Production Scheduling Software for Manufacturing: Top Options, Features & Costs

Find out the top production scheduling software for manufacturing. Understand the features, pricing, and which solution best fits your shop floor operations.

Key Takeaways

• Production scheduling software helps manufacturers reduce downtime, optimize resources, and meet delivery deadlines more consistently.
• The best solution depends on your operation's size and complexity, as well as the amount of IT support available for implementation.
• Offline capability and real-time shop floor data collection are critical for manufacturing environments with limited connectivity.
• Top options for production scheduling include: Alpha TransForm, MRPeasy, and Katana Cloud Inventory.
• Alpha TransForm lets manufacturing teams digitize production tracking, quality checks, and scheduling workflows without IT bottlenecks.

Why Production Scheduling Still Trips Up Manufacturers

Most manufacturing teams know the pain of a schedule that falls apart before lunch. A machine goes down, a material shipment runs late, or a quality issue forces rework, and suddenly the carefully planned production timeline is meaningless. Manufacturers that still rely on spreadsheets or paper-based tracking lose significant time to manual re-planning and miscommunication across the shop floor.

Production scheduling software addresses this by giving operations leaders real-time visibility into capacity, resources, and order priorities. But the market is crowded, and solutions vary in complexity, cost, and the type of manufacturing they support. Below, we break down three strong options, their features, and their costs so you can make a confident decision.

Alpha TransForm: Digital Solutions to Collect, Analyze, and Act on Data Turn Paper Forms Into Mobile Apps in Minutes | No IT Team Required | Works Offline | Trusted by Manufacturing & Field Teams Why Business Leaders Choose Alpha TransForm: ✓ Built-in custom dashboards and workflows to trigger business activity ✓ Seamless integration with existing business systems ✓ Replace Excel with digital data collection and analysis ✓ Rapid digitization—build apps in days without IT bottlenecks ✓ Proven ROI with scalable start-small approach ✓ Trusted by manufacturing, construction, and healthcare leaders From Paper to Digital in 3 Steps 1. Upload your paper form or start from scratch 2. Customize fields and logic as needed 3. Deploy to mobile devices and start collecting data instantly Stop losing time with paper processes. Start delivering business value today. Talk to a Solutions Consultant →

Top 3 Production Scheduling Software Solutions for Manufacturing

1. Alpha TransForm

Alpha TransForm helps manufacturing teams digitize shop floor processes and capture production data in real time, no IT required.

Alpha TransForm, built by us at Alpha Software, takes a different approach to production scheduling challenges. Rather than replacing your existing planning system, we give manufacturing teams the tools to digitize shop-floor data that drives better scheduling decisions. Think of quality inspections, Gemba walks, 5S audits, equipment checks, and inventory counts; all the paper-based processes that slow down production visibility.

With Alpha TransForm, business users can turn paper forms into mobile apps in minutes, capture data with photo documentation, barcode scanning, GPS stamps, and digital signatures, and push that information into custom dashboards that trigger alerts and workflows. Everything works offline, which is essential in warehouses, factory floors, and field environments where connectivity is unreliable.

Our pre-built manufacturing app templates let teams start collecting production data immediately and scale from there. We provide a free license tier to get started, with subscription pricing that scales as your operation grows.

2. MRPeasy

MRPeasy provides an all-in-one manufacturing resource planning for small to mid-sized production teams. (Image source: MRPeasy)

MRPeasy is a cloud-based manufacturing resource planning platform designed for small to mid-sized manufacturers with 10–200 employees. It covers production planning, scheduling, inventory management, procurement, and basic accounting in a single system.

The platform is known for its straightforward interface and relatively fast setup compared to traditional ERP systems. MRPeasy integrates with QuickBooks, Shopify, and other common business tools, though some users note that advanced customization options are limited and support can be slow for non-standard issues.

3. Katana Cloud Inventory

Katana provides cloud-based inventory and production management built for e-commerce manufacturers. (Image source: Katana)

Katana is a cloud-based manufacturing and inventory platform that provides real-time production tracking, visual scheduling, and multi-location inventory management. It is popular among e-commerce manufacturers who sell through Shopify or similar platforms.

