Smart Manufacturing Blog

Welcome to your source for all things smart manufacturing. Whether you’re looking for expert insights, hard data, or actionable tips for your plant floor, we’ve got you covered every week of the year.

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Modern Manufacturing

Plex Manufacturing Blog

7 Food and Beverage Manufacturing Stats You’ve Never Seen (But Your Boss Will Care About)

Plex Team October 18, 2021

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?

Plex Team October 18, 2021

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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The Importance of Quality KPIs in Manufacturing

Plex Team October 12, 2021

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

Plex Team September 27, 2021

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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Preview the Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact™ Study

Plex Team August 30, 2021

Cost savings and business benefits enabled by the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform in a study commissioned by Plex...

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The State of Smart Manufacturing: See the Report Your Competitors Are Reading

Plex Team July 28, 2021

Ever wonder what your competitors are up to? Curious about what obstacles they’re dealing with and what technology they’re spending money on? You obviously can’t ask these questions, but if you could, the answers would inform your business decisions in impactful ways. After all, nobody wants to be a late adopter, starting the smart manufacturing race laps behind the rest of the industry....

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Unpacking the Forrester Consulting TEI™ Study: What Does 412% ROI Really Mean?

Plex Team July 7, 2021

Picture any tool at your disposal, whether it’s a machine on your shop floor or the phone in your pocket. How much is that tool worth to you? It’s hard to put a value on solutions that can have a wide impact on your operations. It’s also hard to find an objective opinion. We know that the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform can transform your business, but why should you believe us? And why should…

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Ways to Make Quality and Compliance Your Competitive Advantage: A Step-by-Step Guide

Mike Robertson April 1, 2021

If you’re like a lot of manufacturers, quality compliance is more of a paper chase than it is an operational strategy. But the truth is, by moving beyond minimum quality requirements, you can reach a higher level of efficiency that would not have been possible with manual, error-prone solutions. Given the chance to exceed customer expectations, why just be satisfied with the basic requirements?...

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Plex’s No BS Guide to Supply Chain Planning

Ara Surenian March 30, 2021

Has your business struggled to keep up with the rapid changes of COVID-19 this past year? In a “normal” year, does aligning your customer needs, demand, and inventory feel like a constant balancing act? Is it difficult to unite your sales, marketing, finance, and operations teams around a plan in a single source of truth? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’re not alone.…

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Despite Spike in COVID-19 Cases, Global Manufacturing Production Reaches New High

Jerry Foster December 8, 2020

Although COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the world, the global manufacturing community experienced its highest jump in production levels (5% over the previous two weeks) and is now producing at a record high of 108% of pre-pandemic activity. Global manufacturing data set ...

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