What Is Alternate Routing?
Also known as: alternative routing, alternate operations, secondary routing, routing alternates
Definition
An alternate routing is a second approved way to make the same item, using different operations, work centers or run rates, which planners or scheduling logic can select when the primary routing is overloaded or unavailable.
Alternate Routing Explained
A routing defines operations, work centers, setup and run times. An alternate routing defines another valid path to the same output, for example machining on a new CNC instead of the older manual mill, or outsourcing the same operation. Each alternate has its own times, costs and sometimes quality or customer-approval constraints.
Use is either manual or automatic. In basic ERP scheduling a planner picks the alternate on the work order. Finite-capacity or APS engines, such as Infor SyteLine APS, can evaluate alternates and pick based on load, due date or cost. Alternate work centers within a resource group give a simpler form of the same choice.
Alternates must be controlled. In aerospace and defense, a special process routed to a different shop may need customer or NADCAP approval, and a change of work center can change the validated process. Costing also differs, because standard cost normally follows the primary routing while actual cost follows what was executed.
Alternates are not the same as a different revision of the routing. They coexist, and either is valid on the same date.
Why It Matters
- They give schedulers a legal way to keep delivery dates when a bottleneck is overloaded.
- Cost variance reporting needs to account for runs on an alternate path.
- Unapproved alternates can create compliance problems on customer-controlled processes.
- Outdated alternate times distort lead-time and capacity calculations.
In Practice
A shaft takes 12 minutes per piece on CNC lathe A and 20 minutes on older lathe B. When lathe A has 3 days of backlog, a planner routes a 200-piece order to B: 67 hours instead of 40, but it starts today instead of waiting. If B's rate is never updated, the schedule will keep promising dates it cannot meet.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is an alternate routing different from an alternate work center?
An alternate work center swaps the machine for one operation. An alternate routing can swap an entire sequence of operations.
Does ERP choose alternates automatically?
Basic MRP does not. Finite-capacity or APS tools can evaluate alternates against load and due dates.
Which routing does standard cost use?
Normally the primary routing. Runs on an alternate then show up as variance against standard.
Related Terms
Routing
A routing is the ERP record that defines the ordered sequence of operations required to manufacture an item, specifying for each step the work center or machine, setup time, run time per unit, move and queue time, and any outside processing.
Capacity Planning
Capacity planning is the process of comparing the labor and machine hours a production plan requires against the hours each work center actually has available, identifying overloads early enough to reschedule, add shifts, or outsource.
Resource Group
A resource group in SyteLine is a set of interchangeable machines, cells, or people that operations schedule against. It carries the capacity, calendar, and constraint data that APS uses to place work into finite time windows.
APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling)
APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) is SyteLine's memory-resident planning engine that schedules production against finite material and capacity constraints, producing realistic operation start and finish dates and enabling capable-to-promise responses during order entry.
Go Deeper
How to Set Up SyteLine Routings
Step-by-step guide to setting up routings in Infor SyteLine. Define operation sequences, run times, setup times, and work center assignments for manufacturing jobs.
SyteLine Routing Setup and Configuration Best Practices
Configure SyteLine routings. Operation sequences, setup/run times, work center assignment, and routing optimization for production scheduling accuracy.
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Component Cross Reference and Alternate Part Approval Worksheet
Track alternate and second source parts, their approval status and the saving each could bring. Editable rows, exports to Excel.
Keep exploring
Free tools
- Component Cross Reference and Alternate Part Approval WorksheetTrack alternate and second source parts, their approval status and the saving each could bring. Editable rows, exports to Excel.
- Manufacturing Routing Sheet TemplateA routing sheet generator for operations, work centers, setup and run times, tooling and inspection points, with a worked sample you can overwrite.
- NetSuite Routing Operation Cost WorksheetPlan routing operations before keying them into NetSuite: setup and run times, work center rates, lot size and the cost per unit of each operation.
ERP fixes and how-tos
- SyteLine alternate routing and alternate BOM: a worked exampleA worked example of alternate routings and alternate BOMs in SyteLine, and how planning and job orders choose between them. Includes checks and pitfalls.
- NetSuite Manufacturing Scheduler: What Is Built In, What Is Not, and When You Need an Add-OnWhat scheduling NetSuite manufacturing really does: routing lead times, work center capacity, Advanced Manufacturing, and when you need a finite scheduler add-on.
- NetSuite manufacturing task scheduler, tablet and mobileHow NetSuite schedules manufacturing operation tasks on work centers, how the shop floor tablet and mobile views fit in, and when you need finite scheduling.
Guides
- How to Configure Finite Scheduling in Infor SyteLineStep-by-step guide to configuring finite scheduling in Infor SyteLine APS, including work center capacity, constraint rules, and scheduling optimization.
- How to Configure Work Centers in Infor SyteLineStep-by-step guide to configuring work centers in Infor SyteLine. Learn how to define capacity, efficiency rates, cost categories, and scheduling parameters.
- SyteLine Work Center Configuration and Optimization GuideConfigure SyteLine work centers. Capacity definition, shift calendars, efficiency factors, and cost rate setup for accurate scheduling and costing.
AI on your ERP
- AI Production Scheduling on Top of Your ERP: Explain, Triage and Re-Plan Without Replacing the SchedulerHow AI helps planners and schedulers explain late jobs, fix bad routing data and draft reschedules on top of ERP work orders, without replacing the finite scheduler.
- AI for SyteLine Production Planning and Scheduling (MRP and APS)AI for SyteLine production planning and scheduling: explain late jobs, find constraint work centers, review MRP output and APS results in plain English, privately.