Manufacturing is a big part of the Western North Carolina economy. The Asheville metro, which covers Buncombe, Henderson and Madison counties, had 18,700 manufacturing jobs in June 2026. That’s down 2.1% from a year earlier, according to the Asheville Area Chamber’s economic indicators. Small and mid-size plants here are dealing with tight labor, demanding customers and supply chains that Helene showed can break. AI for manufacturers isn’t mainly about robots on the line. For most small shops, the quick wins are in the knowledge work: quotes, work instructions, quality paperwork and supplier communication.
This guide covers where to start, what to keep human, the rules defense suppliers need to know, and free help available in North Carolina.
Where AI for manufacturers helps first
- Quoting. AI can read an RFQ package, pull out the requirements, quantities and deadlines, and draft the quote structure. Your estimator still sets the price.
- Work instructions and SOPs. Turn an experienced operator’s notes, photos or a recorded walkthrough into clear step-by-step instructions. If your team works in more than one language, AI can draft translations for a bilingual lead to check.
- Quality paperwork. Draft nonconformance reports, summarize corrective actions, and spot patterns in defect logs.
- Maintenance. Summarize maintenance logs and flag machines with repeat failures. Full predictive maintenance is a bigger project, and NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership lists it among the main AI uses in manufacturing.
- Purchasing and inventory. Draft supplier emails, track lead-time changes and suggest reorder quantities for a buyer to approve.
- Training. Turn procedures into short quizzes and refreshers for new hires.
Start with your ERP and your data
If you run NetSuite, AI is already part of the platform. Ask Oracle answers questions inside NetSuite, and the AI Connector Service lets outside AI tools work with your data. The SuiteSkills Oracle announced in October 2026 also include skills for inventory and fulfillment. Our guide to connecting AI to QuickBooks, NetSuite and Shopify covers how those connections and permissions work.
Whatever system you use, data quality matters more than the AI. If your item master has duplicate parts, outdated bills of materials or wrong lead times, AI will give you confident answers built on bad data. Cleaning that up is often the most valuable first step.
AI in manufacturing and lessons from Helene
Helene showed how fragile a supply chain can be. Baxter’s IV solutions plant in North Cove, the country’s largest maker of those solutions, flooded and caused a national shortage. Baxter returned the plant to pre-hurricane production levels in February 2025, less than five months after the storm. Most small manufacturers had to deal with closed roads, power outages and missing suppliers on a smaller scale.
AI for manufacturers can also help you prepare for the next disruption:
- Map single-source parts. Have AI go through your bills of materials and purchase history to list parts that come from only one supplier.
- Keep a supplier risk list. Note each critical supplier’s location, alternatives and lead times, and update it quarterly.
- Draft customer updates quickly. During a disruption, AI can prepare status emails for each affected order, for a person to check and send.
Don’t make critical floor instructions depend on a cloud tool. Keep printed or offline copies of work instructions and safety procedures, so production doesn’t stop when the internet does.
Defense suppliers: CMMC and controlled data
If you supply parts to defense contractors, your data has extra rules. The Department of Defense’s CMMC requirements became enforceable in contracts on November 10, 2025, with a phased rollout over three years. They apply to prime contractors and subcontractors that handle Federal Contract Information or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Level 2, which covers CUI, is based on the 110 security controls in NIST SP 800-171.
The practical rule for AI is simple. Don’t put CUI, export-controlled technical data or customer drawings covered by those rules into commercial AI tools unless the tool is approved for that data. Ask your prime contractor and your compliance advisor which tools, if any, are allowed. The same caution applies to any customer drawings covered by an NDA.
What to keep human
AI for manufacturers works best as a drafting and analysis tool. Keep these decisions with people:
- Pricing and quote approval
- Sign-off on safety-critical work instructions
- Quality dispositions, like use-as-is, rework or scrap
- Delivery commitments to customers
- Anything involving lockout/tagout or other safety procedures
Free help with AI for small manufacturers in North Carolina
North Carolina has good resources for small manufacturers:
- NC Manufacturing Extension Partnership. NCMEP, administered by NC State’s Industry Expansion Solutions, is the state’s affiliate of the NIST MEP National Network. It works with small and mid-size manufacturers on technology adoption, cybersecurity, supply chain risk and training.
- Community college customized training. In Asheville, A-B Tech’s NCEdge Customized Training for Industry is funded through the state’s Customized Training Program. Eligibility usually depends on investing in new technology, creating jobs or improving productivity, and community colleges describe the training as typically free for qualifying companies.
- Incumbent worker grants. Our AI rollout plan covers NCWorks grants for training existing employees, offered through local workforce boards.
A first 60 days of AI for manufacturing
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 2 | Pick one workflow, like RFQ intake or work instructions for one cell. Write down the data rules: no CUI, no restricted drawings in general AI tools. |
| Weeks 3 to 6 | Pilot with one estimator or one production lead. Time the task before and after. |
| Weeks 7 to 8 | Decide whether to keep it, document the process, and train the next group. |
Our 30-day plan to start using AI has more detail on measuring a pilot. Put your data rules in a short AI use policy before anyone starts.
Getting help in Asheville and Western North Carolina
Good People Technologies works with manufacturers across Western North Carolina on the systems behind the plant floor. That includes NetSuite, QuickBooks Online and the integrations between them. We help with AI implementation for small businesses, from cleaning up item data to setting up AI that follows your customers’ data rules. Our guide on how to choose an AI consultant covers what to look for in outside help. To talk through your shop, start with a free 15-minute operations and technology audit.
Frequently asked questions
Is AI for manufacturers only worth it for large plants?
No. Small manufacturers often see the quickest return, because a few people handle quoting, purchasing and quality paperwork on top of everything else. Saving each of them a few hours a week adds up fast.
Can we put customer drawings into ChatGPT?
Check first. Many drawings are covered by NDAs, and some are export-controlled or contain CUI. Those shouldn’t go into commercial AI tools unless the tool is approved for that data. For everything else, use a business plan with admin controls.
Do we need new software to use AI?
Usually not at first. Start with the AI in your ERP and in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Add new tools only when a specific workflow needs them.
Where can a small manufacturer in North Carolina get free help?
NCMEP, through NC State’s Industry Expansion Solutions, works with small and mid-size manufacturers across the state. Community colleges, including A-B Tech in Asheville, offer customized training through the state’s Customized Training Program.
Sources, checked November 2026: the Asheville Area Chamber’s June 2026 economic indicators, Baxter’s Hurricane Helene updates, NIST MEP on AI in U.S. manufacturing, the CMMC final DFARS rule summary, NCMEP and A-B Tech NCEdge.
Hi, I’m Benji, founder and CTO of Good People Technologies in Asheville, NC. We help small and mid-sized businesses put AI to work safely and connect it to the systems they already run, from QuickBooks to NetSuite.
For over a decade, we’ve helped businesses solve complex operations and technology problems. When not working, I’m hiking or enjoying rivers in western North Carolina with my wife and two dogs.
