The Golden Triangle: PLM, MES and ERP with Steve from Fuuz

SummaryGlenn from Abelara visits Fuuz corporate headquarters during boot camp week and sits down with Steve to walk through the real manufacturing pain points that Fuse solves — from the supply chain and factory floor divide, to quality traceability, bill of materials wars, real-time variance tracking, and the multi-plant standardization trap. Steve frames Fuse as the system that lives "where the carpet meets the concrete."About the GuestSteve is a senior leader at Fuuz with deep manufacturing operations experience. He positions Fuse as a composable platform covering MES, WMS, quality, scheduling, EDI, and iPaaS integration — designed to complement ERP rather than replace it.Key Topics CoveredThe supply chain vs. factory floor divide: pegging sales orders to work ordersERP's visibility gap below the shop floor levelQuality traceability: tracking components from dock to shipmentRecording PLC parameters per serial number for root causeThe bill of materials war: supply chain, manufacturing, and R&D viewsThe golden triangle: PLM ↔ MES ↔ ERP integrationReal-time variance tracking by work center and operatorMulti-plant standardization without forcing ERP onto the floorReducing tech stack from 40 vendors with a composable platformBalancing corporate control vs. local plant innovationKey TakeawaysPegging sales orders to work orders lets planners make partial shipment decisions in real time — most systems produce blanket work orders blind to customer demand.The million-unit recall problem exists because companies test everywhere but trace nowhere — traceability is the missing layer, not more testing.Use ERP for financials and front office; use MES for the shop floor. Forcing ERP down to the plant floor is why no enterprise has ever achieved one-ERP standardization.Notable Quotes"Where the carpet meets the concrete — that's where Fuse takes over." — Steve"The money's made and lost on the shop floor." — Steve"No two machines are alike. Even from the same manufacturer, they're all different." — SteveTimestamps / Chapters[00:00] — Inside Fuse HQ: a software company that knows manufacturing[01:34] — The supply chain and factory floor divide[03:14] — Pegging sales orders to work orders[04:30] — ERP's visibility gap on the shop floor[06:55] — Quality: the hardest challenge in manufacturing [08:09] — Tracking components from dock to shipment [09:48] — The million-unit recall problem[11:05] — Recording 120 PLC parameters per serial number [12:48] — What R&D leaders really need from production data [14:18] — The bill of materials war[15:29] — The golden triangle: PLM, MES, and ERP[18:53] — Real-time gross margin and variance tracking [21:42] — IT's challenge: future-proofing manufacturing [24:04] — The multi-plant standardization trap[27:49] — Employee development across standardized plants[29:48] — Closing thoughtsLinks & ResourcesFuse: fuse.comSteve Modrall: LinkedInGlenn Gardner: LinkedInAbelara: abelara.com