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Modern Manufacturing
Plex Manufacturing Blog
5 Steps for Improving Your Product Quality
Everyone knows that poor quality can cause headaches that ripple throughout an organization, but not every manufacturer approaches (or even defines) quality the same way. Quality improvement strategies are as old as manufacturing itself, and yet achieving success in this area continues to be a challenge for many in the industry. Done right, and your quality concerns will be reduced to a minimal…
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Inventory Valuation Methods – Which One Works for You?
If you don’t know what you’ve got, you don’t know what you can make. While simple, this statement sums up the importance of inventory accounting in any business. But the value of inventory is just as significant. While accurate unit counts mean actual performance will match the production schedule, inventory valuation affects many areas within the company....
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The Last Mile in Your Quality Journey: Building a Quality Culture for Continuous Improvement (Part 3 of 3)
This is the third and final blog in a series focused on quality management. The first two blogs covered the importance of digitized quality processes and extending quality beyond a manufacturer's four walls. The third and final step I want to cover is the natural progression in Quality: the importance of building a quality culture or mindset across the enterprise....
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The Role of Quality Assurance in Manufacturing
What’s your quality management system like? It’s a simple question, but the answer can be complicated. Most manufacturers say they have a system in place, but what does that really entail? After all, some quality systems are based on manual, rudimentary processes while others leverage automated, cutting-edge innovations. Regardless of the level of sophistication, any quality management system…
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Progressing Down Your Quality Journey: Extending Quality Management into the Supply Chain (Part 2 of 3)
Last week I discussed the importance of starting out your quality journey by eliminating manual processes and embracing digitization. For the second blog in this three-part series, let's look at a natural next step for progression that many manufacturers are taking — extending their quality approach beyond their "four walls" and into the supply chain....
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Starting Down Your Quality Journey: The Importance of Digitized Quality Processes (Part 1 of 3)
Quality management is certainly not a new topic for manufacturers; however, the importance of it has never been stronger. This is the first blog of a three-part series focused on quality management and how manufacturers should approach their quality journey. First, it’s important to understand the current manufacturing environment....
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How the Efficiency of Inventory Management Affects Your Company
The efficiency of inventory management is crucial to any business. For retailers, accurate inventory means finished goods ready to sell. But for manufacturing companies, warehouse capacity for raw materials and finished goods must be balanced like bookends to ensure that production can take place on time and on schedule....
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The Importance of Quality Control in Manufacturing
Few things worry manufacturing managers more than quality. When quality control is on track, it improves efficiency and cost, and let’s face it; it means far fewer headaches. But when things go awry, quality issues can drive up material and labor costs, threaten margins, and result in missed orders....
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Periodic vs. Perpetual Inventory: What’s the Difference?
Get this - U.S. businesses carried $2,069.5 billion of inventory through July of 2021. That’s a 16.3% compared to 2020 when inventories were depleted during the early days of COVID. Further, business-to-sales ratio for inventory is 1.25, the lowest point since 2012 and reflective of the boom caused by pent-up demand....
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7 Food and Beverage Manufacturing Stats You’ve Never Seen (But Your Boss Will Care About)
It’s been a wild ride for the food and beverage industry lately – supply roadblocks, workforce shortages, not to mention all the inefficiencies that existed before the pandemic. But what if you could be the person who alleviates these pain points for your company? It’s not just wishful thinking; it’s smart manufacturing that connects, automates, tracks, and analyzes your operations. This…
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Smart vs. Unsmart Manufacturing Execution System Decisions: Which Are You Making?
Remember the day you got your first smartphone? With a single purchase, you went from flipping open a plastic device with an 8-bit screen to having untethered access to the collective knowledge of humanity right in your pocket. That experience changed your life. Discrete manufacturing is undergoing a similar revolution right now, forcing the question: will you stick with flip-phone manufacturing…
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7 Manufacturing Stats You’ve Never Seen (But Your Boss Will Care About)
If you’ve ever wished for a magic pill that could boost the bottom line while making you look like a superstar employee, then smart manufacturing is the prescription of your dreams....
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Smart vs. Unsmart: Improving your Manufacturing Execution System Journey
When you were a kid, the difference between good and bad was crystal clear. Putting gum in your hair? Bad. Looking both ways before crossing the street? Good. But now that you’re an adult – a professional – the difference between smart and unsmart decision-making is blurry. It’s hard to confidently know that one choice will lead to all the positive outcomes you’re hoping for. Until now....
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The Importance of Quality KPIs in Manufacturing
In today’s high-stakes world of manufacturing, technology can make or break a company’s success. To stay ahead of the competition, more and more factories are turning to manufacturing automation technology that improves operational excellence, lowers cost, and boosts quality....
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Feetures and Benefits: Lessons in Change, Growth, and Giving Back
It happens a lot: strangers walk up to Hugh Gaither and take off their shoes. Awkward, right? Not for Hugh. He’s the founder and CEO of Feetures, America’s top running sock brand. And if enthusiastic customers want to show off their Feetures socks, he’s all for it....
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