Arrowhead Industries Corp. launched their new cloud based ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, Plex Online, at their headquarters in Cleveland, OH on November 4, 2013. The system will be rolled out at their other plant locations over the next several months. Plex Online, which represents a six-figure investment, offers many advantages over the previous systems that were in place at Arrowhead. Although it will take some time to implement all that Plex has to offer, some of the advantages that are already in place include:

1)      Fully integrated system

• No longer need separate systems to handle the different areas related to running a manufacturing business (i.e. Operations, Quality, Shipping/Receiving Accounting, etc.)
• Cost/time savings associated with no longer having to reconcile data from separate systems

2)      Cloud based system

• Arrowhead employees can access the system anywhere in the world as long as they have access to an internet connection
• Reduced reliance on on-site IT infrastructure (servers, etc.)
• Straightforward roll-outs at other manufacturing locations (easy to platform)
• System will update continuously without interrupting accessibility (less downtime to perform system maintenance and upgrades)

3)      Increased leverage of barcoding and mobile scanning

• Less dependence on hand-keying data (fewer opportunities for error)
• Ability to receive and ship product with the use of a mobile scanning gun (increased efficiency and accuracy)
• Each manufacturing line now utilizes wireless scanning capability (increased efficiency and accuracy)

4)      Increased visibility of Inventory

• New barcoded inventory locations have been created to leverage the systems mobile scanning capability, which gives a more detailed view of where our inventory is and how much we have
• Increased accuracy and dependability will allow us to reduce the amount of physical inventory checks we conduct each year

In short, Arrowhead feels that they have increased the value of their company partnering with Plex and are confident that they will be better equipped to serve the needs of their customers moving forward. Arrowhead would like to thank Jim Porn and Bill Haslinger from Plex Systems for their hard work and dedication during this process, as well as their devoted employees, who spent countless hours preparing for and implementing in this important upgrade.