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.

Announcement
7th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing

Now Available!

Get your copy of the 7th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing and hear from 300+ manufacturers in this new survey report!

Modern Manufacturing

Plex Manufacturing Blog

How to Win a Food Fight with the Competition: Yield Management & Materials

Plex Team July 15, 2024

Almost everyone loves French Fries. They go with many other foods and are a staple in restaurants around the world. But while many people enjoy them, most never think of what’s involved just to bring those fries to your plate. The process to deliver fries that meet customer expectations is complex. The size of the potatoes can cause excess waste if too small. Blemishes and spots can create…

Read More

How to Win a Food Fight with the Competition: Quality & Compliance

Plex Team June 18, 2024

Have you ever sat down at a local restaurant and ordered your favorite meal, only to discover a change in the recipe or ingredients has completely altered the taste? You’re now a thoroughly unsatisfied customer – even if there are plenty of good reasons for menu changes behind the scenes....

Read More

Interactive Work Instructions Redefine What Workers Can Achieve

Plex DemandCaster June 12, 2024

Even with the most carefully designed manufacturing processes in place, the actual outcome of your operations rests with your team on the floor. They rely on work instructions to carry out both unique and routine tasks – referencing a variety of documents and resources. But what happens when work instructions become a burden instead of a benefit?...

Read More

Unlocking Supply Chain Success: 6 Tips for Seamless Implementation

Plex DemandCaster May 29, 2024

Supply chain planning solutions offer incredible opportunities over their predecessors. Today, most are cloud-based, automatically updated, and easy to customize to specific industries. The best solutions provide advanced analytics to deliver real-time insights and reporting to those who need them. ...

Read More

Overcoming Challenges to Becoming an Operations Leader

Plex Team May 7, 2024

Leadership within a complex operational structure has never been easy. Now, new pressures are making this level of responsibility even more challenging....

Read More

Bring Your Production Schedule into the Modern Era Using Smart Manufacturing

Plex Team April 30, 2024

Production scheduling is an essential component in any manufacturing operation. It synchronizes operations so everyone is on the same page and uses the same game plan....

Read More

Digitization: Getting the Whole Story from Your Data

Plex Team April 23, 2024

Today, digitization across most industries is driving the next industrial revolution in manufacturing. As companies and OEMs seek to build digital capabilities within their production systems, smart manufacturing becomes standard for anyone looking to get ahead....

Read More

Edge Computing: Preprocessing Data for Efficient Integration with ERP & MES Systems – Part 2

Harneet Gill April 16, 2024

With the advent of Industry 4.0, modern manufacturing facilities generate an enormous amount of data, predominantly through sensors, automation and control system, HMI/SCADA systems, and IIoT devices. This data, rich in insights, is invaluable to ERP and MES systems that drive business and production decisions. However, transmitting this voluminous raw data to central systems can lead to latency…

Read More

How AI Is Revolutionizing the Present and Future of Inventory Optimization

Plex Team April 14, 2024

Companies today are faced with upward pricing pressure from multiple fronts. In addition to continuing disruption and labor shortages, inflation is a crucial driver affecting almost every decision.Perhaps nowhere is the impact felt more painfully than in inventory management, where inventory inaccuracies can result in significant loss....

Read More

Key Takeaways from the 9th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report

Plex Team April 11, 2024

What’s new. What’s now. And what’s happening next. The 2024 State of Smart Manufacturing Report offers a comprehensive look at where 1,500+ manufacturers see challenges and opportunities both today and in the future. From the expanding use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to the ongoing need for a skilled, adaptive workforce, here’s a rundown of the report’s biggest takeaways that…

Read More