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- Outdated alternate times distort lead-time and capacity calculations.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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