iFAKT Polaris

Disclosure: M365.FM host Mirko Peters works at iFAKT GmbH. This page describes the company factually; paid partnerships and links are labelled as advertising.

Product

Production software from iFAKT GmbH that combines ERP data with a digital twin of manufacturing and AI to optimize production schedules, reveal bottlenecks and improve on-time delivery.

Description

iFAKT Polaris, also called Polaris IMS, is the production software of iFAKT GmbH from Stuttgart. iFAKT presents it as "AI + Digital Twin for Production": Polaris takes order and master data from the ERP system and combines it with a digital twin of the factory, so that schedules can be optimized, bottlenecks become visible and on-time delivery improves.

Scheduling in Polaris is constraint-based and considers resources, skills, shifts and buffers. What-if simulations show the effect of a change before it is made, and a KPI cockpit tracks lead time, work in progress, utilization and on-time delivery.

Polaris is built from seven modules: Polaris VSM (data-based value stream mapping of material and information flows), Polaris BSM (business swimlane modelling of processes and responsibilities), Polaris Designer (product-process-resource knowledge graph as a single source of truth), Polaris Simulator (virtual tests of capacity, staffing and buffer scenarios), Polaris Optimizer (automatically generated production plans under constraints such as resources, shifts, zones, qualifications and capacities), Polaris Operator (time-based tasks on the shop floor with real-time feedback) and Polaris Analyzer (KPI dashboards across the modules with plan versus actual).

Related topics in brief

• iFAKT GmbH · Developed by · Organization
  Stuttgart-based consulting company and software specialist for Industry 4.0, founded in 2001, that helps manufacturers plan and optimize production and logistics processes; developer of the Polaris software.
• Business application · Is a · Category
  Software for business processes such as sales, finance or customer service.
• Digital twin · Related to · Concept
  A maintained digital representation of a physical resource, its relationships and its operating conditions, kept up to date from observations.
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) · Related to · Concept
  Business software that connects purchasing, inventory, orders and related transactions across an organization.
• Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) · Related to · Concept
  Planning software that calculates a feasible production schedule from capacity, calendars, material, routing rules and priorities.
• Constraint-based scheduling · Related to · Concept
  A production scheduling approach that places each operation on a real resource and time slot only when hard constraints such as machine capability, tooling, labor skills, material release and precedence are met, then compares feasible options against business objectives.
• Key performance indicator (KPI) · Related to · Concept
  A key performance indicator is a measure used to judge how well an organization, process or activity is meeting its objectives. The episode argues that a KPI should act as a decision rule with an owner, a trigger and a pre-committed action.
• Industry 4.0 · Related to · Concept
  The networked, data-driven digitalization of industrial production, in which machines, products, software and people exchange data in real time; often called the smart factory or the fourth industrial revolution.
• Philip Schubert · Related to · Person
  Philip Schubert is Head of Business Development and Operations at iFAKT GmbH in Stuttgart, where he works on the Polaris software for production planning in aerospace, MRO and mechanical engineering.
• Polaris VSM · Includes · Product
  Module of iFAKT Polaris for data-based value stream mapping that models material and information flows collaboratively and makes waste and bottlenecks visible.
• Polaris BSM · Includes · Product
  Module of iFAKT Polaris for business swimlane modelling that documents business processes together with the responsibilities of the roles involved.
• Polaris Designer · Includes · Product
  Module of iFAKT Polaris that builds a product-process-resource (PPR) knowledge graph as the single source of truth for products, process steps and resources.
• Polaris Simulator · Includes · Product
  Module of iFAKT Polaris that tests the production system virtually, for example capacity, staffing and buffer scenarios, and reveals bottlenecks before changes are made.
• Polaris Optimizer · Includes · Product
  Module of iFAKT Polaris that automatically generates optimized production plans under constraints such as resources, shifts, zones, qualifications and capacities.

Glossary

Experts and companies for this topic

Nobody has listed this topic yet. Add it to your profile.

Experts on related topics

• Mirko Peters · via iFAKT GmbH

Maintained by Mirko Peters (Microsoft MVP) · Last updated: 2026-11-06