[INNOVATION] Plex Systems unveils its Cloud BI solution for industrial companies

In many industrial companies, there is still a communication gap between the "white-collar" workers in the office, who mainly use Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, and the "blue-collar" workers on the shop floor, who use Manufacturing Execution System (MES) software in near-real time. These two worlds of enterprise software and their users also use different terms and look for different measurement systems.
ERP software users think in monetary terms, and would like to know which would be the best customers and suppliers to increase the company's profitability. On the other hand, MES software users think in terms of Operational Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), such as performance, quality and availability. This BI-oriented focus presents Plex's solution to this paradigm, which is familiar to all industrial companies.

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A bridge between the shop floor and the office

Plex Systems, a leader in SaaS-based enterprise software for industry, has long been present on manufacturing floors, extracting data from machines, tools, gauges and other equipment, long before the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) concept. Plex was one of the first companies to bridge the communication gap between the back office and the production line. The company has also made strides in developing its manufacturing intelligence capabilities, including cloud-based Business Intelligence (BI) software solutions that use real-time manufacturing data to support decision-making in terms of production operations.

In this article dedicated to "connected" (sensor-enabled) manufacturing, we'll take a look at Plex's recent progress in cloud-based BI, including the most recent versions available and projections for the future.

A few facts about Plex Manufacturing Cloud

The Plex Manufacturing Cloud is an extensive cloud-based ERP platform for manufacturing industries that connects suppliers, customers, people, equipment, materials and finances across multiple facilities to form an organization's technology backbone. The platform automates the production line, recording every action, integrating systems, organizations and processes, and managing the business, while harnessing new technologies.

With over 550 manufacturing customers at nearly 1,700 sites, dedicated to both process and discrete manufacturing, more than a million users and devices interact with Plex Manufacturing Cloud every month.

Linking production operations with the front office

Until recently, Plex wasn't particularly renowned for its compelling user interface (UI), or for its software capabilities in the field of reporting and analysis or business intelligence. Things changed slightly over a year ago with the redesign of an HTML5 user interface and the integration of BI capabilities thanks to the Information Buider. Plex first introduced the IntelliPlex Analytic Application Suite in 2016 with turnkey analysis for the sales sector, for order management, purchasing and finance professionals.

In these SaaS (white-collar) BI software solutions, Plex uses a real-time connection to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) as a core mechanism for managing production operations and ERP data. This global view shows that information shared throughout the enterprise must also include IIoT data. The IntelliPlex cloud BI software suite transposes this data into customizable, function-based tables that support decision-making, with drill-down and drill-across capabilities.

To see the success of Plex's recent advances in Cloud BI, just look at the statistics. At present, 50% of data in the Plex cloud is generated on the production line, and it's clear that Plex has become its customers' de facto IIoT system of record.

The IntelliPlex Production Analytics application

Plex recently released the IntelliPlex Production Analytics application, which leverages IIoT data to provide users with an enterprise-wide view of the performance of production operations, including processes and machines on the production line. It taps into important IIoT data generated by machines, sensors, systems, and other devices that provide insight into key performance indicators (KPIs), such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), scrap rates, first-pass throughput, inventory turns, jobs completed on time, and machine availability.

Old-style production, characterized by sustained, long-term demand, standardized products, stable supplier panels and one-to-one connectivity, has long since disappeared. Today's production business model has variable demand, tight lead times, short product life cycles, flexible global supply chains and end-to-end connectivity. This makes near-real-time integration between planning and execution more important than ever.

IntelliPlex is configurable so that users can create customized tables and associate indicators to form their own analysis based on the wealth of data stored in the Plex Manufacturing Cloud. Plex places overall efficiency ratio (OEE) and financial indicators in the same table, so that those involved in the production line have the ability to see and manage overall business performance (see illustration 1).

Fig. 1. IntelliPlex production metrics

All IntelliPlex analyses are also actionable, enabling users to move instantly and directly from large-scale performance analyses to plant-specific data and information, regardless of time or geographical location. As part of the Plex Manufacturing Cloud, BI software solutions in the cloud are also easy to activate, and can be rapidly extended and configured to meet an organization's ever-changing needs. The aim is to connect suppliers, machines, people, systems and customers with easy-to-configure functionality, deliver continuous innovation and reduce IT costs.

Continued BI innovation in the cloud

Plex plans to continue developing new cloud analytics and business intelligence software solutions based on customer requests and feedback, and by diversifying its catalog of analytics and data management applications. The vendor also plans to offer additional analytics applications in the future, including in the areas of Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Human Capital Management (HCM).

Figure 2 illustrates Plex's future data architecture, in which Information Builders takes care of BI visualization, while the vertical Microsoft SQL Server database and Azure Data Lake are used for big data processing. For this kind of in-context analysis, there's no need for a state-of-the-art data lake or sophisticated data coding scientists. Once again, the aim is to have all these BI software applications in the cloud available to customers without the cumbersome installation process.

Figure 2. IntelliPlex data architecture

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Conclusion

Plex's strategy with its cloud-based BI software is impressive and far-reaching. For now, Plex can be considered to offer one of the most comprehensive IoT-based ERP software solutions for manufacturing. QAD could come close with its Automation Solutions and BI options, while SAP is currently preparing its Leonardo IoT solution. Expect many other ERP software providers to follow suit. But for the time being, Plex is still leading the way when it comes to cloud-connected BI for production.