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High Tech & Electronics
Plex Manufacturing Blog
IIoT and Smart Connected Manufacturing - Only in the Cloud
Manufacturing is evolving right before our eyes with companies looking for ways to make faster, more accurate decisions. The need for better automation and data communication, combined with the availability of smart technology to support it, has piqued the interest of companies looking to take that next step in modernizing production capabilities. ...
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Manufacturing in Uncertain Times: Flexibility is King
Over the last few years, there’s been an exciting upturn in the interest that large US and European corporations have had in the manufacturing industry. There have even been signs of “on shoring” manufacturing capabilities. There are lots of economic reasons why a change in heart has happened, not least the desire to better serve customers through faster deliveries, more customization and better…
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Legacy ERP Leaves User Communities Alone in the Wilderness
Customer communities can provide a great way to extend ERP value. Vibrant communities provide a venue where users collaborate on everything from desired roadmap functions to best practices, processes, templates and tricks of the trade....
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Legacy ERP Vendors Make You an Offer You Can Refuse
One of the worst situations manufacturing IT groups routinely deal with is having to upgrade ERP software. This may not seem like a big deal, but consider how intertwined ERP is in a manufacturing company, from finance to production to logistics. ...
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The Legacy ERP Money Pit
Manufacturers face churning market conditions – changing commodity prices, fluctuating energy and transportation rates, and labor challenges. Avoiding unanticipated expenditures, focusing on driving down costs, and improving agility are imperative....
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A Year of Innovation and Changes on the Manufacturing Plant Floor
We’re excited about 2016 and all the innovations we’ll see implemented on the manufacturing plant floor. But before we get too far into the new year, here are the five most popular Plex Manufacturing blogs from 2015, which feature our customers, the Plex Manufacturing Cloud and innovative technology....
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Five New Year's Resolutions for Manufacturers
It’s that time of the year: time to set resolutions that’ll guide you through 2016. As a manufacturer, your goals might be to leverage plant floor data to improve efficiencies, streamline processes and more. Check out our New Year's Resolution infographic to see the changes manufacturers can implement to make 2016 a success....
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Five Business Benefits Driving Manufacturing Cloud ERP Solutions
Business needs drive technology adoption, not the other way around, and more and more manufacturers are turning to a modern cloud ERP solution to address those needs. Cloud ERP software solutions, particularly SaaS, have passed into mainstream adoption. It is not a matter of if your company adopts it, but when and to what degree (at the plant level or across the entire enterprise). ...
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Two Low-Cost Technologies are Transforming Plant Floors
Manufacturing facilities are filled with expensive equipment. Multi-million-dollar investments can make, or break, a company’s ability to compete and grow. But in today’s connected shop floor environment, smaller, low-cost tools are delivering competitive advantage....
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Why Cloud? SaaS Matters.
When you consider cloud-based services, it’s important to understand not just the features and functionality of the solution, but also the differences in the underlying delivery model. Consider a cell phone as compared to a land-line: they both perform the same function, but one allows you to roam untethered. ...
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Know Thy Cloud: 3 Pillars That Define Cloud
Prospects and customers constantly ask us to help them cut through the noise and understand why SaaS-based ERP delivered via native cloud is different, and how it can benefit their business. Many flavors of cloud exist even within the specific realm of cloud ERP solutions, but native cloud, or cloud applications specifically and exclusively delivered as a service have unique and impactful…
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Techonomy Detroit: The Transformational Power of Tech
Recently I had the privilege of participating in Techonomy Detroit, a gathering of business, civic, nonprofit and academic leaders, where I was able to take a step back from my daily focus on the Plex Manufacturing Cloud and think about the broader impact of technology and manufacturing on communities and society....
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The Cloud: Transforming Global Manufacturing
“It used to be that you had to be a pretty big company before you had multiple plants and before you were serving Asian markets and European markets. That's not the case today,” says Jim Shepherd, vice president of Strategy at Plex. “Even our smallest customers often have multiple sites in multiple countries. ...
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Plex Benchmarks: Driving Insights through Community and Cloud
The cloud is moving the manufacturing industry forward, improving the performance of manufacturing operations management in the process. Manufacturers heavily rely on industry benchmarks such as surveys and other publicly reported data to measure the success of their organization. ...
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Why Aren’t There More Women in Manufacturing?
The manufacturing industry has undergone tremendous transformation. Smart machines line the plant floor, products are customized in near real time, and mobile devices are used to provide insight into operations 24x7x365....
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The Appeal of Saas ERP
Attitudes towards cloud and software as a service (SaaS) have changed dramatically in recent times, particularly with respect to software that runs your business. While just a few short years ago Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) might have been considered the last bastion of resistance to SaaS, today the majority of businesses have some sort of cloud strategy that involves ERP and the shift to…
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Plex Insight: Internet of Things Brings Increased Manufacturing Intelligence
For FloraCraft, the world’s largest fabricator and supplier of foam products for the craft, floral, display and special event industries, one-tenth of a penny determines a product’s profitability. Like FloraCraft, the manufacturing industry has always been data-driven, and the greatest proof of this is perhaps manufacturers’ historic understanding and focus on the cost of goods sold....
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What’s Next for Wearables: Google Glass and Ring Scanners Find Practical Uses in Manufacturing Operations Management
Why wearables? We’re at an unprecedented time in technology evolution, where things like battery capacity, processor performance, display quality, cloud computing, wireless communication and sensor precision are all coming together to enable whole new classes of smart, connected devices....
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From Webcams to Wearables, Manufacturers Find Novel Uses for Technology on the Shop Floor
Who would have anticipated that the webcam – an inexpensive device designed for video chats – would play a vital role in keeping manufacturing operations running? For maintenance technicians who venture to different machines and locations in the plant every day, mobile access to information is vital. ...
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Could Detroit be the Next Technology Hub?
Last week’s Fortune article asks the question: Is Detroit the next Silicon Valley? While on the surface these two areas seem quite different – one known for auto manufacturing and the other a hub for technology – the two areas are more similar than you might think. Today, the industries are colliding and shop floors are going hi-tech....
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