Welcome to the Kudos Solutions Spring Newsletter 2026
Manufacturing environments continue to evolve at pace. Increasing operational complexity, changing customer demand, supply chain uncertainty, and growing pressure on production visibility are driving manufacturers to rethink how planning and scheduling decisions are made.
At Kudos Solutions, we continue to support organisations across manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, life sciences, and industrial operations by helping teams move beyond reactive planning approaches towards smarter, more connected decision-making.
Over the past year, we have continued investing in digital transformation initiatives, advanced planning technologies, customer enablement, and long-term operational support services designed to help manufacturers improve agility, visibility, and responsiveness across their operations.
In this edition, we’re sharing the latest updates from across Kudos Solutions, highlighting new developments, customer support initiatives, team news, and practical ways manufacturers can continue improving planning and scheduling performance.
| In This Issue |
|---|
| Siemens Partner of the Month | Meet the Team |
| SALT Licensing | Gold & Platinum Support |
| Training & Development | Health Checks |
| Planning Ecosystem Innovation | Future Initiatives |
Siemens Partner of the Month — Driving Innovation in Advanced Planning & Scheduling
We’re proud to have been recognised as Siemens Partner of the Month for Opcenter APS, reflecting our continued commitment to helping manufacturers improve planning visibility, scheduling performance, and operational agility.
This recognition highlights the strength of our long-standing relationship with Siemens and reinforces the value that advanced planning and scheduling continues to deliver across manufacturing organisations worldwide.
“Advanced Planning & Scheduling is no longer simply about creating production schedules. It’s about enabling better operational decisions across the entire manufacturing ecosystem.”
As manufacturers face increasing pressure to improve responsiveness, visibility, and operational efficiency, solutions such as Siemens Opcenter APS are helping organisations make faster, smarter decisions across their operations.
Read the full story and discover what this achievement means for Kudos Solutions and our customers: https://www.kudossolutions.co.uk/kudos-solutions-named-siemens-partner-of-the-month-for-opcenter-aps/
A Word from Jeff Johnson
“Successful planning isn’t just about creating a schedule. It’s about giving manufacturers the visibility and confidence to make better operational decisions.”
With more than 30 years of experience and hundreds of successful projects delivered, Kudos Solutions continues to help manufacturers unlock greater value from Siemens Opcenter APS.
Read the full interview – Partner of the month: Kudos Solutions – Delivering advanced planning expertise with Opcenter APS – Opcenter
The Benefits of Upgrading to Siemens SALT Licensing
Software licensing may not be the first thing manufacturers think about when looking to improve operational performance, but the right licensing model can make a significant difference to flexibility, scalability, and long-term efficiency.
Siemens SALT licensing helps organisations simplify software management while providing the agility needed to support evolving operational requirements and future growth.
Find out how SALT licensing can help reduce complexity and support your digital transformation journey.
Read the full article →
Choosing the right licensing model isn’t just an IT decision—it can have a direct impact on how effectively your organisation manages growth, supports users, and adapts to changing operational requirements.
Siemens SALT licensing is designed to provide a more flexible and scalable approach to software management, helping manufacturers reduce complexity while ensuring critical planning and scheduling systems remain available when they are needed most.
| Flexibility | Scalability |
|---|---|
| Adapt to changing business needs. | Grow without licensing restrictions. |
| Simplicity | Future-Proofing |
|---|---|
| Reduce administration and complexity. | Support long-term digital transformation. |
Speak to the Kudos Solutions team about upgrading your APS licensing structure and
supporting future operational growth.
Training & Knowledge Development
Getting the most from Siemens Opcenter APS isn’t just about having the right software — it’s about ensuring your team has the skills and confidence to use it effectively.
Whether you’re onboarding new users, developing experienced planners, or looking to improve scheduling consistency across your operation, tailored training can help teams make better decisions and unlock more value from their APS investment.
At Kudos Solutions, we offer training programmes designed around real operational challenges, helping organisations improve user adoption, increase planning confidence, and support long-term operational success.
