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.

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The Importance of Effectively Managing Raw Materials Inventory

Plex Team March 5, 2019

Discover the importance of effectively managing raw materials inventory in a world where sourcing, producing and delivering products is increasingly complex. ...

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What is CPFR in supply chain?

Plex Team March 1, 2019

CPFR stands for collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment. You can learn more about CPFR and its role in the supply chain here. ...

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Demand Planning: What Is It and Why Do You Need It?

Plex Team February 26, 2019

Estimating future demand is one of the most valuable activities your organization can undertake. Learn more about demand planning and why it's important. ...

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The Long and the Short of It: Variables in Managing Long and Short Supply Chain Legs

Plex Team February 11, 2019

Supply chain planning can be a daunting task. As economies globalize at a faster rate, just keeping pace will become increasingly difficult. ...

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Smart Manufacturing Concept Defined

Plex Team December 4, 2018

What exactly is the smart manufacturing concept? Dave Turbide says it comes down to visibility and connectivity. Find out more here. ...

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MRP – A Key Enabler of Agile Manufacturing

Plex Team November 29, 2018

Over its roughly fifty-year lifespan, Material Requirements Planning (MRP) has become a key enabler of agile manufacturing. Learn more here. ...

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The Future of Inventory Management: Five Predictions

Plex Team October 24, 2018

For many companies, inventory management is where all the elements of the supply chain converge. Find our five predictions for the future here. ...

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Relationship between supply logistics and supply chain management with technology

Plex Team October 17, 2018

Technology is changing just about every industry today. Find out more about the relationship between supply logistics and SCM within technology. ...

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The Forecast and the Plan: What’s the Difference?

Plex Team October 15, 2018

Imagine a new professional, walking into her first Sales and Operations Planning Meeting at the multinational corporation who hired her only a few weeks earlier. This is a big moment for the new employee.The meeting might be awash with numbers, spreadsheets, graphs, and interactions between people that she doesn’t yet understand completely. Managers might talk a language that is rather unfamiliar…

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Demand Management: Linking the Market to Operations Management

Plex Team October 8, 2018

All businesses, whether they're commercial companies or non-profit altruistic enterprises, can manage demand by linking the market to operations management. ...

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