Organizations Drive Better Decision Making through Connected Manufacturing

TROY, Mich. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — March 14, 2017 — Plex Systems, the leader in cloud ERP for manufacturing, delivered another milestone in its mission to help organizations leverage the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for more efficient and effective manufacturing operations. The IntelliPlex Production Analytic Application, available now, taps IIoT data to provide manufacturing leaders with enterprise-wide insight into the performance of production operations, including processes and equipment on the shop floor.

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This application adds to Plex’s IntelliPlex Analytic Application Suite, which includes applications for sales, order management, finance and procurement. This suite, with the addition of production analytics, delivers to manufacturers the industry’s most comprehensive cloud analytics, uniquely providing visibility all the way down to the shop floor.

Cloud Analytic Applications: Turning IIoT into Manufacturing Intelligence

The Plex Manufacturing Cloud is a comprehensive platform for manufacturing enterprises, connecting suppliers, customers, people, equipment, materials and finances across multiple facilities to form the technology backbone of an organization. Plex uses real-time IIoT connections as a core mechanism for managing manufacturing operations and enterprise resource planning.

That comprehensive view means Plex not only streamlines and automates operations, but also enables unprecedented access to companywide information including IIoT data. The IntelliPlex suite of analytic applications turns that data into configurable, role-based, decision support dashboards – with deep drill-down and drill-across capabilities. Plex first introduced the IntelliPlex Analytic Application Suite in 2016 with turnkey analytics for sales, order management, procurement and finance professionals.

IntelliPlex Production Analytics: Manufacturing Insight taps IIoT Data from the Shop Floor

• Plex is now delivering analytic capabilities for production, providing plant operators and enterprise leaders insight that spans organizations and taps into the vital IIoT data generated by equipment, sensors, systems and other devices on the shop floor.
• The IntelliPlex Production Analytic Application provides insight into key performance measures such as overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), scrap rates, first pass yield, inventory turns, on-time jobs and machine availability.
• IntelliPlex is configurable, so users can create custom performance dashboards and combine metrics to form their own analysis based on the wealth of data stored in the Plex Manufacturing Cloud.
• IntelliPlex analytics are also drillable, enabling users to instantly go from top-line performance analysis directly into data and details across plants, time and geographies.
• IntelliPlex applications are easy to activate as part of the Plex Manufacturing Cloud, and can be quickly extended and configured to match an organization’s evolving needs over time.
• The Production Analytic Application is available now.

Continuous Innovation

Hundreds of manufacturers use the IntelliPlex analytic platform for business insight and decision support. Plex regularly develops new analytics based on customer requests and feedback, continuously expanding the library of data objects and analytic applications. Plex is planning to deliver additional analytic applications, including supply chain and human capital management. All applications are accessible to customers without the need for a lengthy implementation process.

Comments on the News

“At Plex, we know that the best manufacturing organizations are built on the shop floor and that operational excellence is the foundation of product quality, company growth and profitability,” said Karl Ederle, group vice president of products for Plex. “The IntelliPlex Production Analytic Application is unique because it provides an enterprise-wide view of manufacturing performance, combined with the ability to tap into the IIoT signals from equipment on a specific production line. Plex now offers customers analysis of their organization that truly spans from shop floor equipment to the financial bottom line.”

“This is not an IT tool, it’s an empowerment tool,” said Janice D’Amico, Plex specialist lead, Hatch Stamping. “The IntelliPlex Production Analytic Application has given Hatch access to accurate, near real-time data cross-enterprise that is user-friendly – easy to create, understand and share. We see this application being used at all levels of the organization to make better business decisions. The opportunities are endless.”

“In many manufacturing organizations, there is a communication breakdown between the front office and the shop floor,” said Alexi Antonino, Plex Analytics product lead. “Because the three OEE production metrics—performance, quality and availability—are not expressed in monetary units, daily efforts to improve processes using OEE alone do not always translate into bottom-line savings. Plex puts OEE and financial metrics into a single dashboard, for the first time giving manufacturing leaders the ability to see and manage complete business performance.”