Ann Arbor, MI, September 3, 2025—The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) has released a white paper promoting best practices for small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMM) seeking a strategy to initiate smart manufacturing solutions. The white paper, “Accelerating Smart Manufacturing: Best Practices for Small and Medium Manufacturers,” draws on lessons learned from several recent NCMS initiatives as well as research conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and others focused on smart manufacturing implementation.
One of the top challenges for SMMs implementing smart manufacturing solutions is determining where to begin. The white paper walks the reader through five primary best practices:
- Identify key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Prioritize opportunities to apply smart manufacturing
- Locate existing high-value data and eliminate data silos
- Produce a vision document
- Plan, execute, and evaluate a small pilot project
Among the NCMS projects explored, two are highlighted as case studies for pilot projects. These offer insights into the benefits of implementing solutions such as adding business intelligence (BI) reporting capabilities, and upgrading enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
“Smart manufacturing represents a wide array of solutions that enable process optimization and enhance overall performance,” said Lisa Strama, President and CEO of NCMS. “We hope this new publication encourages more manufacturers to begin planning for gradual improvements that ultimately lead to an operational transformation.”
