Presentation

on
Plex Systems
A SaaS Provider
By-
Group No.- 10
Pawan Kr. Kushawaha (Roll No. 28)
Pratikdhar Dwivedi (Roll No. 29)
Prashsti Shekhar (Roll No. 30)
 Company Profile
Since 1995, Plex Systems, Inc. of Auburn Hills,has maintained a singular
vision -- to drive significant cost, quality and productivity improvements for
manufacturers, from the shop floor to the top floor.
Plex Systems is the leading provider of an easy-to-use, online solution for the
manufacturing enterprise. Its fully-integrated, on-demand software solutions
have resulted in a near100 percent customer retention and solution
implementation success rate.
Plex Systems serves a global cross-section of manufacturing industries
(OEMs and suppliers), particularly automotive, medical device, and aerospace
and defense companies.
Board of Directors

Robert Beatty, founder and chairman of the board, Plex systems

Mark Symonds, president and CEO, Plex Systems
Jason Wright, principal, Apax Partners

Corporate Headquarters
Plex Systems, Inc.
1731 Harmon Rd.
Auburn Hills, MI 48326-1549
(248) 391-8000

Web site- www.plex.com

 History
1989 - Under the leadership of Robert Beatty (Founder and Chairman of the
Board), the first solution (Plexus Online) is designed and developed within a
manufacturing company.
1991 - Manufacturing company quadruples in size and profit, and starts
acquiring other manufacturing companies, installing the system in each facility
as it expands.
1995 - Led by Beatty, the organization splits off as an independent entity
forming Plexus Systems, with a mission of providing the "best manufacturing
performance system on the planet."
1996 - The company uses traditional Windows client-server software, growing
steadily with new, external customers.
2000 - The team begins work on Plexus Online, the first fully integrated Internet-
based on demand manufacturing software solution.
2001 - Having proven successful, the company migrates its entire business
model to Plexus Online, abandoning traditional software in favor of an enterprise-
wide hosted software solution.
2002 - The company develops the first, fully integrated online ERP and MES
manufacturing performance system that covers all aspects of a manufacturing
company.
2005 - Having helped hundreds of manufacturing facilities become more efficient
and profitable, the company achieved average annual growth rate exceeding 35
percent.
2006 - Apax Partners, one of the world's leading private equity investment
groups, made a strategic investment in June of 2006. The company is named a
Managing Automation Top Ten Company to Watch. The company ends the year
with 53 percent growth.
Contd…

2007 - Plexus Online receives a CODiE award from the Software

Information Industry Association recognizing its unique contribution
to the software industry.
2008 - Plexus Systems named one of Start IT's Hottest Companies for
second year in a row. Record number of new customers, 52, joined
company. The company achieved 33 percent revenue growth.
2009 - With a name change to Plex Systems and Plex Online, the
company continues expansion into new markets and regions, growing
the Plex team to over 130 employees and expanding into a new 20,000
square foot facility in Auburn Hills
 Products
Plex Systems, Inc. is the developer of Plex Online, a software as a
service (SaaS) solution for manufacturers. Plex Online includes over 350
functional modules to manage operations from the shop floor to the top
floor, including manufacturing execution system (MES) modules such as
quality management and machine integration, enterprise resource planning
(ERP) modules such as accounting and finance, customer relationship
management (CRM) modules such as order entry and tracking, and supply
chain management (SCM) modules such as supplier quality and
traceability.
Plex Online Software Areas
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
a
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Release Accounting
Accounting Quality Management Systems (QMS) Customer Master List
Business Intelligence Part List Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) Opportunity Tracking

Computer Aided Design Process Routings Barcode Labeling Supply Chain Manage Quote Tracking
(CAD) ment (SCM)
Costing Bill of Materials Engineering Tools EDI Estimating
Document Control
System CAD Integration Labor/Time Tracking Problem Control Syste Quick Quoter
m

E-Commerce Part Specifications Lean Tools Program Management Part Configurator Pricin
g System

Groupware Communica Process Flow Charts PLC/Machine Integratio Supplier Quality Manag Order Entry & Tracking
tion n ement
Human Resources FMEA Preventive Maintenance Customer Orders & Rel
eases
Inventory Control Control Plans Production Scheduling Standard Price/Special
Price

Product Data Managem Dynamic Control Plans Shop Floor Control OEM Automotive Prod
ent uction Data

Program Management Checksheets & Process I Statistical Process Contr Field Service
nstructions ols (SPCs)

Traceability
Inspection Data Collecti Automated Tool Tracki Commissions Tracking
on ng

SPC Competitor Database

Manufacturing ERP for Quality-Driven Industries

Plex Online’s comprehensive ERP solution is trusted by manufacturers in a

wide range of quality-driven industries around the world, including:
Aerospace and Defense Manufacturers: Plex Online manufacturing ERP
software minimizes manual processes and ensures real-time accuracy, with
comprehensive quality, traceability, and documentation management.
Automotive Manufacturers -flexibility and reduce cost of IT operations with a
comprehensive manufacturing execution system for unparalleled visibility into
manufacturing operations.
Food & Beverage Processors and Packagers: Plex Online provides total supply-
chain traceability, the ability to track product ingredients from receipt through
processing, packaging, and shipping.
 Contd..