Find out more about our Opcenter APS training services and how they can help your team get more from your planning and scheduling solution.
Read more → Opcenter APS Training – Kudos Solutions
Meet the Team — The Faces Behind the Projects
Behind every implementation, optimisation project, workshop, and support engagement is a team of people helping manufacturers solve increasingly complex operational challenges.
This Spring, we are launching our new “Meet the Team” campaign — a people-focused series designed to introduce the individuals behind Kudos Solutions.
Every successful project has a team behind it.
This new series is designed to introduce the people who help manufacturers solve complex planning and scheduling challenges every day. Over the coming months, we’ll be shining a spotlight on members of the Kudos team, sharing their experience, insights, and the roles they play in helping our customers succeed.
From industry expertise and project experience to the things that inspire them outside of work, we’ll be giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the people who make Kudos Solutions what it is.
Because great projects don’t happen by themselves — they happen because of people.
Follow Kudos Solutions on LinkedIn to meet the team behind the projects and stay
updated on upcoming spotlights.
Helping You Get More from Your APS Investment
Implementing Siemens Opcenter APS is only the beginning. As manufacturing operations evolve, planning systems must evolve alongside them to continue delivering maximum value.
That’s why many organisations choose to partner with Kudos Solutions beyond implementation, combining proactive system reviews with ongoing support to ensure their APS solution remains aligned with changing operational requirements and business objectives.
Unlocking Additional Value Through Health Checks
Over time, product portfolios, operational priorities, planning processes, and scheduling rules naturally change. A regular health check helps identify opportunities to improve performance, optimise planning logic, increase user adoption, and ensure your system continues to support the way your business operates today.
Often, relatively small changes can deliver significant improvements in visibility, responsiveness, and scheduling performance.
Sometimes the biggest gains come from optimising the system you already have.
Support Designed Around Your Needs
Every organisation’s journey is different. Some require trusted day-to-day guidance, while others are looking for a strategic partner to help drive continuous improvement.
Our Gold and Platinum packages are designed to help manufacturers maximise the long-term value of their APS investment through software upgrades, services updates, and ongoing access to experienced planning and scheduling specialists.
Whether your focus is system optimisation, user development, planning maturity, or future growth, our team is here to help you get more from your investment.
Gold Package
Includes software and services upgrades, helping you stay up to date with the latest functionality and improvements while maintaining a streamlined, cost-effective support structure.
Platinum Package
Includes everything within Gold, plus an annual health check per site, providing a structured review of system performance, configuration, and optimisation opportunities to help proactively identify improvement areas before they impact operations.
Speak to the Kudos Solutions team to learn more about Health Checks, Gold Support, and Platinum Support packages.
Read the full article →
https://www.kudossolutions.co.uk/maximising-efficiency-with-kudos-solutions-additional-services-to-boost-your-business/
| Feature | Gold Package | Platinum Package |
|---|
| Software Upgrades | ✔ Included | ✔ Included |
| Services Updates | ✔ Included | ✔ Included |
| Access to Latest Features | ✔ Included | ✔ Included |
| System Improvements & Enhancements | ✔ Included | ✔ Included |
| Cost-Effective Ongoing Support | ✔ Included | ✔ Included |
| Annual Health Check | — | ✔ Included (per site) |
| Configuration Review | — | ✔ Included |
| Performance Review | — | ✔ Included |
| Optimisation Recommendations | — | ✔ Included |
| Proactive Risk Identification | — | ✔ Included |
| Strategic System Development | — | ✔ Included |
Which Package is Right for You?
Gold is ideal for organisations looking to stay current with the latest software and service updates while maintaining a streamlined, cost-effective support structure.
Platinum is designed for organisations seeking a more proactive partnership, combining upgrades with annual health checks and optimisation reviews to help maximise long-term value from their APS investment.
Contact the Kudos Solutions team to discuss which package best fits your operational requirements.
Learn more about how Kudos Solutions can support your planning and scheduling journey.
