Smart Manufacturing Blog

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Plex Manufacturing Blog

Guest Post: Cloud: the Key to Global Sourcing Strategy

Ann Grackin February 18, 2014

Developing a global sourcing model to serve a world-wide customer base as well as to manage global operations in a seamless way, manufacturers have adopted a ‘build anywhere-ship anywhere strategy.’ Adopting a cloud manufacturing system is emerging as the best strategy to quickly enable these capabilities....

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How Plex Is Revolutionizing Manufacturing with Two-Tier ERP

Plex Team February 11, 2014

Bottom line: Two-tier ERP strategies provide companies with a convenient approach to isolate and contain legacy ERP systems – which like asbestos - can do much damage in any company if left uncontained....

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How Cloud Computing Is Enabling An Artisanal Manufacturing Renaissance

Plex Team December 7, 2013

A manufacturing revolution is flourishing. Driven by passionate entrepreneurs, this revolution is translating their creativity, craftsmanship and commitment to exceptional quality into products that are changing entire industries. These revolutionaries bring a passion and intensity to every aspect of their businesses. ...

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How Cloud Computing Is Enabling An Artisanal Manufacturing Renaissance

Plex Team December 7, 2013

A manufacturing revolution is flourishing. Driven by passionate entrepreneurs, this revolution is translating their creativity, craftsmanship and commitment to exceptional quality into products that are changing entire industries. These revolutionaries bring a passion and intensity to every aspect of their businesses....

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Why Put a Software Company in Detroit?

Jim Shepherd November 21, 2013

One of the fun things about my job as VP of Strategy is that I get to brag about what we are doing at Plex to friends and acquaintances and occasionally total strangers. But inevitably they will always get around to asking the question – “Why would you put a software company in Detroit?” ...

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R.I.P. Business ByDesign

Jim Shepherd November 7, 2013

There was a major brouhaha when word leaked out that SAP was finally burying its ill-fated cloud-based ERP system, Business ByDesign. I assume it must have been a slow news week because no one could really have been surprised....

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Rethinking Business Innovation at the Cloud Business Summit

Plex Team October 29, 2013

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Times Square in New York City to attend Saugatuck Technology’s one-day executive event, the Cloud Business Summit. The event brought together more than 100 CIOs, CFOs and CMOs from large national enterprises to hear how the convergence of cloud, big data, mobile and social media is “Rethinking Business Innovation.”...

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Meeting the Challenge of Future Growth Using Two-Tier ERP Strategies

Plex Team October 13, 2013

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

Plex Team October 8, 2013

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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Guest Post: The Turning Tide of Acceptance for Cloud ERP in Manufacturing

Nick Castellina October 1, 2013

Even though cloud ERP has been able to gain traction across most industries and company sizes, manufacturers have been notoriously slow to come on board. Manufacturers were first to utilize ERP itself, but have been somewhat reluctant to move away from what has worked for them in the past. I experienced this firsthand last year when I presented some of my research on cloud ERP to a group of…

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