A need to handle rapidly changing situations on the shop floor leads many mid- to large-size manufacturers to cloud-based ERP software solutions that offer fast, easy updates, and minimal to no IT overhead costs compared to on-premises ERP installations. Plex lends its insights on the top trends to watch, and how to most effectively leverage cloud-based technologies.

Automotive supplier Accuride Corp. shares its top recommendations for managing IT in an uncertain world, focusing on how it uses the Plex Manufacturing Cloud to align technology initiatives with business changes.

In 2012, manufacturer and Plex customer Accuride Corp. moved its ERP system to Plex Systems' cloud-based software – creating a “hybrid” ERP system of cloud and on-premise applications. Implementing Plex helped Accuride achieve its goal of obtaining real-time data, and in the future it plans to use the power of cloud computing to process engineering data and engineering simulations...

Although pickles are one food item generally not subject to contamination nor safety issues, Hausbeck Pickle Co. in Saginaw, Mich., proactively implemented the Plex Manufacturing Cloud to improve quality and traceability from plants to stores. When lives are at stake in the case of an outbreak of a pathogen like E.

Japanese clutch manufacturer and Plex customer FCC LLC knew it couldn't grow in the United States if it held onto its antiquated networking and IT systems. The company's only option was replace everything and move to cloud ERP.

The growth in cloud technology for the manufacturing industry has a lot to do with the extensive investment in the Internet of Things, which is largely cloud dependent. Plex, a provider of cloud ERP for manufacturing, released a report this year that found cloud technology improved manufacturers’ ability to manage their changing business needs.

Plex’s Stu Johnson helps readers make sense of the most popular three-letter acronyms that crowd the enterprise software space and provides a back-to-the-basics look at how these acronyms help make managing business processes easier.

Industry 4.0 promises to transform the way that engineers design and build products over the next two decades. How will the manufacturing industry adjust? “Manufacturing is a very pragmatic industry not generally prone to jumping at every new trend,” notes Plex Systems’ Stu Johnson. “The rest of the market will generally fall in line once the return on investment is clear. Smaller companies generally do not have the resources to risk on low rate of return projects.”

ERP writer Louis Columbus shares key insights derived from Plex’s 2016 State of Manufacturing Technology Report, showcasing how manufacturers are leveraging technology on their plant floor and throughout their organizations.

MFC Netform, a leading supplier of powertrain parts for the automotive and agricultural industries, awarded the 2016 ComputerWorld Data + Editors’ Choice Award for leveraging technology, in this case a cloud-based ERP solution from Plex Systems, to grow its business from a start-up to an industry leader in just 10 years. “With Plex, we never have to prepare for customer visits or audits,” says Tim Cripsey, general manager.