Founded in 1997 in the heart of Italy’s thriving Pesaro Furniture District by sibling entrepreneurs Massimo and Roberta Franceschetti, Planstudio has offered dedicated services and software solutions to the furniture and carpentry sectors for over two and a half decades.
With carpenters in the maritime sector working with thousands of complex pieces for each interior project, Planstudio’s tailored approach is a huge benefit to its clients. Without a structured organisational tool, the likelihood of loss of information or mistakes in production is extremely high – leading to increased costs, reduced margins and protracted delays. Planstudio is able to streamline production times by over 50 percent, reduce costs and prevent waste, here is how:
Born from Passion
Born to carpenter parents Alcide and Maria, Planstudio was founded partly on the passion for furniture making passed down from their mother and father, and partly to bring their experience of technology and efficiency to a highly time intensive and complex sector. Before founding the company, Massimo attended engineering school in Ancona, while working at an engineering firm in Pesaro as head of a technical department that was already working on Microstation as a flexible CAD solution customisable to the specific needs of companies in the 1990s. Roberta, however, was passionately involved in the industry of her region, developing 2D and 3D furniture designs, graphic representations, catalogues and technical manuals.
Roberta recounts; “Since I was a child, I used to watch my father build furniture. I was intrigued and amazed by his great manual dexterity. How, with the manual machines of that time, he could always find new solutions in the construction of even complex shapes”.
Renting a small workshop, they set about the task of automating some of the work of small carpentry businesses, using the limited tools at their disposal. At the time, most craftsmen drew their templates by hand from sketches, but increasing demand and mass production from global players such as China and America were putting pressure on the capabilities of independent craftsmen.
Planstudio develops specific software and processes for the bespoke, nautical and contract furniture sector. Assisting craftsmen and artisans by providing the tools to facilitate the design and production of their work. Massimo explains, “We have developed solutions that create a working method made up of control, data traceability and centrality of information, uniting the entire supply chain. We are Innovation Managers, we have in-house teams of developers and researchers, teams of technicians for customer support and training on the use of our solutions, as well as teams of consultants who analyse processes and find solutions.”
Planstudio offered the possibility to streamline these processes using software and design tools and today these early ideas have evolved into what is now the company's flagship product, Progenio Maxx.
Roberta adds, “We call ourselves “process surgeons”, and today we support companies in their digital innovation process thanks to our many years of experience in the field. We work with many companies, from small craftsmen to large industries, from design studios to construction sites.”
Streamlined Production Times
Through the development of an innovative methodology, Planstudio is able to streamline production times and help to ensure product delivery on or before deadlines. Their methodology encompasses all phases of the development of an order: from design to commissioning, right through to delivery.
Able to save time over 50 percent through multilevel job order management, automatic coding generation and full integration with 3D geometries. This allows Planstudio to define materials in the design phase, so that orders can be made, costs simulated, and quantities and weights calculated. This enables the client to anticipate future orders, which is fundamental to guarantee the highest quality, on-time delivery and increased margins.
Roberta explains, “Managing continuous change requests without losing sight of data and information is fundamental to the success of the order. The solutions we have developed are based on the concept of dynamic information directly linked to the 3D object. As the 3D changes, everything is updated, from floor plans to individual details, from bills of materials to requirements lists.”
Traceability is another fundamental factor, knowing in real time the identity of each part and the production phases and cycles associated with it is useful for optimising the process. Being able to access all the information associated with it makes it possible to increase product quality. In the assembly phase, having track of the identity of the furniture and its destination allows logistics to be defined precisely and on time.
PROGENIO MAXX
Planstudio announced the new version of Progenio MAXX in October 2019, creating the MAXX Ecosystem in 2023, the set of integrated desktop, web and mobile solutions required to manage the entire product lifecycle. The company's new web and mobile solutions (X-Vision, X-Solve and X-Tower) connect the entire supply chain involved in projects: from engineering offices to production, assembly and site assembly companies, thus creating an integrated ecosystem between companies, improving communication and ensuring the centrality and traceability of information.
Roberta adds, “With PROGENIO MAXX we have completely eliminated manual processes in order to eliminate errors, waste energy, reduce the time required to complete an order and improve the quality of the services and products supplied.”
Today, Planstudio is a very cohesive and forward-looking team, partnering with Bentley Systems, an American multinational and a leader in high-quality software solutions for large infrastructures. The flagship product, the basis for all Bentley products, is Microstation CAD, which we chose many years ago as the most flexible and developable platform on the market. Especially in contexts such as nautical and naval where shapes, diversity and quality of finish and design are mixed in a large number of different components, the Microstation CAD platform makes a great contribution.
Planstudio is ISO9001 EA37 certified and Bentley Developer Network & Training Partner, a guarantee of the quality of the solutions and services they offer.
For more information about Planstudio, its software and to find out how the team can help you and your business, reach out to them now;
Massimo and Roberta Franceschetti, CTO and CEO of Planstudio, are enlightened entrepreneurs who grew up in the Pesaro Furniture District (IT) and have been supporting companies since 1997 with dedicated services and specific software for their various fields of expertise in the luxury sector: mega yachts and large ships, luxury villas and boutiques.
Everything stems from understanding the specific needs of the Client and then designing the optimal processes for the Company and transforming them into reality with advanced technological solutions, developed through in-depth knowledge, experience and professionalism in the field. Planstudio's real strength and uniqueness lies in these concepts: designing the processes, offering the ad hoc software to implement them and training the personnel who will use the tools.
For this reason, Planstudio has created the MAXX Ecosystem which includes desktop, web and mobile services and solutions, launching in July 2023 its latest web solutions such as X-Solve which unifies, simplifies and optimises the Reporting and the Irregularity Management Process.
The organizational and management support they offer companies is aimed at analysing and making processes more efficient, containing costs, optimizing time and reducing waste. In addition to the undoubted economic benefits and the impact on productivity, all this also has a positive effect in terms of environmental sustainability: the optimization of work sequences allows the reduction of energy and material consumption, as well as potential human errors, indispensable prerogatives and highly topical.
Planstudio's solutions guarantee speed of job management, fast and accurate control of changes (even last-minute ones without having to revise the entire project), maximum level of quality, correct flow of project information thanks to a perfectly integrated system and available, clear and shared information to make processes more streamlined and simplified.
Planstudio's flagship software is PROGENIO MAXX®, an innovative technological solution that from a single work environment allows complex shapes to be designed quickly and easily, reducing overall lead times by at least 50 percent, providing complete control over furniture orders or the management of complex custom orders such as in yachting (zero error reduction) and easy and profitable collaboration with clients and suppliers. The enhancement of Engineering and process engineering is fundamental and is what makes the difference for Companies. Devoting the right amount of time to the design phase allows for better and easier process automation of the subsequent execution phase.
Recognized as a Platinum Partner by Bentley Systems, a world leader in software solutions, Planstudio is also a Bentley Training Product Partner and ISO9001 EA37 certified, thus guaranteeing qualified 4.0 training paths.
