What is an alternate routing?

An alternate routing is a valid secondary path a job can take through the shop — a different machine, a different work center, a different outside partner — that produces the same finished operation. Alternate routings live in the ERP's routing master data and are essential for dynamic rerouting.

Why don't most schedulers use alternate routings?

Because static, snapshot-based schedulers solve a fixed problem at one moment and have no mechanism to re-evaluate when conditions change. Alternate routings are only useful in an engine that replans dynamically and can compare the primary vs. alternate cost in real time.

Only if the alternate is not a true equivalent. Properly modeled alternate routings — same capability, same tolerances, same certifications — are no riskier than the primary. The risk lives in poorly maintained routing data, not in the rerouting itself.

Production Rerouting — Manufacturing Scheduling Glossary

Definition

Production rerouting is the act of moving a work-order operation from its planned machine, work center, or outside partner to an alternate route when conditions change — a machine goes down, a partner's lead time slips, a fixture is unavailable, or a higher-priority job needs the planned resource. Rerouting requires that the alternate route is genuinely valid: same capability, same tolerances, same certifications.

Why it matters

Without rerouting, a single machine breakdown can delay every job that touched that machine. With rerouting, the affected jobs flow to alternate resources within the same shift. The difference shows up directly in OTD. Most ERPs support alternate routings in the data model but do not actually use them in scheduling; that is a major source of recoverable delay.

Common failure mode

A 5-axis mill goes down for two days. Three jobs are stuck waiting. Two of those jobs could be run on a different 5-axis machine with a 20-minute fixture change. Nobody reroutes them because the schedule does not surface the alternate as an option, and the jobs miss their due dates while the alternate machine runs at 60% utilization.

How Skody approaches it

Skody models alternate routings as first-class options with their own setup times, cycle times, and capability constraints. When a primary resource is unavailable, the scheduler evaluates alternates automatically and surfaces the trade-off (e.g., 20-minute extra setup vs. 2-day delay) for the planner to confirm.

Dynamic Replanning

Recalculating the production schedule continuously as floor conditions change.

Work Center

A grouping of one or more machines or stations that share routing and capacity.

Finite Capacity Scheduling

Scheduling that respects the real, limited capacity of each machine, operator, and tool.

Constrained Resource

Any finite resource that limits how much work the factory can complete in a period.

Manufacturing Variability

The unpredictable variation in setup, run, and queue times that makes plans drift from reality.