It is a great time to be a small business in manufacturing. Today’s digital disruption is about ideas, not major capital investments or facilities with sprawling footprints. Although it’s true that larger companies possess more resources, yet with the right technology, small companies can behave like large ones—while still retaining the agility that makes them perfectly suited to the digital era.

The digital age is well underway, and that accounts for every aspect of business. A 2016 Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey says that companies that digitally transform their supply chains will be leaders in their industries.

A story is told about a reporter who was interviewing a successful bank president. He wanted to know the secret of the man’s success. “Two words: right decisions,” the banker told him.

“And how do you make right decisions?” asked the reporter.

“One word: experience,” was the banker’s reply.

The reporter pressed on. “And how do you get experience?”

“Two words: wrong decisions,” answered the banker.

There’s a big problem for companies within industry these days: the inability to monitor statistical process control (SPC) in real time. This issue manifests itself in several ways, and its effects are filled with risk for enterprises of all shapes and sizes. However, practical solutions are available in the form of tools to help automate many of the manual processes currently being endured by too many companies.