Smart Manufacturing Blog

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Industrial Manufacturing

Plex Manufacturing Blog

Wondering How to Select an MES Vendor? Consider the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for MES

Hemant Makhija November 15, 2018

At the end of the day, your main concern is delivering on customer demands as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible. The systems that run your business are essential to making this possible. Your investment is not trivial, and those systems need to be reliable so there are little, if any, disruptions to production. ...

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A and K Finishing Moves from Manual, Paper-based Quality and Inventory Processes to up Its Game

Kaitlin Rebella November 13, 2018

For every large manufacturing company that is in the midst of a digital transformation, there are hundreds of small to mid-sized manufacturers still relying on manual, paper-based processes—and it’s taking a toll on their ability to manage quality and inventory....

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A Halloween Haunting: Scary Stories for Manufacturers

Kaitlin Rebella October 29, 2018

We love the manufacturing industry. And some of us also love celebrating Halloween. What if we combined these two things by re-imagining some of today’s most popular thrillers set in a manufacturing environment? It’s not that farfetched. Let’s explore some ideas....

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GenZe Manufactures a Smart Product with a Big Mission

Lori Zoellner October 16, 2018

The transportation industry is rapidly changing, and not just due to the explosive popularity of ridesharing solutions like Uber and Lyft. Just look at any major urban area, and you’ll see a fleet of bicycles joining rush hour traffic. Look a little deeper, and you’ll notice that the entire infrastructure is evolving, from upgraded parking spaces with chargers, to the proliferation of new lanes…

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Manufacturing Industry Enthusiasm Off the Charts at IMTS 2018 and Hanover Messe USA

Dave Morfas October 9, 2018

Not only did the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) and collocated Hanover Messe USA break records by setting an all-time high for exhibitors and attendees, but these events also captured something more important: a sense of unbridled global optimism in the manufacturing industry....

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Plex Customer Talks About the Importance of Manufacturing Day

Lori Zoellner October 2, 2018

Manufacturing Day is an annual celebration of modern manufacturing and is meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers, and occurs the first Friday of October. Created by the Founding Partner Fabricators and the Manufacturers Association in 2012, this event has steadily grown to showcase what manufacturers, like you, do every day to make the things that impact our world....

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Breakthrough Technologies Impacting Manufacturing and the Way We Make Things

Stu Johnson September 25, 2018

Technology has seen rapid advancements in the past decade—and it only seems to be happening faster as each year passes. When it comes to breakthrough technology, manufacturing certainly has seen its share, most recently due to trends like Industry 4.0 and transformative connectivity made possible by the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)....

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4 Things You Need in a SaaS-based Manufacturing ERP and MES Solution

Todd Weeks September 18, 2018

As more businesses move to SaaS (software-as-a-service) applications, some manufacturers still have some uncertainty about data safety and security, as well as uptime and reliability in the cloud. If moving your operations to the cloud seems foreign to you, or if you aren’t sure how to evaluate cloud versus on-premise ERP and MES systems, just remember these four things: availability,…

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Fastener Manufacturers Focus on On-Time Delivery to Stand Out

Dave Morfas September 11, 2018

Metal products like screws and bolts are often seen as a commodity but if you can become a preferred supplier to large OEMs, the opportunity is ripe to take advantage of higher margins. Finding reliable suppliers is a lengthy and tedious process for large OEMs....

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“What Is Your IIoT Strategy?” Is the Wrong Question

Stu Johnson August 20, 2018

Manufacturers need to do more! Competitors are doing more--and perhaps at a lower cost. Customers expect more--and may demand a discount assuming that you're continuously improving. The recent technology trends seem to miss the fact that it’s your business strategy that's the thing. Not technology for technology sake. ...

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