Fischer AG is an innovative market leader in the rotation industry. Still, due to the company’s traditional nature, many manual and inefficient processes are used. One of these is the order planning process in the assembly department. Weekly order planning uses whiteboards, drawing, magnets, stickers, and manual searching. The planning team spends around 7 hours per week with order planning. The client wishes to develop a web app that can digitalize the whole process, increase efficiency and provide new innovative possibilities.

The project started with meetings that provided the requirements and expectations from the client’s side. The design was based on the author’s ideas and online examples, while the requirements provided the project’s backbone. The back-end (API) was programmed using Python’s Fast-API library, while the front-end was developed using react and dnd-kit. Multiple feedback rounds were held throughout the project, where the client and the planning team were presented with the current progress. They had the opportunity to provide feedback and suggestions, which were then integrated into the app.

The completed web app, the Fischer Planning Lab, consists of • A back-end responsible for collecting data from different sources (ERP, timekeeping system), the persistence of this data in a MongoDB database, and the serving of the front-end apps. • A front-end which is a touch-friendly modern UI developed for large TV-sized screens. Utilizing advanced drag-and-drop and touch interactions, the front end enables the planning of orders quickly and efficiently. • An employee dashboard. This additional web app is Azure AD login protected and displays employee-specific order information, like “my orders”, progress & efficiency metrics, and working hour-related data. This dashboard provides all the necessary data required for working on an order. The Fischer Planning Lab not only saves many hours for both the planning team and the workers but also provides new opportunities like advanced planning, highlighting of similar orders, undo-redo functionalities, progress indicators & warnings, and many more. The list of ideas and enhancements is endless, which is why the app is also developed in a way that enables simple extendibility and improvement.