Data is the foundation of Industry 4.0. While skilled workers will always be essential, data is reshaping the manufacturing landscape, enabling automation of repetitive tasks, empowering smarter decision-making with AI assistance, and reducing defects and downtime. This shift allows small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) to compete more effectively on quality, speed, and cost. While AI and machine learning systems typically require around two years to collect enough data to reach their full potential, manufacturers can start seeing benefits almost immediately with basic analysis tools and dashboards. Our MEP National NetworkTM expert explains how in this Manufacturing Tomorrow article.