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Plastics & Rubber
Plex Manufacturing Blog
Manufacturers: Risk is an Opportunity, Not a Cost Driver
As a fastener manufacturer, delivering high quality ensures (among other things) that scrap rates are kept low and first pass yield remains high. But did you know that it could also influence which business you’ll win next?...
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How a New Manufacturing System Improves Employees’ Lives
When A&K Finishing, a provider of plastic paint solutions for the automotive, office furniture, electronics, and commercial industries, selected the Plex Manufacturing Cloud as its system of record in 2016, the team expected to see improvements in their scrap rates, inventory management and quality control....
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4 Manufacturing Efficiency Ideas to Consider This Summer
Summer is usually a slower time for manufacturers. In fact, you’ve probably already decided to take some time off and get out of town. Nobody will fault you for that. Everybody needs a break. But before you go, make plans to do something else with your summer: carve out time to gain a better understanding of your business. ...
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The Path Manufacturers Should Take Toward Industry 4.0
The benefits of Industry 4.0 are crystal-clear. So, why aren’t manufacturers making it their top priority to embrace everything this new approach entails? In other words, why has adoption been so slow? According to TechVentive, it’s because many companies still lack the basic technology infrastructure that must be in place before they can exploit Industry 4.0....
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How A and K Finishing Delivers On-Time, Defect-Free Products Every Time with the Plex Manufacturing Cloud
When A&K Finishing, a provider of plastic paint solutions for the automotive, office furniture, electronics, and commercial industries, opened its doors in 1990, they set out to be the “first to finish, with quality.” Nearly 30 years later, this philosophy remains true and they’re leveraging technology and lean manufacturing philosophies to deliver quality, just-in-time products to a list of…
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How Innovation in Manufacturing Can Help You Leverage the Benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
As a manufacturer, you need to do more. Not only to grow, but because your customers are demanding more of you—year after year. Even if you’re focusing on continuous improvement, you may need to add in manufacturing innovation to differentiate because it is a certainty that your competitors are doing more....
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PowerPlex 2018 – Back to Detroit
Introduction After hosting PowerPlex 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia, PowerPlex 2018 returns to its roots in Detroit, Michigan, one of the nation’s biggest manufacturing hubs. CEO Don Clarke welcomed the audience in his Opening Keynote, “Makers Making an Impact,” recognizing the Plex community of manufacturing professionals who are positioned at the intersection of manufacturing and technology....
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PowerPlex 2018 – Innovation in Manufacturing Keynote
As Jerry Foster, Plex CTO, sees it, “all in on innovation today will own the competition tomorrow.” However, innovation isn’t necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about manufacturing. We tend to think more about technology companies as being innovative – or companies that have introduced new business models such as Amazon, Uber or Airbnb....
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General Data Protection Regulation and Plex Customers
The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is set to take effect May 25, 2018. Now is a good time to discuss the capabilities Plex offers to help customers meet their GDPR obligations. What is GDPR?...
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5 Areas Every Supply Chain Leader Should Focus on to Sustain Competitiveness
As a supply chain leader, you must have a broad understanding of how your entire business flows from sales to procurement to engineering to service. You also need access to a reliable and holistic set of data or you’ll feel more like you’re fighting fires instead of delivering on customer demand. ...
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