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Change management is the discipline of transitioning from the current state to a future state. It consists of three major activities: deciding to change, making the change, and confirming that the change has been correctly accomplished. Change management is a crucial aspect of manufacturing, especially when introducing new processes or making changes to the ERP system.  Change management is essential for several reasons: Minimizing Disruption: Change management methodologies help manufacturing managers minimize disruption during the implementation of new technologies, processes, or organizational structures. Proper planning, communication, and stakeholder engagement are key elements in ensuring a smooth transition. Maximizing Employee Buy-In: Involving employees in the change process and addressing their concerns helps create a sense of ownership and commitment. When employees understand the reasons for change and how it benefits them, they are more likely to embrace it. Optimizin...

As we celebrate "Change Your Password Day" on February 1,2024 it is important to remember that  cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and prevalent and as result of this we need to adopt and follow best practices for password security to help us keep secure and protect our accounts. Bitwarden, a password manager, recommends the following tips for creating strong passwords: - Use a password manager to generate and store complex passwords. - Use a unique password for each account. - Use a passphrase instead of a password. - Avoid using personal information such as your name, birthdate, or address. - Make sure password is at least 10 characters long  Randomness is the third pillar of password security. A password should not be predictable, and should not follow a pattern. It should be a random string of characters, numbers, and symbols. This makes it difficult for hackers to guess your password.  Here are some statistics on weak passwords: - In 2022, over  24 bil...

Employee suggestions are critical for manufacturing companies as they can help identify cost-saving and continuous improvement ideas. By empowering employees to share their ideas, companies can tap into a wealth of knowledge and experience that might otherwise go untapped.   Here are some examples of how employee suggestions have helped companies with cost-saving ideas and creating new products or process improvements: 1.  Amazon Web Services (AWS) , was created based on an employee suggestion. An engineer at Amazon suggested that the company should offer its internal computing infrastructure as a service to external customers. This idea eventually led to the creation of AWS, which has become one of Amazon's most profitable businesses . 2. Toyota's "Kaizen" philosophy, which emphasizes continuous improvement, is based on employee suggestions. The company encourages employees to identify areas for improvement and make suggestions for how to improve processes. This ap...

  Data Privacy Week 2024 is  a global campaign to raise awareness and empower individuals and businesses to respect privacy, safeguard data and enable trust.  Personal data is collected everyday by various devices and organizations, and can be used to make inferences or assumptions about individuals. Some companies sell the data for profit without the users' consent or knowledge. 79% of Americans are concerned about how data collectors use their data, and 59% have experienced a major data breach in their lives. Do you know how much data you create online?   Every time you use a website, an app, a device, or a service, you leave behind some information about yourself. This information can show what you like, what you buy, what you do, and even how you feel. You may not be able to stop others from collecting your data, but you can still protect your privacy. You can choose who you share your data with and how much you share. Your data is important and you have a right ...

Privacy and security are two important aspects of online data protection, but they are not the same thing. Privacy refers to the control that you have over your personal information and how that information is used. Security, on the other hand, refers to how well your personal information is protected from malicious threats. Data privacy is a hot topic in today’s digital world. Every time you go online, you leave behind a trail of data that can reveal a lot about you and your preferences. This data can be collected, analyzed, and shared by various websites, apps, devices, services, and companies, sometimes without your consent or knowledge. Why should you care about data privacy?  Because your data is valuable and you deserve to have a say in how it is used and who has access to it. Data privacy is not only about protecting your personal information from hackers and identity thieves, but also about preserving your autonomy, dignity, and freedom of expression. According to some alar...

 Asset management is a crucial aspect of any organization even when it comes to ERP SaaS systems. Effective asset management can help organizations minimize risks associated with running unpatched hardware and software, Mobile Device Management (MDM) is a crucial tool for managing smart devices like phones, tablets, handheld scanners, and more in the manufacturing plant. MDM provides a centralized management system that allows companies to track all corporate devices from a single dashboard, making it easier to manage and secure a wide variety of mobile devices that are used for multiple purposes. The benefits of using MDM in the manufacturing industry are numerous. Here are some of the key benefits: Improved security compliance:  MDM software provides visibility into company devices through a single dashboard so they can all be managed in one place and help get an accurate count of the type of assets being used in the organization. Simple remote management: MDM software allow...

  As we start a new year, it is important to audit the offboarding process to ensure that all employees who have left the company have had their access to company data and systems revoked. A bottleneck in the offboarding process can lead to serious security issues, such as data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive information. One of the biggest risks of departing employees is data theft. Employees may either deliberately or accidentally take corporate information with them. To avoid these risks, it is important to have a process in place to ensure that all accounts are terminated when an employee leaves the company. Auditing reports and the use of identity providers (idP) like Azure and Okta can help offboard users and reduce security risks. Auditing reports can provide a comprehensive view of all user accounts and access rights, which can help identify any accounts that have not been properly offboarded.  Auditing reports can help identify any accounts that have not...

Manual invoicing and emailing of customer statements can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. According to a study by Skynova, most businesses handle up to 500 invoices each month and spend at least five days processing invoices .  The same study also found that 57% of invoice data is entered manually and 49% of businesses require two to three people to approve an invoice. These manual processes can lead to delays in payment and inefficiencies in the accounting process. Invoicing automation can help reduce the time and resources spent on manual invoicing. According to Skynova,Only about half of invoices (52%) are received electronically. The rest are paper invoices that need to be physically sorted, entered, and filed, adding additional steps to the invoice process. The following module in Plex manufacturing allows automatically delivery AR invoices and customer statements via email which can lead to improvement and reduce of the waste of resources associated by manu...

Workflow automation is a crucial aspect of digitalization in the workplace. In today's digital era, businesses are navigating a transformative journey marked by unprecedented technological advancements.   At its core, workflow automation is the strategic integration of technology to streamline and optimize business processes. As organizations strive for efficiency and agility, adopting automated workflows has become pivotal.  Digital Workflow Automation involves using technology to automate, streamline, and optimize business processes. It extends its reach across various sectors, bringing efficiency and precision to tasks that were once manual and time-consuming . Workflow automation has several benefits that can help businesses streamline their operations and improve efficiency. Manual data entry is tedious and opens room for small human mistakes that can have a big impact on your business. Workflow automation tools increase visibility of processes, reducing bottlenecks,...

A business workflow is a series of tasks that need to be completed in a specific sequence to achieve a particular goal . Workflows are useful for ensuring that important processes are done the right way every time.  Workflows can help you see places in your operation that can be automated, eliminate redundant processes and activities, reduce operational expenses, quickly respond to issues or problems, and automate processes. For example, you may want to define a process workflow for onboarding new employees to ensure that all new employees get the information, policies, and resources they need to do their jobs. There are two different workflow types that you can implement in Plex: Standalone Workflow A workflow that is initiated by the Request Management System and is used to automate an unique business process. Integrated Workflow Integrated workflows are available for the following modules and applications as of 10/2023 2-Tier Orders 3-Tier Customer Orders​ Accounting Jobs​ AP In...

 Microsoft PC Manager is a free PC management tool that helps you optimize and protect your PC. It has features like antivirus, cleanup, storage and health check. Some advantages of this tool are: - It uses the Windows antivirus engine, which is compatible with your system. - It can boost your PC speed, clean up system fragments and free up resources with one click. - It can manage your disk space, processes and startup apps. You can use this tool to centralize different tools that help you boos the performance of your Windows PC. (Windows 10/11) You can download it from the Microsoft Store: https://pcmanager.microsoft.com/