The elephant in the room
When we sit with people to talk about software implementations, the question always is the duration of the implementation and risks involved. Because in most cases, their experience has taught them that implementations are often over-complicated, time-consuming, and over-budget. You don't want that, and neither do we.
The add-on
That is why Blue Star Planning installs as an add-on in your current software landscape. We set up the software with all the required data without directly intervening in your production and without disrupting processes. Next to unique methods to quickly setup product configurations and software integrations, the stand-alone capability gives you time to review the results to know what to expect and further implement with confidence.
Our approach
Blue Star Planning likes to get to know you, so we plan a meeting to introduce our software platform to you and do a broad match to your needs, company size, and opposed scope for production planning software and process management.
In a follow-up meeting, we sit down together and really get into your production environment's details. This is our advanced intake. We drill down to all your resources, operators and teams, daily operations, and processes. We get to know each other even better. We pre-configure the Blue Star Planning environment, set up the implementation scope, and provide a feasibility score.
After we agree on the intake and scope, we'll go and do our thing, setting up our platform for you. The intake will have prepared us to do most parts automagically. We get you onboard early in the process to make sure we get results fast, get you in on the techniques we use, and how our platform performs its magic for you. We end the setup by simulating the production environment, making the 'lights blink,' and showing what your implementation will look like when producing.
Exchanging data with other systems is an integral part of most of our implementations. That is when our software platform is not used stand-alone. Depending on the rollout scope and the amount of 'gaps' we fill in your current IT landscape, we set up the connections with your existing software and/or hardware. This is most likely based on standards; otherwise, in close cooperation with your current vendors or with our partners. Our connector is built on 20 years of experience in connecting software systems. We have grown into Industry 4.0 just like you, and we make this easy for ourselves and quick for you.
At this stage, we have gone from our first acquaintance to close cooperation. To deliver our software platform to your environment. You have a good grasp of the possibilities and necessities for a successful rollout. Next to extremely user-friendly user interfaces, training is included in our package, so every user and stakeholder knows how to get the most out of our software for him or her. Ofcourse, after the implementation we have our support team remotely ready for you.
How do we facilitate this?
The Connector
A rock-solid communication between your software systems, plant hardware, and cloud-based solutions ensure a truly smooth operation.
The connector is our part of the system where we have put our 20 years of experience in connecting software systems via local and cloud-based API’s for the integration of ERP systems, DTP, WMS, and hardware systems.
We have a default set of connectors onboard for immediate integration with existing systems and add tailor-made connections where necessary, to always have an optimal integration path for your needs.
Part of our connector is our own API. ‘We love to hear from you’, meaning you can pass any data on to us and request any data from our platform for your own benefit. Our ‘Agent Blue’ facilitates access to our API’s, documentation, and debugging facilities.
Workflow Engine
Reliable automated data flow that is tailored to your processes and visualized for insight and maintainability.
All automation processes are being executed and tracked with the Workflow Engine. It provides a clear insight in and log of data transfer, manipulations, and setup of the Planning Engine for your software environment. Visualization is key in our software platform; no exception is made for the workflows.
This powerful part of the software platform is one of the pillars to deliver our software implementation quickly, adapt to your environment and remain flexible for any future expansion and changes in your factory.
