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Modern Manufacturing
Plex Manufacturing Blog
North American Auto Manufacturing Suppliers: Why You Need to Digitize Your APQP Processes
To be compliant with some automotive OEMs, you must show that you meet advanced product quality planning (APQP) standards—or you can’t compete. If you’re like a lot of the automotive industry suppliers we talk to, producing necessary documentation is mostly likely a time-consuming paper chase between customers, engineering, quality, and others. ...
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SaaS-Based Cloud ERP Drives Manufacturing Speed, Agility, and Digital Transformation
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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What Automotive Manufacturers Need to Drive Success in Today’s Complex Markets
Complexity in automotive manufacturing is growing. The systems that support your business are likely just as complex—70 percent of manufacturers see an increase in complexity in their organization’s ERP ecosystem due to changing business environments. You need to manage your supply chain and customer demands but the one thing you have the most control over is your own operations....
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How to Integrate Cloud ERP into Your Manufacturing Business
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
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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7 Best Practices for More Accurate Inventory Tracking and Reporting
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
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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Data Silos: Why They’re Bad for Your Manufacturing Business
If you have a hard time getting accurate information about how your business is operating and performing, you’re not alone. Most manufacturers we talk to who are running legacy ERP systems say that the inability to share or access data prevents them from gaining the visibility and control they need....
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Top New Year’s Resolution for Manufacturers in 2017
No doubt you’ve got a list of goals and objectives for your manufacturing business this year. What’s on your list? Delivering on time every time, moving the needle on lean initiatives, or maybe improving data accuracy? One thing is for sure: 2017 is the year to swap your legacy ERP system for native cloud ERP....
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How to Build a Solid Business Case for a Quality Maturity Program
“Quality is Job One” was the mantra Ford put forth in the memorable 1980s advertising campaign, and improving quality still ranks number one on executive agendas at many manufacturing companies in nearly every industry. Delivering high quality products to the market is no longer a differentiator—it’s an imperative....
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