Factory capacity planning
Know where you'll run out of capacity before it happens
Plan capacity across the whole factory, not just one line. Available capacity is rarely fixed. It changes with shift patterns, crewing, planned maintenance and seasonal labour. FactoryPlan.app models that variable capacity by process and period, so you can see where you will run out of room before it becomes a problem.
Variable available capacity
Capacity is modelled per process: mixing, filling, cooling and packing. It reflects how much is really available given shift patterns, crewing, planned maintenance and seasonal labour, not a single fixed number.
Mixing
2 shifts, 5 days
Filling
3 shifts, 7 days
Cooling / chilling
Continuous; fixed tunnel capacity
Packing
2 shifts + weekend overtime
Cooling / chilling
Capacity utilisation by monthLoad the forecast demand against available capacity and the picture over the coming months is immediately clear. Here, cooling tips over capacity in December.
Make promotions and launches safe to commit to
In scenario and S&OP planning, capacity planning is what makes upcoming promotions and product launches safe to commit to. Load the forecast demand against available capacity and the system flags the constraints months ahead, for example that December cooling capacity is short. An AI assistant then explains, in plain English, the options to resolve it.
Cooling: December promotion scenario
Capacity utilisation by monthRequired (Dec)
880 hrs
Available (Dec)
728 hrs
Capacity flag
AI · informationalIn December, cooling capacity is not sufficient for the planned Christmas chilled-dessert promotions.
Forecast demand needs about 880 cooling-hours against 728 available, a shortfall of roughly 150 hours (around 21% over capacity). Filling, mixing and packing are close to their limits but manageable; cooling is the binding constraint.
Suggested options
- Add a weekend cooling shift in weeks 50–51 to recover most of the shortfall.
- Bring forward longer-shelf-life chilled production into late November while cooling has headroom.
- Stagger two of the promotional SKUs by one week to flatten the December peak.
- If none are possible, discuss reducing the December promotional volume commitment at S&OP.
This is informational only: FactoryPlan.app flags the constraint and suggests options; the planning team decides what to do.
Plan capacity with confidence
Book a demo to see how FactoryPlan.app connects capacity, scenarios and S&OP.