Case Study: Flex achieves real-time manufacturing intelligence and higher machine utilization with Arch Systems

From Legacy Machines to Manufacturing Intelligence

Flex, a global technology and manufacturing solutions partner, faced the challenge of extracting standardized, real-time data from its vast and diverse global operations to improve efficiency. With over 15,000 machines from various vendors and eras, their initial attempts to build an internal solution were slow, labor-intensive, and prone to error, halting progress on advanced analytics. They partnered with Arch Systems to implement its ArchFX platform for a universal data extraction and analytics solution.

Arch Systems deployed its ArchFX platform, which used software and hardware connectors to extract data from both new and legacy machines, regional data brokers to normalize the information, and analytics to provide real-time KPIs and actionable insights. The solution enabled Flex to see ROI through significant utilization gains, connecting nearly 1,000 machines across 22 sites. A key result was the development of advanced analytics like Sessions Analysis, which automatically identified the root causes of production line inefficiencies, leading to previously undiscovered opportunities for improvement.

Flex