The platform gives teams a live view of available raw materials and finished goods across all locations, helping production managers prioritize orders and avoid stockouts. Katana also supports bill of materials management, purchase order automation, and shop-floor task assignment, so operators can track progress in real time.

Features to Look for in Production Scheduling Software

Choosing the right production scheduling tool comes down to matching capabilities with your real operational needs. Real-time visibility into order status, machine capacity, and material availability is foundational.

Any solution you consider should provide a clear, up-to-date picture of what is happening on your shop floor. Integration with your existing systems (ERP, accounting, inventory) is equally important, because scheduling data in isolation leads to the same disconnected planning problems that spreadsheets create.

For manufacturers operating in environments with limited or unreliable network access, offline functionality is non-negotiable. Mobile data capture, including photo documentation, barcode scanning, and digital signatures, ensures the information that feeds your schedule is accurate and timely.

Finally, consider how quickly your team can actually deploy and adopt the tool. Solutions that require months of IT-led implementation and specialized training may not deliver value fast enough for operations that need improvement now.

Cost Comparison: Alpha TransForm vs. MRPeasy vs. Katana

Alpha TransForm Pricing

Alpha TransForm provides the most accessible entry point with a Free Tier that includes 3 users and 35 forms per month, enough for a team to test real production workflows before committing budget.

The Business plan costs $30/user/month and unlocks unlimited forms, offline data collection, dashboard analytics, integrated workflows, and full API access for connecting with existing systems. For larger operations, the Enterprise tier offers volume pricing, on-premises deployment, dedicated onboarding, and setup support via a custom quote.

MRPeasy Pricing

MRPeasy uses a per-user pricing model across four tiers. The Starter plan begins at $49/user/month and includes production planning, BOM management, inventory, and basic integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, and Shopify. The Professional plan at $69/user/month adds features like serial numbers, quality control, and subcontracting.

The Enterprise plan at $99/user/month introduces master production scheduling, multiple production sites, and maintenance management. The Unlimited plan costs $149/user/month with a two-user minimum and removes all feature limits.

Katana Pricing

Katana offers a Free Plan for teams exploring the platform, with up to 30 SKUs and 3 inventory locations, and full feature access for 15 days. The Core Plan starts at $299/month and includes unlimited users, SKUs, and integrations, with usage-based billing for sales order volume and additional locations.

While the unlimited-users model can be cost-effective for larger teams, costs can climb quickly as add-ons, order volume, and location count increase.

Production Scheduling Software: At-a-Glance Summary Table

Why Alpha TransForm Leads for Manufacturing Production Visibility

Alpha Software delivers digital solutions that help manufacturing teams collect, analyze, and act on production data faster.

At Alpha Software, we built Alpha TransForm because we saw manufacturing teams stuck between two bad options: expensive enterprise systems that take months to deploy, or paper processes that leave critical production data trapped on clipboards. Our approach is different. We help you digitize data collection for smarter scheduling, quality inspections, equipment checks, inventory counts, and non-conformance reports, and turn that data into actionable dashboards and automated workflows.

Alpha TransForm works offline in the most demanding environments, from warehouse floors to oil field sites. Business users can build and deploy apps themselves in days, not months, without waiting on IT. We integrate seamlessly with your existing business systems, so the production data you collect flows where it needs to go. With built-in photo capture, barcode scanning, GPS, timestamps, and conditional logic, our apps capture richer, more accurate data than any paper form or spreadsheet ever could.

Our customers see rapid ROI by starting small, digitizing a handful of forms, and scaling up as results prove out. You can check out our free manufacturing app templates, including 5S audit checklists and equipment inspection apps, to see how quickly you can move from paper to digital.

*Note: Alpha TransForm is a no-code app builder developed by Alpha Software. Product features, availability, pricing, and results referenced are for informational purposes only and subject to change; actual capabilities and outcomes may vary based on configuration and use case. To confirm current offerings and pricing, talk to a Solutions Consultant.