The Industry Digest: Are manufacturers taking the right steps to combat inflation?
The internet is a vast space that is filled with rabbit holes, endless search results, and adorable cat videos that will consume your entire day in a flash. Finding the information and insights you need to improve productivity and efficiency at your facility can be daunting. Luckily, Plant Services is here to help. We search the web and curate the industry perspectives, trends, and topics that will affect you and your industry. Here are a few of our favorite stories from this week.
Seven Things Manufacturing And Industrial Leaders Can Do To Combat Inflation [Forbes]
Inflation is being felt by citizens and companies alike, forcing both groups to take a hard look at their budgets. Manufacturers also must contend with other factors, such as the widening skills gap and supply chain issues, greatly affect their bottom lines. If you too are looking for some relief, this article offers seven steps manufacturers can take to limit the impact of inflation.
Top 5 ERP Selection Criteria [Manufacturing.net]
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is an essential tool for many manufacturers but selecting the right system can be daunting. Sometimes companies become so fixated on the functionality of the ERP that they fail to consider other influential criteria. This article highlights five important, yet sometimes overlooked, ERP selection criteria.
5 Ways States Can Boost Manufacturing [Thomas]
There is no denying that manufacturing is a critical component of most states’ economic development. Every day, mayors and governors from across the country announce plans for new manufacturing facilities within their states and towns. But can states be doing more to attract manufacturing companies? This article highlights five steps states can take to make manufacturing a priority.
How COVID changed supply chains forever, according to a distinguished professor in the field who’s studied them for the last 2 decades [Fortune]
Supply chain woes have been plaguing consumers and manufacturers alike since the start of 2020. But manufacturers refuse to be defeated. With each new disruption, manufacturers have been changing and evolving in an effort to create a more resilient supply chain. This article highlights three changes in how companies manage their supply chains and what the repercussions will be.
Hiring Challenges Lead to Apprenticeship Training Program [FacilitiesNet]
Workforce shortages are not limited to the manufacturing industry. Even institutions like Kent State University can have trouble recruiting new workers for positions like building maintenance mechanic. This article highlights how the university designed and implemented an apprenticeship program to take current unskilled workers and train them for a full-time career.
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
Connect with Alexis on LinkedIn
