New App Aims to Cut Inventory Costs

On-demand ERP and MES software provider Plex Systems today announced the addition of new functionality to its flagship product, Plex Online, meant to help manufacturers manage and track consigned inventory received from suppliers or shipped to customers.

By enabling users to pay for raw materials or parts as they are consumed, the product can help companies reduce inventory storage costs, cut premium freight charges, and speed production cycles, Plex said. Meanwhile, inventory usage data is automatically rolled up into other ERP areas, triggering processes for materials requirement planning, invoicing, shipping, and purchasing, and bypassing the need for manual data entry.

“Traditional accounting, ERP, or inventory software systems do not handle consignment inventory adequately,” said Mark Symonds, Plex president and CEO, in a statement. “Most manufacturing companies can’t take advantage of consignment or are forced to track the process manually with double data entry.”

By contrast, Symonds said, the consignment functionality in Plex Online automatically tracks the movement and accounting of inventory at customers’ or suppliers’ locations, in real time. With on-demand access to inventory status, the manufacturer needn’t pay for the inventory until it is actually consumed, he said.

The software enables inventory received from a supplier to be consumed and invoiced directly from stock. In the realm of customer consignment, the new functionality allows invoicing, inventory retirement, and replenishment to occur at the time of shipment or customer usage. Customers use the existing Plex Online Web-based interface to communicate with suppliers or customers.

Plex, named a Managing Automation Company to Watch in 2007, serves mainly companies in the automotive, medical device, aerospace and defense, and food & beverage industries. The company was known previously as Plexus Systems.