Smart Manufacturing Blog

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Plex_Blog_131121_WhyPut

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…

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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…

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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…

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Five Strategies for Streamlining Bidding and Estimating in Aerospace and Defense

Plex Team October 27, 2013

In many aerospace and defense companies, bidding and estimating is part art and part science – and one of the powerful series of strategies for driving profitable revenue growth. Add in how complex…

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10 Strategies for Making Compliance a Competitive Advantage in Aerospace and Defense

Plex Team October 17, 2013

We define quality as a product or service that meets and exceeds customers’ expectations on a consistent basis. Accomplishing this in aerospace and defense — an industry known for its complexity and…

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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…

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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…

Plex_Blog_130926_InSearch

In Search of Speed, Stability and Security in Aerospace and Defense Supply Chains

Plex Team September 26, 2013

Staying competitive is often the No. 1 concern for today’s aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturers. Key components to these efforts include successfully triangulating cost, schedule, security…

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Record-Breaking Implementation, Made Possible by the Plex Manufacturing Cloud

Plex Team September 24, 2013

What do you say when an ERP solution is implemented in just a third of the time expected to go live? “Awesome!” “Unbelievable!” “Wow!” Or like the CFO, you might say it “exceeded my expectations…

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Five Strategies for Becoming a Demand-Driven Manufacturer Using Cloud Computing

Plex Team September 19, 2013

It’s time for more manufacturers to question what being demand-driven really means by looking at their businesses the way their customers do. Having accurate forecasting processes, a finely-tuned…

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Evolution of the IT Department in the Age of the Cloud

Plex Team September 17, 2013

There’s no question that the cloud presents a disruptive technology that inevitably leads to rethinking – and often restructuring – the objectives of internal IT departments. An internal IT…

Plex_Blog_130912_MakingCloud

Making Cloud Security a Competitive Advantage in Aerospace and Defense

Plex Team September 12, 2013

As aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturers balance agility and speed with the need for ever-increasing vigilance and security, they are also facing the daunting task of keeping IT systems…

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Roundup of Aerospace and Defense Forecasts and Market Estimates for 2013

Plex Team September 5, 2013

The paradox of how much to spend on national defense and security versus social programs is a challenge all nations are facing today. Emerging economies are projected to be the most adept at…

Plex_Blog_130829_HowCloud

How Cloud-Based Business Intelligence Is Redefining Industrial Manufacturing

Plex Team August 29, 2013

It’s time for manufacturers to quit using analytics like a rearview mirror and more like a compass that points them in a more profitable direction. Analytics and business intelligence (BI) are the…

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Ten Predictions of How Cloud Computing Will Revolutionalize Aerospace and Defense in 2014

Plex Team August 22, 2013

Bottom line: Security, suppliers’ ability to scale production quickly, and an intense focus on the cost of quality will dominate aerospace and defense in 2014. Deloitte is forecasting the global…

Plex_Blog_130822_TenWays

Ten Ways Cloud Computing is Revolutionizing Aerospace and Defense

Plex Team August 22, 2013

Synchronizing new product development, supply chain, production and Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) strategies across Aerospace and Defense (A&D) manufacturers while reducing costs…

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Guest Post: Analytics vs. Intelligence – Do You Know the Difference?

David Turbide August 20, 2013

Business analytics is often the next evolutionary step after business intelligence (BI), which is all about convenient access to enterprise information in a form that is useful to executives and…

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Mobility Boosts the Data Accessibility Benefits of the Cloud

Plex Team July 30, 2013

Automotive manufacturers don’t succeed by standing in place. In an industry focused on motion, today’s suppliers need to apply the same speed and agility to their manufacturing operations that they…

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