Innovating Manufacturing: The Impact of Emerging Technologies for SMB Manufacturers

Small and medium businesses in manufacturing (SMBs) need to invest in emerging technologies to remain competitive. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) enables machine-to-machine communication, optimizing operations, reducing costs, and prolonging machine life. Additive manufacturing and 3D printing reduce waste and aid in faster prototyping, making it more cost-effective to produce small runs of specific products. Blockchain facilitates traceability and reduces supply chain costs, adding a decentralized and tamper-resistant ledger for recording information of interest to all parties. Cobots – collaborative robots – help close the talent gap, improving efficiency and productivity by performing certain manufacturing tasks more efficiently than humans.