About the Author
Plex Systems, Inc., a Rockwell Automation company, is the leader in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions, empowering the world’s manufacturers to make awesome products. Our platform gives manufacturers the ability to connect, automate, track and analyze every aspect of their business to drive transformation. The Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform includes solutions for manufacturing execution (MES), ERP, quality, supply chain planning and management, Industrial IoT and analytics to connect people, systems, machines, and supply chains, enabling them to lead with precision, efficiency and agility.
10 Strategies for Making Compliance a Competitive Advantage in Aerospace and Defense
We define quality as a product or service that meets and exceeds customers’ expectations on a consistent basis. Accomplishing this in aerospace and defense — an industry known for its complexity and depth of compliance and quality management requirements — is an ongoing challenge....
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Meeting the Challenge of Future Growth Using Two-Tier ERP Strategies
In speaking with industrial, high tech and commercial aerospace manufacturers, a common theme emerges: None of them have the luxury of waiting on reports created over days or weeks because ERP systems are out of step with strategic priorities. Their customers are demanding more responsiveness, more accuracy, and greater speed of quoting and order completion than ever before....
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Big Questions About Big Data
Big data is everywhere. It seems everyone is talking about it, but there’s still so much confusion around it. To top it off, more data is coming in every day, faster than before, and in formats not easily synchronized. Businesses need ways to store it, access it and turn it into a competitive edge. But how?...
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In Search of Speed, Stability and Security in Aerospace and Defense Supply Chains
Staying competitive is often the No. 1 concern for today’s aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturers. Key components to these efforts include successfully triangulating cost, schedule, security, scope and reliability constraints, all in order to improve supplier orchestration and time to market. But where to start? Many A&D manufacturers agree that the first step in managing these many…
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Record-Breaking Implementation, Made Possible by the Plex Manufacturing Cloud
What do you say when an ERP solution is implemented in just a third of the time expected to go live? “Awesome!” “Unbelievable!” “Wow!” Or like the CFO, you might say it “exceeded my expectations” and that you’re “extremely satisfied.”...
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Five Strategies for Becoming a Demand-Driven Manufacturer Using Cloud Computing
It’s time for more manufacturers to question what being demand-driven really means by looking at their businesses the way their customers do. Having accurate forecasting processes, a finely-tuned sales and operations process (S&OP) or being great at new product development and introductions isn’t enough. These are all great attributes, but they must be synchronized into a cohesive strategy…
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Evolution of the IT Department in the Age of the Cloud
There’s no question that the cloud presents a disruptive technology that inevitably leads to rethinking – and often restructuring – the objectives of internal IT departments. An internal IT department – once considered critical to the success of the business enterprise – has, in many cases, become obsolete....
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Making Cloud Security a Competitive Advantage in Aerospace and Defense
As aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturers balance agility and speed with the need for ever-increasing vigilance and security, they are also facing the daunting task of keeping IT systems aligned with their changing business strategies. This conflict of speed versus security is especially challenging in the area of cloud computing....
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Finding the Right Talent for Your Culture
I was recently invited to speak at the Elite Suite Series, an event hosted by the 101 Best & Brightest Places to Work organization. (Bragging alert: For three years running, Plex has been named an “Elite” winner for employee enrichment, engagement and retention at the Metropolitan Detroit’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For annual awards competition.)...
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Roundup of Aerospace and Defense Forecasts and Market Estimates for 2013
The paradox of how much to spend on national defense and security versus social programs is a challenge all nations are facing today. Emerging economies are projected to be the most adept at managing this paradox. However, given their relatively higher levels of gross domestic product (GDP) growth versus their slower-growth (and often larger) counterparts — and once you consider that many of…
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