Industrial Machinery & Components Manufacturers- Plex Online

manufacturing ERP software empowers individuals and teams with real-time
information to drive continuous improvement, by supporting pull scheduling
and other lean manufacturing techniques. Gain greater efficiency, reduce waste,
and streamline production.
Medical Device Manufacturers:-Automate the manufacturing process for
FDA-regulated medical devices. The comprehensive Quality Management
System, Compliance Module, and Document Management System within Plex
Online's manufacturing ERP software help meet complex regulatory
requirements.
Precision Metalformers:-Gain unparalleled visibility into and control of all
aspects of a metalformer's business and manufacturing operations, with tools for
production scheduling, OEE measurement, supplier management, costing, and
much more.
Implementing Plex Online:
Pilot Part Methodology
and Just-in-Time Training
Plex Online:

• Is not static.
• Does not come packaged in a CD that you download onto your system.
• Does not run off of a rack of servers at your site.
• Does not require a busload of consultants to customize the software for your
business or rework your business to match the software.
• Will never need updating or new version updates.
Implementation Phase One:
Conference Room Pilot
At this stage,implementation team of
process leaders and at least one Implementation Phase
representative from each function works Two: One-Part Parallel
with Plex Systems’ implementation team Estimated time required: two weeks

to enter one component or part into the Continuing to use only one part, the

system. The group members move this implementation team begins to test

part through the system, defining what the software and processes in the

they believe are the optimum processes production environment. The goal

for handling. The goal at this stage is to now is to test and validate the

determine the optimum processes. processes and get input on the

software features from staff,
customers and suppliers.
Implementation Phase Three:
Multi-Part Parallel
Estimated time required: two weeks
Phase Four:Go Live
Once processes have been validated and software
Estimated time required: two
changes are being fine-tuned, more parts are weeks
added to the system and hardware installation At this stage, all users are
begins. Testing and validation of software and trained and able to access the
business processes continues. Departments system, the majority of the
continue training and employees begin inputting data has been entered, and
data on their functions and relevant screens. hardware is in place and
They are encouraged to provide feedback on all tested. Adjustments can be
aspects of the system; changes can still be made. made to the system and
Another focus at this stage is system everyone in the company can
optimization, making sure even “oddball” cases adjust to new tasks and
work in the system. processes.
 Platform technology
Plex Online is an on-demand Software as a Service
(SaaS) system. This means you access the software
using a Web browser over the Internet from
anywhere at any time. That’s the “on-demand” part.

On the hardware side, Plex Systems provides

servers, operating systems, database, backup
equipment, and complex programming resources
and environment. This allows you to focus on
running your business rather than focus on
running computers.
Data Entry Ease
Data entry is one of customers’ main concerns as they contemplate
implementation. Their first question is whether data must be
manually entered. The answer is “yes,” for several reasons. First, the
code for Plex Online was written directly to the Web and is
consequently very different from traditional applications.
Not all data must be entered manually, however. Many upload
programs are already built into Plex Online. Plex Systems will help
you identify and execute a data entry strategy that best meets your
needs.
Success Story
ByTec Inc.
 An automotive supplier used Plex Online to achieve
100% accurate production process traceability.
Plex Online automates part serialization, direct part
marking, component tracking and control, quality
management, and SPC/measurement data tracking. The company implemented
Automated process control and traceability let the the manufacturing system in
supplier produce components without quality issues, less than 60 days, and they
and make design changes that improve the part’s achieved rapid ROI due to
performance. streamlined operations and
improved quality.
 Success Story in Weber Metals
Weber Metals of Paramount, Calif., is a full-line aluminum and titanium forging
supplier as well as the market leader in hand forgings. It specializes in stress
relieved products with minimum distortion during machining.
After implementing Plex Online, Weber Metals, Inc., reduced quote entry time
by 80%, and reduced errors and delays in the ordering and shipping process.
The company replaced 40 man-hours per week of complex job and material
optimization calculations with an automated, real-time process.
Shop rescheduling time has been reduced from 18 hours to under one hour.
From the quote process to the shipment of forgings, Weber’s data and processes
are real time, paperless, and completely visible and accessible online
Some more….
Detroit Tooling Company Plex Online Helps Detroit Tool Manager
Tier One Automotive Improve Efficiency: Improved
Communications, Better Troubleshooting, and
the Benefits of Using Robust Software.

Phoenix Logistics Exceeding Expectations with SaaS ERP:

Aerospace Supplier Aerospace Supplier No Longer Generates
20,000 Pages of Documentation Each Month

STAT Medical X-Ray Tubes Dramatic Growth:

Medical Devices Stat Medical Industries Manages
Dramatic Growth with Plex Online
 Failure Story
Richard Stallman strongly criticizes SaaS. According to Stallman, using SaaS
can cause as much harm as proprietary software, since users can't modify the
particular software they use, thus, they can't control their own computing.
SaaS is often rejected due to security concerns. The primary concern stems
from the fact that the corporate data is being stored, and controlled, by third
parties, thus increasing its attack surface.
The only impetus for vendors of software to innovate, improve and generally
fine-tune their products is in the hope of convincing their users to spend more
money on newer versions of those products. The disingenuous notion that
removing this pressure to improve will somehow benefit the customer has
been largely debunked.
Thank You !