"Maximizing Performance of the Entire Manufacturing Enterprise"

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"Suppliers can easily access and report statuses, certification levels, problem histories, quality performance reports and more over the internet. They can produce scorecards to track their performance against a set of key measurables such as quality, delivery, cost and delivery. These quality-based tools are integrated with problem controls, purchasing, shipping/receiving and other Plex Online modules."
Source: Plex Systems

Resources Related to Maximizing Performance of the Entire Manufacturing Enterprise:

• Supply Chain (Wikipedia)

Maximizing Performance of the Entire Manufacturing Enterprise

Summary:

Today's manufacturing supply chain is challenged with increasing quality mandates, cost reductions and delivery improvements.

Technology plays a key role in a company's ability to build and manage an effective supply chain. This paper describes the next wave of supply chain solutions, including supplier Kanban Loops which automatically create an electronic pull loop that generates pull signals when parts or materials are needed.

The paper also includes an example of how one manufacturer reduces cost, lead times and inventories throughout their entire supply chain using this innovative solution.

Challenges to the Supply Chain

Increasingly complex products are driving greater dependency on supplier quality management, especially for automotive, aerospace & defense, and medical device manufacturers.

In addition, large OEMs are driving warranty costs downward through the supply chain, which only increases the necessity for documenting quality and processes along every step of the chain.

Cross-organizational traceability?where products/parts can be traced backward through the manufacturing process across multiple suppliers?is going to be an absolute requirement for manufacturers with complex supply chains. This requires a high degree of integration among systems at the manufacturer and multiple suppliers.

The manufacturing enterprise driven by tight profit margins; a tough economy; escalating energy, material, labor and operations costs; and increasing competition demands higher levels of performance and greater accountability from their suppliers.

All of these factors taken together create a "perfect storm" of challenges that many organizations face, and no relief from the storm is in sight.

Next-Wave Supply Chain Solutions

Improved electronic communication between customer and supplier will enable manufacturers to address these challenges. This can be accomplished via EDI or a supplier portal.

Plex Online has earned a strong reputation using these routes, especially within industries where traceability backward and forward along the supply chain is a requirement. But the next wave of supply chain innovation is the addition of a Kanban Loop, a real-time, electronic pull loop that generates pull signals when parts or materials are needed.

Plex Online?which offers companies 24/7 visibility and connectivity as part of its web-hosted, ondemand service?has recently added Kanban Loop functionality to its service. Plexus also has real-time pull signals if the customer and supplier are both Plex Online customers.

How Plex Online Delivers Next-Wave Solutions

Traceability is a strength of Plex Online and?coupled with the corrective action/preventive action reporting in our Supplier Quality Management module?it provides the functionality required to deal with traceability of complex products.

Plex Online's supplier Kanban Loops visually display the status of the loop in real-time using an electronic Kanban rack. The loops are already helping customers reduce cost, lead times and inventories. Shape Corporation is one such customer.

A Supply Chain Success Story

Faced with ever-increasing pressures to cut costs and improve quality and efficiency, Shape Corporation contracted with Plex Systems to provide a fully integrated system to manage all of its manufacturing operations across multiple facilities.

Shape Corporation is a leader in automotive and industrial component manufacturing and the world's foremost expert in roll forming. Established in 1974, this privately owned corporation has grown to become a major player in the component field, employing over 1,000 associates, with offices on three continents, encompassing four manufacturing plants, a dedicated research and development center, a coating facility, and six associated sister companies.

The web-native technology used to deliver Plex Online makes it easy for Shape Corporation to log on and resolve issues quickly, from anywhere, at anytime. Plex Online's Kanban Loops are taking Shape Corporation's manufacturing effectiveness to the next level.

The Plex Online system is being utilized in Shape Corporation's metal forming, welding and injection molding production facilities across the globe. Shape Corporation is utilizing Plex Online primarily for quality, program management, shop scheduling, reporting and shipping processes. Its goal is to drive performance of the organization and the bottom line, and Plex is delivering.

Bob Currier, vice president of Operations at Shape Corporation stated:

The Challenge of Improving Communication

Trust between manufacturers and suppliers is critical. In many manufacturing industries, a confrontational relationship exists between supplier and manufacturer, where the purchaser holds the upper hand. As illustrated in other countries (e.g., Japan) and other industries (aerospace & defense), the collaborative management required by increasingly complex products will require a fundamental change in the nature of these relationships?to relationships built on trust.

That is the primary challenge. One way to start to build that trust is to start working on a more tactical challenge: ensuring that suppliers throughout the supply chain embrace lean manufacturing techniques and align on EDI communications following industry standard formats and protocols. This will facilitate driving continuous improvement in the manufacturing processes and allowing all parties to reduce inventory by leveling the demand and making the supply process more responsive.

Supply Chain Technology Description

Plex Online^TM from Plex Systems, Inc. is a web-based enterprise software solution that connects and manages the total manufacturing organization, including the critical supply chain. With the ability to manage a single facility or an entire enterprise, Plex Online offers more than 350 functional modules for instant access to and management of critical information across the extended supply chain for highly engineered products in the automotive, aerospace & defense, medical device, and packaged food markets. Plex Online includes supplier management, RFI/Quoting, inventory, shipping/receiving, traceability, quality management, EDI, accounting and many other capabilities.

The system provides a powerful on-demand suite of integrated tools for supply chain management, connecting the manufacturer with its customers and suppliers through an online database of information and paperless, real-time communication between trading partners. Integrated supply chain management capabilities include electronic Kanban, online releases, EDI, electronic invoices and shipment notifications, online supplier quality management, cross-company inventory traceability, cross-company quality and production data.

About Plex Systems

Since 1995, Plex Systems, Inc. (Auburn Hills, Mich.) has maintained a singular vision - to drive significant cost, quality and productivity improvements for manufacturers, from the shop floor to the top floor. Plex Online is an on-demand software for the manufacturing enterprise, delivering a powerful, real-time interface.

Plex Online enables businesses to manage accounting, financials, compliance and human resources and other top priorities. time interface. Plex Online enables businesses to manage accounting, financials, compliance and human resources and other top priorities.