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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Plex Manufacturing Blog
How an Advanced ERP Improves Standard Production Costing and Profitability
With turbulent supply chains and an ever-shifting industry landscape, there’s no way to know your precise manufacturing costs in advance. However, you can rely on standard costing to provide reasonable estimates – if you have the right tools to tackle the task. Advanced enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can provide cost visibility, resource planning, and real-time analytics to make…
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You Can't Climb the Whole Mountain at Once
Adopting new technologies within your manufacturing operations is a lot like climbing a mountain. You can only go so far so fast – and pushing too hard without the right support can leave your systems overwhelmed. Instead, you need to plan your approach carefully and adjust as you go. Luckily, choosing the right tools at the right time will let you adapt just fine.In smart manufacturing, modern…
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What Can Manufacturers Learn from Brass Aluminum’s Quest for Visibility and Automation?
Running a multi-operational business is an impressive feat, but that hasn’t always been the case for Brass Aluminum Forging Enterprises (BAFE). The company specializes in the production of brass, copper, and aluminum forgings and was originally comprised of only two forging presses, one trim press, and an eight-operator workforce. Over the years, the company has grown both in size and in…
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Inflation: Saying the "I" Word Out Loud
Inflation - it’s the dreaded “I” word. After decades of historically low rates, it came back with a vengeance and continues to disrupt operations everywhere.There are virtually no sectors of the economy nor any industry untouched as prices have risen across every category. Most of these categories, like energy, transportation, raw materials, labor, and others, impact manufacturing directly,…
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ERP KPIs: Not Just for Execs Anymore
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software helps companies manage their core business processes, including HR, finance, supply chain, and manufacturing. Companies can manage their business processes more efficiently by integrating them into a single software solution.Today, most ERP systems are cloud based and use cutting-edge technology like AI and machine learning to deliver insights to…
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The Shift to Electric Vehicles and Its Impact on Automotive Suppliers
The inevitable shift to electric vehicles is here and its impact on automotive suppliers will be drastic. OEMs are making major commitments to reduce their carbon footprint and eliminate their internal combustion engine (ICE) fleets. General Motors, for example, has made a commitment to be completely carbon neutral in their global products and operations by 2040 and eliminate tailpipe emissions…
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Seeing Through the Sales Pitch: 10 Questions to Ask ERP Vendors
Shopping for any big-ticket item is never easy, whether in your personal or professional life. But there’s a big difference between buying the wrong oven for your house vs. buying the wrong ERP for your company. One will burn your dinner, while the other will burn quality, customer relationships, and the bottom line....
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The State of Smart Manufacturing: See the Report Your Competitors Are Reading
Ever wonder what your competitors are up to? Curious about what obstacles they’re dealing with and what technology they’re spending money on? You obviously can’t ask these questions, but if you could, the answers would inform your business decisions in impactful ways. After all, nobody wants to be a late adopter, starting the smart manufacturing race laps behind the rest of the industry....
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Leverage OEE with Smart Technology to Improve Production
Overall equipment effectiveness, or OEE, represents a real opportunity for food and beverage plants to make faster and smarter business decisions. In short, OEE measures how efficient your equipment is operating against theoretical capacity. Theoretical because, in a perfect world, most machines should run at nameplate speed. Then there’s reality....
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ERP Inventory Management Must-Haves: Attribute- and Date-Code System
Country-of-origin. GMO. Non-GMO. Organic, transitional, non-organic. Heavy metals. Allergens. Inventory management of customer-specific quality parameters is growing more complex by the day. Having the capability through a single digital system to easily manage these attributes alongside expiration date is a must for food and beverage plants. We do mean “a must.” Whether you use FIFO (first in,…
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