Setting up PWB with other ERP systems

You can use PWB together with other ERP systems than M3 BE.

This topic covers some of the guidelines that you can use to set up PWB with ERP systems other than M3 BE. In addition to a thorough knowledge of PWB and the options available within the application, the consultant must work closely with the user to work out how the client company can benefit as much as possible from the PWB functionality.

Data transfer to other ERP systems

There is a standard integration between PWB and M3 BE. The interface technology used is API database transfer.

There is no standard integration to other ERP systems. It is a project task to setup the integration between PWB and another ERP systems. These are the interface technologies used:

  • ODBC database transfer
  • File database transfer

PWB creates reliable production plans and schedules by using these main types of information:

  • Order data
  • Material data
  • Resource and calendar data
  • Parameters and workflow

Order data and Material data are continuously changing, and therefore require an automatic data transfer. Capacity data is often simpler (changes in resources are fewer) and more stable to define locally in PWB. You can also update Capacity data locally in PWB when it is required. Parameters and workflow are setup in PWB, and therefore defined locally in PWB.

Extracting data from an ERP system is easier than updating the PWB plan back to the ERP system. When the ERP system is updated, the updates are validated if they are valid or legal.

These are the some methods to update the PWB plan back to ERP system:

  1. ODBC updates directly in the database. This requires that ODBC is allowed to be used to update the ERP system directly and that you can logically validate the ODBC update.
  2. ODBC updates the plan to separate inbox tables in the database. The database logic can then handle updating the rest of the database based on the inbox tables.
  3. PWB exports plan to text files. The text files containing the plan is then imported to separate inbox tables in the database. The database logic can then handle updating the rest of the database based on the inbox tables.
  4. PWB exports plan to text files, which is then imported to update the database and handled by database logic.
  5. Plan is updated back to the ERP system.