Manufacture Smarter Blog

5/13/2022 - BY: REBEKAH MCCARTER
Managing your local and national supply chain is now easier with CONNEX™. CONNEX™ Michigan is a cloud-based platform that centralizes the Michigan supply chain network into a searchable scouting database and integrates with the national CONNEX™ Marketplace. After a successful launch and continued support for CONNEX™ Michigan, free lifetime access to CONNEX™ Marketplace has been EXTENDED for all Michigan manufacturers!

3/18/2022 - BY: REBEKAH MCCARTER
Are you a manufacturer looking to grow your business? Well, CONNEX™ Michigan may be the perfect solution. CONNEX™ Michigan was launched in January to connect manufacturers together in one searchable database. As the most advanced supply chain and manufacturing networking database tool ever assembled, many Michigan companies are taking advantage of the platform’s benefits.

1/28/2022 - BY: REBEKAH MCCARTER
As we move into year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disruptions to the global supply chain continue. In fact, things look like they may get worse before they get better. Resilience is the new buzzword. While everyone is talking about the challenges, very few are proposing solutions.

12/17/2021 - BY: REBEKAH MCCARTER
In recent months, both Deloitte and IndustryWeek published survey data on the pressing issues that are the biggest concern for manufacturers. These surveys, conducted in September and October 2021 respectively, reported remarkably consistent findings.

12/3/2021 - BY: PHILLIP WADSWORTH (WWW.NIST.GOV)
Each year, the MEP National NetworkTM is fortunate to assist manufacturers across the nation that are creating distinct, quality products. And, each year, we like to share some of these small to medium-sized manufacturers and their products with you.

11/19/2021 - BY: JEFF SCHULTZ
Growing up in the era of NASA’s Apollo space program, I was fascinated with space exploration and had my sights set on becoming an astronaut. When the creative side of my brain overtook the analytic side, astronaut as a profession ceased. But my interest in outer space remained. 

11/12/2021 - THE CENTER
GD&T, Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, is an international language used on business documents and drawings to accurately communicate what is going on in the picture without the use of words.

10/1/2021 - THE CENTER
Today, the first Friday of October, our nation celebrates Manufacturing Day to promote manufacturing careers, fight misconceptions of the industry, and, ultimately, help local communities and future generations thrive. Like last year, Manufacturing Day 2021 looks a little different than previous years. 

4/16/2021 - BY: DAVE NELSON
The labor shortage is not going away. To fill these labor gaps, cross training employees must become a critical initiative in every manufacturing company. In our upcoming webinar on April 21, we will share ideas on how to begin cross training employees along with technologies that can enhance or streamline the process.

4/2/2021 - BY: SCOTT PHILLIPS
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Those who have attended webinars or read case studies about Industry 4.0 over the past few years will likely agree that the jargon associated with it can easily exceed a thousand words. To clarify some of the mystification surrounding Industry 4.0, let’s dive deeper into the “big picture” of the true purpose behind this technology revolution.