Capacity Planning: How to Build a Manufacturing Dashboard with NetSuite and AI

Many manufacturing leaders avoid automated finite scheduling because they fear losing flexibility in their planning process. In fast moving production environments, adaptability on the shop floor is essential.

This solution helps answer the following questions:

• What is our actual production capacity right now?

• When and where do we need to invest in additional capital equipment?

• Where is the bottleneck hiding this week?

• Do we need to add a third shift to hit delivery commitments?

Most capacity planning efforts fail because teams never establish a usable baseline. Without a clear view of capacity versus load, decisions become reactive and scheduling becomes guesswork.

At Racette Consulting, we have developed a simplified capacity planning method that provides full visibility into production capabilities using native NetSuite reporting and AI. The video below shows how this approach is configured in NetSuite and how AI is used to surface capacity insights across work centers. No additional modules. No excessive costs. Just disciplined use of the data you already own.

The Approach: Simplicity Over Complexity

In our latest demonstration, we show how to bridge the gap between raw NetSuite data and actionable insight. By connecting NetSuite to Claude, standard records are transformed into a high level Manufacturing Capacity Dashboard that highlights risk, opportunity, and constraints in real time.

This approach prioritizes clarity over complexity and decision support over automation.

1. Setting the Foundation in NetSuite

The strength of this dashboard starts with direct, intentional variables. Manufacturing work centers are identified using a simple checkbox and assigned a static weekly capacity value.

The Field
A dedicated Field ID defines exactly how many hours a work center can support per week.

The Logic
This approach does not rely on complex transactional calculations. It establishes a consistent baseline that allows immediate comparison against planned work.

2. Calculating Real Time Load

The dashboard pulls directly from Work Orders and Routing Operations. Planned setup time and planned runtime are aggregated to calculate total planned time in hours for each work center.

In the demonstration, an SFO Blending work center shows 12.5 hours of planned work against a weekly limit of 15 hours. The result shows the work center operating at over 80 percent of its weekly capacity, with no manual analysis required.

3. Visualizing the Shop Floor

Within minutes, AI transforms the data into a clear operational health check.

Capacity Overview
Quickly identify which work centers are approaching their limits and which have remaining available capacity.

Critical Flags
Work centers missing capacity data are automatically surfaced, preventing blind spots in reporting.

Actionable Suggestions
Rather than static charts, the dashboard highlights scheduling adjustments and capacity planning options based on remaining available hours.

Why This Matters

You do not need a large third party scheduling engine to gain control of your shop floor. Control comes from understanding capacity, constraints, and tradeoffs in real time.

By leveraging saved searches and AI driven visualization, bottlenecks become visible before they become problems.

When capacity is clear, planning becomes proactive. Scaling becomes intentional.

“We leverage what you already own to bring massive value to your operations.”

If you want help applying this approach in your own NetSuite environment, Racette Consulting can support configuration and reporting aligned to your operational goals.