Smart Manufacturing Blog

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Plex Manufacturing Blog

SaaS-Based Cloud ERP Drives Manufacturing Speed, Agility, and Digital Transformation

Dave Morfas March 6, 2017

Cloud ERP isn’t just for the early adopters anymore. It’s now gone mainstream and enables companies to increase flexibility using the latest technology. In a January 2017 report, Vendor Landscape: SaaS ERP Applications, 2017, Forrester states that “SaaS ERP increases speed and agility for digital transformation.” ...

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Gain a Competitive Advantage by Connecting Your Manufacturing Business

Hemant Makhija March 2, 2017

One of the reasons more manufacturing companies are moving their ERP and manufacturing execution system (MES) to the cloud is the ability to connect people, processes, machines, systems, and applications easily. What once was primarily an IT discussion has now become a business expectation—connect everything for a holistic, single version of truth for the enterprise....

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3 Manufacturers Who Fell in Love with Plex—and Why You May Be Next

Plex Team February 13, 2017

When manufacturers begin their search for the perfect match, what do they really look for in a cloud ERP system? If you’re like most of your peers, you want an ERP system that’s:...

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How to Integrate Cloud ERP into Your Manufacturing Business

Hemant Makhija February 9, 2017

The word “integrate” has one connotation to technical people, and it usually involves making systems work together. I would like to use the word in another way: combining the best of two things so that they become a whole. In this case the two things I am talking about are:...

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How Manufacturers Adapt to Changing Times

Laura Melchionne February 8, 2017

As a self-funded, starving college student, I spent the summer of my sophomore year working on the assembly line of an injection molding factory making Nerf footballs. Sounds like it should have been a fun job. It wasn’t....

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How American Axle and Manufacturing Broke Down the Silos to Gain One Version of the Truth

Stu Johnson February 2, 2017

If you have difficulty getting your arms around how your manufacturing business is actually performing, you are not alone. It’s the number one challenge many manufacturers I talk to want to tackle because it can mean the difference between running a successful company or managing a struggling company....

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Wearables on the Shop Floor: CES 2017

Plex Team January 31, 2017

Wearables and augmented reality aren’t so futuristic anymore because more manufacturers are seeing the opportunity to use these technologies to impact shop floor productivity, product quality, and top-line growth. That’s why Barrie Vince, Plex software architect and one of the original developers of the Plex Manufacturing Cloud, visited the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)....

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7 Best Practices for More Accurate Inventory Tracking and Reporting

Stu Johnson January 26, 2017

Inventory traceability and tracking is all about creating a paper trail of inventory that reflects physical reality. Many companies manually record inventory basics like shipping receipts for raw materials, warehousing, issues from stock to production, and shipments of finished goods to customers. ...

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5 Tips on Selecting an ERP from Manufacturers Who've Been There, Done That

Hemant Makhija January 24, 2017

If you are in the midst of choosing an ERP system, we understand your struggle. You’re trying to please executives and end users alike. You have dozens of possible platforms to consider. And it’s important for you to get this right, because you want your system to last at least 10 years (or more). We’ve helped many companies through the ERP evaluation process. Here are our top five ERP selection…

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3 Keys to Digital Transformation for Your Manufacturing Business

Dave Morfas January 19, 2017

Digital transformation is a topic getting quite a bit of press lately. The term is very broad, but in the real manufacturing world there are lots of you doing some incredibly transformative and innovative things with your business....

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