑term changes
Integrated production planning for batch and continuous chemical processes
MCP’s industry‑specific solution extends Opcenter APS with capabilities for the safe and economically optimized control of chemical production processes.Recipes, batch sequences, tank allocations, cleaning logic, and delivery dates are consolidated into a consistent overall plan.The system calculates capacity‑constrained sequences, forecasts inventory levels across the planning horizon, and automatically takes safety and quality constraints into account.This creates forward‑looking production and logistics control – instead of reactive corrections in day‑to‑day operations.
- Planning over several days instead of reactive hour‑by‑hour control
- Relief for transport and dispatching processes
- Automated reassessment in the event of disruptions or new demand
- Transparent basis for decision‑making when adjusting capacities
- More stable delivery commitments through reliable production forecasts
- Sustainably high process quality – even in replacement scenarios
Measurable impact in the chemical industry
Through integrated production and logistics planning, significant economic improvements can be achieved in chemical processes:
15%
higher productivity
25%
lower inventory levels
70%
reduced provision times
80%
fewer delivery delays
Book your individual solution presentation
We will be happy to provide you with a comprehensive overview of the solution and its applicability in your factory:
- production processes and boundary conditions
- controllable cost drivers
- Detailed functionality and mode of operation
- Process quality and reliability
- Solution architecture
- Implementation methodology
- References
What changes for the planner?
The initial situation in the plant
In continuous or batch‑based processes, it is often not transparent which tank capacities, material flows, or transport routes will be available in the coming days.Planning reacts to bottlenecks at short notice instead of managing them proactively.Planning errors lead to downtime, schedule shifts, and increased coordination effort.A typical symptom is the short‑term reallocation of finished goods shortly before the scheduled delivery time due to incorrect prioritization.
With integrated APS planning, you gain:
- Reliable production sequences several days in advance
- Optimized batch and cleaning sequences taking all constraints into account
- Transparent forecast of tank and container fill levels
- Automatisierte Neubewertung des Gesamtplans bei Störungen innerhalb weniger Minuten
Success Story: Example from the process industry
A leading company in the process industry digitalized and fully integrated its production planning together with MCP. Result:
- higher efficiency in production and logistics
- significant relief for key personnel
- Structured control of order management, tank allocation, and dispatching
The time saved in planning is now invested in strategic improvement initiatives to achieve annual productivity targets – further strengthening long‑term competitiveness.In the past, incoming orders were planned manually – including silo allocation, flushing batches, and contamination matrices. Today, we generate a complete, optimized plan for all plants within minutes, taking all constraints into account and ensuring stable plant operations.
Your direct path to stable and economically efficient production planning
In a structured potential discussion, we analyze your specific challenges – and show you concretely what economic potential can realistically be unlocked in your production planning.
You will receive a well‑founded assessment of productivity, inventory, and service level potential, as well as the required implementation effort and project structure