Block Party
SOUTHEAST Session: Brought to you by SME
SOUTHEAST Session: Brought to you by SME
SOUTHEAST Session:
SOUTHEAST Session: Manufacturers today are under immense pressure to navigate supply chain complexity while improving agility, customer responsiveness and cost efficiency. The industry has invested years in enabling core digital foundations like ERP, MES, WMS and operational dashboards; however, persistent blind spots across sourcing, production, inventory, logistics, sales and aftermarket services continue to erode operational performance and limit strategic decision-making. According to a 2025 survey of 300 mid-market manufacturers, only 45% have recently improved end-to- end- supply chain visibility, indicating that there is significant room for investment and improvement. Supply Chain visibility will be the future of manufacturing. A recent survey by Deloitte showed that 76% of manufacturers report limited visibility across their supply chain, making traceability a key issue in today’s environment. Data visibility is essential to a resilient supply chain; however, in a survey of 506 supply chain leaders, only 19% of organizations have embedded scenario planning into their operations, limiting their ability to anticipate and respond to disruption. The answer to fixing these blind spots isn’t yet another dashboard or point solution, but a digitally engineered supply chain with intelligent, end-to-end visibility and traceability across the manufacturing value chain. In this presentation, we explore why blind spots emerge and how a unified theme of real-time traceability can act as a digital thread to convert blind spots into sweet spots for manufacturers.
SOUTHEAST Session: Maintenance is one of the most powerful levers manufacturers can pull to reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and stay competitive in a world where reliability is everything. Yet too many organizations remain trapped in a reactive cycle, addressing equipment failures only after they occur. This presentation will explore how smart teams are moving beyond “fix it when it breaks” to build the foundation for AI-enabled maintenance. Attendees will learn how to apply predictive strategies, leverage IIoT data, and adopt mobile-first CMMS tools to unlock insights that prevent failures before they happen. We’ll cover practical change management tactics that ensure technology investments deliver results, plus real-world examples of how manufacturers are using digital workflows to streamline operations and reduce costs. Participants will leave with actionable steps to transform maintenance from a cost center into a strategic advantage — and a clear roadmap to prepare their teams for an AI-driven future in manufacturing.
SOUTHEAST Session: Manufacturing is undergoing rapid digital transformation—driven by predictive maintenance, AI-driven insights, and smart factories. Yet IT/OT convergence is not achieved in strategy documents; it is lived daily through remote access, where people, vendors, and data cross into critical environments. This presentation explores the unique challenges CISOs and OT teams face—legacy patching debt, vendor access sprawl, ransomware pressure, and compliance demands—and why secure OT remote access is the essential bridge to efficiency, resilience, and productivity. Through industry case studies, we’ll examine how leaders are standardizing connectivity, reducing downtime costs, and enabling AI-driven operations—while ensuring security never falls behind transformation.
Speaker at SOUTHEAST: Christian Jewell, Special Projects Supervisor, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
Speaker at SOUTHEAST: Kelvin Byrd, Dean, School of Advanced Manufacturing & Transportation Technology, Greenville Technical College
SOUTHEAST Session: This demonstration showcases how agentic automation streamlines material replacement and inventory management using UiPath Maestro. The flow begins with an MTR (Material Test Report) being received, processed, and linked to its corresponding purchase order (PO). Upon identifying a defective material, the system transitions to a Maestro-driven workflow where an intelligent agent analyzes the issue, reviews inventory, and finds suitable substitute materials. The agent then recommends replacements based on availability and need. A human operator reviews and refines these recommendations—such as adjusting shipping quantities—and approves an automatically drafted email prepared by the remediation agent for the customer and requisition team. The demo concludes by highlighting how this automation fits into a larger source-to-pay and manufacturing management process, improving speed, accuracy, and end-to-end efficiency.
SOUTHEAST Session: The South Carolina APEX Accelerator, part of the national APEX Accelerators network administered by the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, empowers businesses to compete in the government marketplace. This presentation provides an overview of how the SC APEX Accelerator supports companies through market research, bid-matching services, development of market materials, contract management and guidance on federal, state, and local certifications at no-cost to their clients. Attendees will learn how SC APEX Accelerator can assist them in navigating the government contracting marketplace while leveraging key programs and resources such as the Mentor-Protégé Program and Small Business Administration to expand their overall reach.
Speaker at SOUTHEAST: Nat Frampton, Co-Founder, LECS Energy, LLC