Read the full article →
https://www.kudossolutions.co.uk/maximising-efficiency-with-kudos-solutions-additional-services-to-boost-your-business/
Why Material Planning Is Critical for Food Manufacturing Success
In food manufacturing, production schedules are only as strong as the materials available to support them.
Even when production capacity is available, issues such as supplier delays, shelf-life constraints, packaging shortages, minimum order quantities, and changing customer demand can quickly disrupt operations if material availability is not visible early enough.
As product ranges expand and supply chains become more complex, many food manufacturers are recognising that effective material planning is no longer simply a purchasing function — it has become a critical part of operational performance.
Creating More Achievable Production Plans
Greater visibility across materials helps planners identify potential shortages before they impact production schedules, allowing teams to make proactive decisions rather than reacting to problems once they reach the factory floor.
By improving coordination between material availability, production planning, and customer demand, manufacturers can create more achievable schedules, reduce waste, improve service levels, and strengthen overall operational responsiveness.
Material Planner has been developed to help manufacturers gain greater control over material availability by providing visibility across stock levels, supplier commitments, shelf-life considerations, purchasing constraints, and future demand requirements.
This helps planning teams make faster, more informed decisions while reducing the risk of shortages, disruption, and unnecessary operational firefighting.
Discover why material planning is becoming increasingly important for food manufacturers and how greater visibility can help support more reliable production performance.
Read the full article → Why Material Planning Is Critical for Food Manufacturing Success
The Kudos Manufacturing Toolkit
Modern manufacturing requires more than a single planning tool. It demands a connected ecosystem that brings together planning, scheduling, material management, reporting, optimisation, and digital transformation capabilities into one cohesive environment.
The Kudos Solutions Toolkit has been developed to help manufacturers gain greater visibility, improve decision-making, and respond faster to operational change. From long-term planning and material requirements planning through to detailed scheduling, reporting, low-code application development, and AI-powered optimisation, each solution plays a specific role while working together as part of a wider planning ecosystem.
Whether your goal is to improve production visibility, optimise scheduling performance, strengthen material planning, reduce reliance on spreadsheets, or accelerate digital transformation initiatives, the Kudos Solutions Toolkit provides the building blocks to support smarter, more connected manufacturing operations.
By combining solutions such as Long Term Planner, Planner, Scheduler, MRP, Datastore, Insights Hub, Factorise, Mendix, N Plan, and EVO APS, manufacturers can create a scalable planning environment that supports both today’s operational challenges and tomorrow’s growth ambitions.
Discover how the Kudos Solutions Toolkit can help transform planning, scheduling, and operational decision-making across your organisation.
Looking Ahead
As manufacturing complexity continues to increase, organisations need greater visibility, stronger planning capability, and more connected operational decision-making.
At Kudos Solutions, we remain focused on helping manufacturers improve operational performance through smarter planning, advanced scheduling technologies, and practical digital transformation initiatives.
From Siemens Opcenter APS implementations and training to optimisation services, licensing modernisation, and long-term operational support, our goal remains the same — helping organisations operate with greater confidence, agility, and control.
We would like to thank our customers, partners, and wider manufacturing community for their continued collaboration and support.
We also look forward to sharing more updates in the coming months, including future webinars, customer success stories, technology developments, and additional team spotlights.
Let’s Continue the Conversation
Whether you’re exploring advanced planning and scheduling for the first time, looking to optimise your existing Siemens Opcenter APS environment, or planning your next digital transformation initiative, we’re here to help.
From system health checks and training through to SALT licensing, support packages, and planning optimisation, our team works with manufacturers to deliver practical improvements that create lasting operational value.
If any of the topics featured in this newsletter have sparked ideas, questions, or opportunities within your own organisation, we’d be delighted to hear from you.
Get in Touch
Visit our website, connect with us on LinkedIn, or contact the team directly to start the conversation.
📧 enquiries@kudossolutions.co.uk
🌐 www.kudossolutions.co.uk
💼 Follow Kudos Solutions on LinkedIn
Thank you for reading the Kudos Solutions Spring Newsletter 2026. We look forward to sharing more updates, insights, and customer success stories with you throughout the year.
