As the CEO of a small manufacturing company, I have spent years competing with larger, better-capitalized manufacturers halfway around the world. Right now, we are at a sudden inflection point in which new AI technologies are likely to make being small and agile a significant advantage, providing clever smaller manufacturers with opportunities to leapfrog ahead of bulkier competitors. For the past several decades, advantages in manufacturing could be gleaned by embracing three key concepts in the lean manufacturing methodology: • Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED), which is focused on reducing the costs associated with changing from one process to another. • Kaizen, which focuses on continuously identifying ways to improve processes. • Root cause analysis, in which the causal chain is analyzed to figure out where problems originate and treats them at the source, rather than merely treating symptoms. All three of these concepts can benefit significantly from the application of new AI technologies that will be accessible to even small manufacturers. The upfront costs of the expertise needed to deploy automation and digital manufacturing technologies is about to drop, allowing digital SMED through robotics, automated kaizen and analytics-driven root cause analysis.