ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

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.

Announcement
7th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing

Now Available!

Get your copy of the 7th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing and hear from 300+ manufacturers in this new survey report!

Kaitlin Rebella

Senior Manager of Corporate Communications, Plex Systems

Image
kaitlin-rebella

About the Author

As a member of the Plex corporate communications team, Kaitlin Rebella shares relevant, timely stories about the organization, its team, and the entire Plex community of customers and partners. She has spent over a decade practicing public relations, marketing, and communications representing a number of global technology, manufacturing, and supply chain organizations. Kaitlin has a bachelor’s in Journalism from Michigan State University.

5 Reasons to Attend PowerPlex 2020

Kaitlin Rebella December 12, 2019

PowerPlex, the annual user conference that brings together manufacturers from around the globe, is set to take place May 12-14, 2020 in Detroit. If you haven’t already heard the news, early bird registration opened today. If you’re not familiar with PowerPlex, this nearly 20-year-old conference has annually been the gathering place for manufacturing and technology leaders well before “smart…

Read More

FABTECH: What We Are Learning from Our Manufacturing Leaders

Kaitlin Rebella November 13, 2019

When you think of metal stamping and fabrication, you might not immediately think about the industry’s use of cutting-edge technology with precision metal design. But the fact of the matter is, the smart application of manufacturing technology is a key trait among manufacturers that succeed....

Read More

Scary Stories to Tell on the Shop Floor

Kaitlin Rebella October 30, 2019

With Halloween around the corner, spooky stories aren’t far behind. But, for manufacturing professionals, the scariest season might not be limited to October 31st alone. Terror can take on a whole new meaning when it comes to nightmares on the shop floor. Here are the top phrases that might leave any plant manager with a legacy ERP system quaking....

Read More

How to Create the Next Generation of Manufacturers

Kaitlin Rebella May 30, 2019

Us technologists solve problems...we can always wait for politicians or lawyers...but why wait? Inventor and entrepreneur and FIRST® founder Dean Kamen closed his keynote at PowerPlex 2019 with this call to action, referencing not only the role of science and technology in solving problems through innovation—but also the astounding shortage of skilled workers manufacturers face today....

Read More

PowerPlex 2019: Highlights and Key Takeaways

Kaitlin Rebella May 23, 2019

It is hard to believe that last week’s PowerPlex 2019 has come and gone. More than 1,000 manufacturing technology professionals gathered to connect on evolving trends including Industry 4.0 and smart factories, the latest in cloud ERP and MES, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), as well as the challenges and opportunities they face each day....

Read More

PowerPlex 2019: Navigating Frenetic Change - How Manufacturers Can Thrive During Technology Disruption

Kaitlin Rebella May 16, 2019

Ever think about how far we’ve come since AOL was introduced? Plex CTO Jerry Foster does. As the leading innovator at a manufacturing cloud software company, Jerry knows firsthand how technological advancements help companies drive and respond to rapid change. The pace of business is picking up, and nobody has seen this more than manufacturers....

Read More

Future of Manufacturing Roundtable: The future is bright, but comes with growing pains

Kaitlin Rebella December 4, 2018

Plex Systems recently brought together industry analysts and its customers for the second Future of Manufacturing Roundtable (FoMR). This collaborative day seats manufacturing technology leaders on Plex’s customer advisory board next to experts who write about enterprise software day-in and day-out, which always leads to a lively conversation about the future of the manufacturing industry....

Read More

A and K Finishing Moves from Manual, Paper-based Quality and Inventory Processes to up Its Game

Kaitlin Rebella November 13, 2018

For every large manufacturing company that is in the midst of a digital transformation, there are hundreds of small to mid-sized manufacturers still relying on manual, paper-based processes—and it’s taking a toll on their ability to manage quality and inventory....

Read More

A Halloween Haunting: Scary Stories for Manufacturers

Kaitlin Rebella October 29, 2018

We love the manufacturing industry. And some of us also love celebrating Halloween. What if we combined these two things by re-imagining some of today’s most popular thrillers set in a manufacturing environment? It’s not that farfetched. Let’s explore some ideas....

Read More

A Collaborative Approach Spells Success in the Plex Manufacturing Cloud

Kaitlin Rebella July 10, 2018

Diversified metal component manufacturer JD Norman Industries has a goal to grow. With its main strategy being mergers and acquisitions, that means its manufacturing technology team must rely on an integrated ERP/MES solution that scales with the company, connecting each new operation to the enterprise....

Read More