G&W Products, a custom metal fabrication company, started from scratch implementing a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution for its shop floor. Now, G&W is reaping the benefits of having real-time access to documents and procedures. “I don’t think anyone understood the accessibility [the Plex Manufacturing Cloud] gave us.

Cloud-based ERP functionality is not only catching up with traditional ERP providers, but now offering extended functionality. Frank Scavo, industry analyst, provides insight on Plex’s offering as a result of the DemandCaster acquisition. “As the first cloud ERP provider focused on manufacturing companies, [Plex] has a functional footprint that is wider and deeper than other ERP providers.”

Industry Analyst Dennis Howlett shares his insight on the Plex acquisition of DemandCaster. “For the longer term, Plex now has a strong incentive to overlay supply chain analytics to its existing analytics roadmap.”

R “Ray” Wang, analyst from Constellation, provides an overview of Plex’s acquisition of supply chain planning leader DemandCaster. “The first acquisition by Plex provides a win-win for customers who seek consolidation of capabilities in the cloud. Customers win with end-to-end manufacturing execution, ERP, and supply chain capabilities from one cloud vendor. The OEM partnership paved the way for a smooth transition for customers.”

Automotive suppliers tackle how to use the Internet to improve factory operations at this year’s CAR MBS conference in Traverse City, Mich. “We are using less than one percent of the information available on the plant floor,” says Plex’s Stu Johnson. “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”

The Industrial Internet of Things enables automakers and suppliers to operate their plant floors more efficiently by mining data on their machines. Stu Johnson, director of product marketing at Plex, talks about IIoT’s importance to manufacturers at the CAR MBS conference in Traverse City, Mich.

Plex Systems CTO Jerry Foster provides simple steps IT professionals can follow when communicating with business colleagues who have no technical training and limited exposure to technology management.

Over the last week, I’ve had the opportunity to moderate two different panels with a total of five different Plex customers. One panel was during Plex’s PowerPlex user conference (in Detroit) and the other was at the Manufacturing & Technology Conference & Expo (in Chicago). Their very real, personal comments regarding their journey with cloud ERP were noteworthy.

Plex employees always get to play with the coolest toys. Last week at PowerPlex, Barrie Vince was watching over 4 sets of smart glasses shown above: Google Glass Explorer, Vuzix M100, Epson Moverio BT200, and Recon Jet.

PowerPlex has become firmly established on the Spring conference circuit among the cognoscenti and assorted curmudgeons that fancy themselves as sages of the enterprise world. The company has rightfully earned its place as the only cloud manufacturing suite player with deep functional capabilities that cater for the small and medium businesses in the Rust Belt and beyond.