About the Author
Plex, by Rockwell Automation, 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.
Where Did My Product Demand Go?
We've all been there.One day, demand is high, forecasts are rosy, and life is good. The next, demand has plummeted, and you're sitting there with a mountain of inventory and booked capacity with no demand to support it.Wild swings in demand have always been a headache. But with supply chain volatility and complexity increasing, it's becoming harder and harder to prevent these swings....
Read More
A New Look at the Cost of Quality
The cost of quality has been a manufacturing KPI for generations. By understanding the cost of waste, rework, and scrap, companies can develop continuous improvement strategies that reduce or eliminate defects.Many manufacturers rely on technology to strive for 100% quality, which lets them focus on continuous improvement and leads to significant savings when combined with the right tools and…
Read More
Plan – Do – Check – Act: An Essential Quality Management System Framework
What makes a good Quality Management System (QMS) tick?After all, you want to be able to rely on a QMS to help you achieve and maintain the highest level of quality control and quality assurance while meeting the modern needs of your manufacturing enterprise. It’s a big ask from any software system, but when your QMS employs the Plan-Do-Check-Act method, or PDCA, it can turn your current state…
Read More
Using a Smart Manufacturing Platform to Empower Overall Equipment Effectiveness
Manufacturing equipment is one of the most expensive costs for any manufacturer. These machines have long lifespans, and companies strive to achieve the shortest ROI to justify their expenses. Once a machine is in place, how it’s utilized, operated, and maintained will drive production output.One powerful tool for managing equipment utilization is overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). With the…
Read More
Your 6 Steps to Quality Management Success
Meeting customer demand, maintaining regulatory requirements, and competing in a global market all hinge on one critical aspect of your manufacturing business: product quality....
Read More
Cure Your Downtime Blues with Smart Platform Views
Efficiency and downtime are two of the most recognized words in manufacturing. These two words are taught and enforced formally and informally from the executive boardroom to floor supervisors to an operator in their first week on the job.While efficiency has a lot of variables and is calculated as creating as many finished units with the least amount of resources, downtime appears to be simple…
Read More
From Farm to Factory: How Fertilizer and Material Shortages Affect Food and Beverage Manufacturers
It’s become a perfect storm. Massive disruption of supply chains for food products is becoming a regular threat. Driven by lingering COVID-19 impacts, the war in Ukraine, and other factors, there’s a global shortage of fertilizer....
Read More
Don't Get Too Close to the Flame
Plex DemandCaster Demand and Supply Software lets planning professionals use data-driven insights to navigate successfully and stay away from the flames. ...
Read More
ERP KPIs: Not Just for Execs Anymore
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software helps companies manage their core business processes, including HR, finance, supply chain, and manufacturing. Companies can manage their business processes more efficiently by integrating them into a single software solution.Today, most ERP systems are cloud based and use cutting-edge technology like AI and machine learning to deliver insights to…
Read More
Lock it Down with Supply Chain Planning Software
Read here to learn how supply chain planning software streamlines and automates supplier relationships and adds value for both parties. ...
Read More