Smart Manufacturing Blog

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Supply Chain Management

Plex Manufacturing Blog

Will It Go Round in Circles?

Plex DemandCaster March 5, 2024

Many have heard the 1972 song by Billy Preston called Will It Go Round in Circles?It was a catchy tune, but if you listen to the words, you realize the singer had no idea if his suggestions would work or “go round in circles.”Others have wondered the same thing about a more recent trend called the circular economy. Since its conception, most have considered the concept aspirational rather than…

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From Reactive to Proactive: Big Data Analytics & Supply Chain Management

Plex DemandCaster February 27, 2024

Traditional supplier management consisted of spreadsheets, planner experience, and a lot of guesswork.Decisions were made based on dated, error-prone information and human analysis using spreadsheets or old standalone software.This reality forced companies into a reactive position. Because data was compiled and analyzed after events had occurred, there was little planning professionals could do…

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Digital Building Blocks for Operational Efficiency

Plex DemandCaster January 16, 2024

As Industry 4.0 continues to shape industries across the globe, one of the most significant beneficiaries of the power of these technologies is operational efficiency within manufacturing.This is particularly true with the rise of the role of robots in manufacturing industries and the supply chain....

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Digital Building Blocks for Quality

Plex Team January 4, 2024

Automotive manufacturers operate in a hyper-competitive industry, producing complex pieces of equipment that have, on average, over 30,000 parts. Manufacturing them comes with substantial uncertainty due to quickly shifting consumer tastes—and the unwavering expectation for high quality....

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Digital Building Blocks for Your Enterprise

Plex DemandCaster January 4, 2024

From the most straightforward shed to the highest skyscraper, every structure is built with a complex assortment of components. These “building blocks” give the structure support and strength and allow it to be used as designed.As manufacturing industries rapidly adopt Industry 4.0 technologies to create smart and fully digital manufacturing systems, companies are realizing that digital building…

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Digital Building Blocks for Sustainability: Part 2

Plex DemandCaster December 18, 2023

There is increasing interest in reducing carbon emissions as part of overall sustainability. This particularly applies to manufacturing where both awareness and regulations are encouraging producers to explore ways to mitigate or eliminate their emissions.Continuing our discussion of sustainability as a digital building block in manufacturing, let's look at how software can help monitor, track,…

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Inflation: Saying the "I" Word Out Loud

Plex Team December 5, 2023

Inflation - it’s the dreaded “I” word. After decades of historically low rates, it came back with a vengeance and continues to disrupt operations everywhere.There are virtually no sectors of the economy nor any industry untouched as prices have risen across every category. Most of these categories, like energy, transportation, raw materials, labor, and others, impact manufacturing directly,…

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Is Your Manufacturing Operation a Haunted House?

Plex Team October 24, 2023

A door opens with a creaking sound. Faint groans are heard just around the corner. And the distinct sight of a completely bandaged entity is seen shuffling down a corridor. Is it a haunted house? A scary abandoned building? Or is it your manufacturing process?While haunted houses can be a fun way to celebrate Halloween, they’re not so fun when they reflect a harsh reality within your plant. That…

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How Demand Drives Execution

Plex Team October 10, 2023

In traditional manufacturing models, there needed to be more connection between the ability to meet customer demand and manufacturing execution. Subjective data-gathering on demand coupled with manual processes and manual data collection in manufacturing obscured the real demand picture....

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Best Maid – An Automation Fair Sneak Peek

Plex Team September 7, 2023

Sometimes, opportunity awaits those who reach for it. Other times, it can be part of a dynamic shift to a new way of doing business and a new way of thinking. When Best Maid needed to refine and sharpen its performance and inventory accountability to take in the growth it was experiencing, Plex was the answer....

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