The checklist helps organizations decide when to prioritize SAP PP/DS, when to prioritize Kinaxis, and when to choose both. Each section lists the signals for each answer across six areas: strategic and business drivers, IT landscape and data environment, planning horizons and complexity, process and workflow requirements, maturity and organizational readiness, and ROI and implementation considerations.
In short, SAP PP/DS fits precise finite-capacity scheduling at plant or line level, tight shop-floor integration, short-horizon execution, and an SAP-centric landscape; Kinaxis fits rapid scenario planning, multi-ERP and network-wide planning, medium-to-long horizons, and cross-functional S&OP. Choosing both supports a model where Kinaxis handles network trade-offs and PP/DS handles shop-floor realism.
A final determination matrix (if three or more items are true, pick that priority first) and four hybrid patterns — including using Kinaxis as a stable planning layer during an ERP migration — close the checklist, which notes that most mid to large enterprises find a hybrid approach delivers the best results.
The full checklist is available above as a PDF. For a side-by-side comparison of the two platforms see "Kinaxis vs. SAP ERP Cloud PP/DS: How They Differ and Why Many Companies Run Both" in the Resource Library.