Michael UngarCEO of the Industry 4.0 Club

NIST MEP: Best Path to Digital Transformation for Manufacturers

6 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief segment, the speaker explains that the most effective route for small and medium manufacturers to reach the market is through the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). The MEP is a federally funded network with a presence in every state, sometimes multiple branches per state, offering hands‑on assistance such as strategic planning, Lean Six Sigma implementation, and Department of Defense‑level cybersecurity. While the network provides a valuable market‑entry pathway, the speaker notes that only a small number of professionals across the 50‑state system possess deep expertise in smart manufacturing, indicating a gap in advanced digital transformation capabilities within the MEP ecosystem.

Chapters

The best path to market is through the NIST MEP system, right? The MEPs, if folks aren't aware, the Manufacturing Execution Partnerships, it's a national organization funded by NIST. There's branches in every state. Some states have multiple branches and they have a great path to market to the small and mediums. They traditionally help them with, I'll say, the blocking and tackling of manufacturing, right? Whether it be strategy, Lean Six Sigma, DOD-level cybersecurity. So that's a great path to market. Having said that, that network has a relatively small number of folks within organizations within and across the 50 states who have a real strong understanding of smart manufacturing.