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Modern Manufacturing
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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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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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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Food and Beverage Leaders Realize that Suppliers Will be the Key to Success
The introduction of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) caused major changes in Food & Beverage manufacturing. Manufacturers are focused on food safety and traceability as well as how their organizations will have to handle ongoing issues. Even though this bill was signed into law back in 2010, companies today are still scrambling and working on complying with the continually evolving…
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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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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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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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Manufacturing's Resurgence
Last week I had the opportunity to attend Forbes’ second annual Reinventing America Summit, a gathering of key players in the advanced manufacturing ecosystem. The innovation, ingenuity and enthusiasm on display reinforced my conviction in the resurgence of American manufacturing and our ability to compete globally. ...
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Why More Manufacturers Are Finding Quality Maturity in the Cloud
All manufacturers—from startups to those in the Fortune 100—are concerned with quality. However, where each is along the path to quality maturity varies. At LNS Research, we like to refer to the process of progressing forward on this path as an “endless journey,” because with an ever-evolving set of quality obstacles as well as continual innovation in strategies and technologies, there’s room for…
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What A and D Suppliers Need to Know About Quality and Compliance in 2014
There’s a lot happening in A&D right now. While public focus will likely always remain on large organizations—Boeing, Airbus, Raytheon, and more—the ears of executives leading tier 3, 2, and 1 suppliers must be burning. Nearly all of today’s large A&D OEMs are looking to the supplier network to identify areas for improvement, and it’s putting pressure on those organizations to make…
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Has Manufacturing Forgotten that "Quality Is Free"?
All the recent news about recalls in the motor vehicle industry got me thinking about quality management. In 1979 I was the VP of Manufacturing in a company producing switches and motors for the appliance industry. ...
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