The scheduler that survives first contact with reality
Keep Your Commitments, Even When Reality Changes
Most schedulers build a plan that’s wrong by lunchtime. Otto continuously reconciles your schedule with what’s actually happening on the floor — late materials, missing operators, machine downtime, changing priorities — so you keep your promises without the firefighting. Run it yourself, hand it to an AI agent, or anywhere in between. Built for manufacturers who outgrew spreadsheets but don’t need enterprise overhead.
No credit card · 30-day trial
Features
What Spreadsheets Can’t Do (And ERPs Overcomplicate)
Real manufacturing is messy. Your plan is right at 6 a.m. and wrong by 9. Materials slip, machines drop, operators don’t show, priorities flip. Otto handles the disruption your current tools ignore.
Plans That Survive Reality
The scheduler built around the assumption that your plan will break. Otto continuously reconciles production against real conditions — material shortages, labor gaps, downtime, rush orders — and flags conflicts before they become missed deliveries.
Instant Rescheduling
Move a job, click reschedule, and see the impact on your KPIs instantly. No overnight batch runs. Just drag, drop, done.
Sequence-Dependent Setups
Setup time depends on what comes before and after — Otto knows this. Model real changeover complexity that spreadsheets can’t handle and ERPs overcomplicate.
Variable Run Rates
Production speed changes based on crew size and skill mix. Otto calculates actual throughput, not theoretical maximums that never happen on the floor.
Maintenance Integration
Downtime and maintenance built directly into your production schedule. No more surprises when the PM schedule conflicts with your biggest order.
Built for Growing Manufacturers
Most manufacturers have fewer than 100 employees, yet most software is built for giants. Otto gives you sophisticated scheduling without the enterprise price tag or IT overhead.
Custom Algorithms
Custom Optimization, Without the Enterprise Project
Otto’s default engine gets most factories running on day one. But some plants have one constraint that generic scheduling logic gets wrong — a carrier that only holds one mould family, a line whose rate depends on who’s crewing it, a changeover rule with no clean pattern. Modelling that properly has meant an enterprise optimization project with a consulting engagement attached, which is why most mid-sized manufacturers never got one. We build the algorithm for a fixed fee.
Your algorithm is bespoke. Everything around it — the app, the imports, the updates, the support — stays standard.
Your routings
Multi-stage flows, shared resources, and the real layout of your shop floor.
Your constraints
Sequence rules, crewing, tooling, material timing — whatever your plant runs on.
Your objectives
Tune for on-time delivery, throughput, changeover cost, or what your plant values.
From the Blog
Insights for Modern Manufacturers
Practical advice on production scheduling, workforce optimization, and the future of small manufacturing.
Company · February 2025 · 6 min read
Why We’re Building a Smarter Scheduling Platform for Small and Medium Manufacturers
75% of US manufacturing firms have fewer than 20 employees, yet most scheduling software is built for giants. We’re changing that with scheduling that adapts to reality — and lets you decide how much of the work AI handles.
Read moreIntegrations
Built to Connect, Not to Lock You In
Start with the spreadsheets you already keep. Every record Otto schedules from — items, routings, bills of material, work orders, shifts, downtime, customers — imports from CSV, so you can be scheduling before any integration work begins. When you’re ready to connect systems, Otto is API-first: export your data anytime and never worry about vendor lock-in. Need an integration we don’t have yet? Tell us — it shapes what we build next.
Pricing
Pricing That Scales With Your Plant
Start manual, add AI when you’re ready. Otto and Otto Mate include a 30-day free trial.
No implementation fee. No mandatory onboarding package. Add capacity as you grow.
Otto
You schedule.
Up to 5 workstations · +$20/ea additional
Start Free Trial- One-Click Scheduling
- Default Scheduling Algorithm
- Multi-Stage Process Routing
- Sequence-Dependent Changeovers
- Variable Run Rates by Crew Size
- Drag-and-Drop Rescheduling
- Bill of Materials (BOM) Support
Otto Mate
Otto proposes, you approve.
Up to 5 workstations · +$20/ea additional
Start Free TrialEverything in Otto, plus
- Continuously reconciles your schedule against real conditions
- Flags conflicts before they become missed deliveries
- Proposes workable alternatives the moment reality changes
- Executes the moves you approve — one click
- Watches materials, labor, and capacity at the same time
Give your planners an assistant that watches materials, labor, and capacity at once — something no human can do continuously.
Otto Pilot
Otto runs it. You set the guardrails.
Includes full MRP II · scales with items & workstations
Join the WaitlistEverything in Otto Mate, plus
- Takes customer orders automatically
- Prepares & submits purchase orders
- Schedules production autonomously
- Estimates delivery timelines for customers
- Monitors disruptions and reschedules proactively
- Operates within the guardrails you set
Turn Otto from a tool you operate into a system that operates for you.
Custom Algorithms
How custom algorithms are priced
It isn’t a separate product — a custom algorithm attaches to whichever plan you choose: Otto, Otto Mate, or Otto Pilot.
- Fixed-fee build, scoped to your plant
- Then a recurring uplift on your subscription
- Algorithms using a commercial solver (Gurobi, Hexaly, and others) priced higher
Need ERP or other integrations? Available à la carte — talk to sales.
FAQ
Questions We Hear From Shop Floors
Real questions from production managers, plant owners, and schedulers like you.
How is Otto different from the scheduling software I’ve already tried?
Most schedulers hand you a plan and walk away — the moment materials slip or a machine drops, you’re back in the spreadsheet rebuilding it by hand. Otto continuously reconciles your schedule with what’s actually happening and shows you workable alternatives the instant something breaks. And you decide how much it does on its own: suggest changes, propose alternatives, or execute approved moves automatically.
We’re a small shop. Isn’t this overkill for us?
Otto is built specifically for small and medium manufacturers — the 93% of US plants with fewer than 100 employees. You get sophisticated scheduling without the enterprise price tag, or IT requirements dependency. If you’ve outgrown spreadsheets but don’t need SAP, you’re exactly who we built this for.
Can Otto handle our complex changeover rules?
Yes. Otto supports sequence-dependent setup times — where changeover duration depends on what you ran before and what you’re running next. This is the real-world complexity that spreadsheets can’t model and that many schedulers ignore entirely.
What if production speed varies based on crew size?
Otto handles variable run rates natively. Define how throughput changes based on the number of workers assigned, their skill levels, or specific crew combinations. Your schedule reflects actual production capacity, not theoretical maximums.
Do we have to let AI run our schedule?
No — and most teams don’t start there. Otto runs on a spectrum. Otto Mate, your AI assistant, suggests schedules, proposes alternatives when reality changes, and executes the changes you approve. Otto Pilot goes further — an AI agent that autonomously manages routine scheduling within the guardrails you set. You move along that path at your own pace. We’re not here to replace your planners — we’re giving them an assistant that watches materials, labor, capacity, and customer commitments at the same time, something no human can do continuously.
How long does it take to get up and running?
Most teams are scheduling within a day. Import your products, workers, and stations from Excel, define your shift patterns and constraints, and you’re ready. No six-month implementation projects. If you can describe your plant, you can configure Otto.
What happens when plans change mid-shift?
That’s the whole point of Otto. The moment a material slips, a machine goes down, or an order jumps the line, Otto shows the impact instantly and generates workable alternatives — so you keep your delivery promises instead of firefighting. Make the call yourself, or let Otto handle the routine reshuffles automatically. Either way, nothing breaks downstream.
Ready to Stop Firefighting?
See what happens when your schedule adapts to reality instead of breaking on contact with it. Start your free trial and stop rebuilding your plan by hand.
Up and running in a day. No credit card for trial.