https://www.passionfroot.me/robert-smak

I help manufacturing teams find the right automation solution for their specific production needs. By combining deep market knowledge with a broad network of technology partners, I connect you with the tools, systems, and integrators that will deliver measurable improvements.

Whether it’s reducing downtime, increasing throughput, or improving safety, my goal is to match each challenge with the most effective, proven solution — and guide you from concept to successful implementation.

If you need the right partner to automate your processes, I’ll help you find them and make sure the project delivers results from day one.

Robert Smak

Helping SMB Manufacturers Transform Operations Through Robotics, Automation & Supply Chain Excellence

With 15+ years in engineering, supply chain, reliability, and project leadership across Amazon and Cummins, I help manufacturing companies modernize operations, deploy practical automation, and achieve measurable performance improvements.

I blend engineering depth (mechanical design, reliability, OEE, system optimization) with strategic operations leadership (Lean, Six Sigma, cross-functional execution, ERP rollouts, multi-site program delivery). My work has delivered:

$9.6M cost savings through automation, OEE uplift & reliability improvements

35% productivity improvement through workflow redesign & AI-enabled processes

$4M cost reduction through supply chain transformation

20+ site programs improving engineering KPIs, defects, availability & uptime

Today, I work with SMB manufacturers in India & US to bridge the gap between legacy operations and future-ready Industry 4.0 systems — without unnecessary cost or complexity.

What I Specialize In

SMB Robotics & Automation Strategy

Automation Roadmaps for <$150K Investment

Lean + Digital Transformation

OEE, Reliability & Downtime Reduction

Factory Layout Optimization

Vendor Selection: Cobots, AMRs, Vision Systems

Predictive Maintenance & IIoT Readiness

Supply Chain Optimization (Planning, S&OP, suppliers)

Fractional Operations Leadership for SMBs

How I Deliver Value

I bring a battle-tested Fortune 500 toolkit to SMBs who need immediate, practical results , not theory.
My consulting playbooks focus on rapid ROI, low-cost automation, process redesign, and scalable systems.

If you're looking to automate your factory, reduce downtime, or modernize your operations  let’s talk.

Aniket W

Last week, I sat down with Shantanu Kelkar to talk about the one problem that keeps manufacturing SMB owners up at night.
It wasn't supply chain. It wasn't margins.....
It was this: losing trained workers to Big Tech before they even hit their 2-year mark.....
One stat hit different: 48% of Gen Z workers plan to leave manufacturing within 6 months. At $52K per departure.
But here's what surprised me....Shantanu and I found three companies that cracked the code.
Not by paying Silicon Valley salaries. By doing what Zoho did in software: stop buying talent, start building it.
Zoho's model? Pay high schoolers $120/month to LEARN. Two years later, 90% are still there. 20 years later, some from the original 2005 batch are STILL employed....
FAME USA adapted this for manufacturing now 45+ chapters, 500 employer partners, 90% placement rate.....
The question isn't whether this works. It's whether it works for YOUR company.
I built a 15-slide breakdown showing exactly how SMBs (yes, even <100 employees) can pull this off through consortiums, internal academies, or college partnerships....Below is just some glimpse of it !

But first, I need to know where YOU'RE stuck:
Comment ONE letter:
A - "We don't have the budget"
 B - "We don't know where to start"
 C - "We can't spare people for training"
 D - "We tried training before, it didn't stick"
I'll send you the full deck + a custom resource based on your answer.
(Spoiler: If you answered A, there's $95M in DOL grants most SMBs don't know exist. If you answered C, there's a 3-day/week model that won't kill your production schedule.)
The companies that win the next decade won't be the ones with the best recruiting budget.
They'll be the ones who realized: the talent pipeline isn't something you tap into it's something you build.

Robotics, Automation & Supply Chain implementation expert | SMB Factory Modernization Expert | Ex-Amazon & Cummins | Lean Six Sigma | OEE, Reliability & Digital Transformation

$1 trillion Manufacturing Crisis 

Had fantastic episode again with Shantanu ....SMB leaders, Our research shows 2026 Strategic Outlook reveals why the "Rule of 10" and fractional leadership (up 100% since 2022 ) are the new survival mechanisms......
Don't let the "50 Employee Cliff"  sink your growth.

Read the blueprint for the Asymmetric Enterprise below. 👇#FutureOfWork #SMB #FractionalLeadership #Compliance #BusinessStrategy #AsymmetricEnterprise

Strategic outlook for SMB leaders

Last week, Shantanu and I recorded a podcast episode that made us stop mid-conversation.
We were talking about cybersecurity for SMBs. Standard stuff......
Then Shantanu said something that changed the entire conversation:
"The problem isn't hackers anymore. It's that our own AI agents are making decisions faster than humans can catch them."....

That hit different...

Because here's what we discovered: 60% of SMBs shut down within 6 months of a breach. But by 2026, that timeline compresses to 30 days when agentic AI is involved.

Not because the attack is bigger. Because the AI executes bad decisions at machine speed.

A voice clone approves a wire transfer in 3 seconds. A poisoned AI agent signs contracts at 90% loss for weeks before anyone notices. A hallucinating negotiator locks you into a $2M liability overnight.

No ransomware note. No locked files. Just quietly bleeding trust and capital.
But here's where it gets interesting.

We found four SMBs across India, US, Singapore, and Dubai that aren't just surviving this shift. They're using it as a competitive advantage.

 A Singapore fintech turned compliance into a revenue driver using a Digital Twin bot. An Ohio manufacturer built "canary documents" to detect if their AI's knowledge base gets poisoned.
None of them are tech giants. All of them are protecting what matters: identity integrity, data provenance, and decision auditability.
The framework we built is called T.R.U.S.T. Protocol: Test agents in sandboxes, Restrict context access, Unify human oversight, Segment bot identities, Trace every decision.
It's lighter than ISO 27001 but stronger than a checklist. Built for SMBs that need to move fast without breaking things.
I've put together the full 17-slide strategy deck we used for the podcast. It includes the 2026 threat landscape, regional case studies, a 90-day implementation roadmap, and the exact tools/configurations to deploy this week.
But first, I need to know what's blocking YOU:
Comment ONE letter:
A - "We're adopting AI agents but have no security plan" B - "Deepfakes and social engineering terrify me" C - "Our vendors use AI and we have zero visibility" D - "We don't know what 'good' looks like in 2026"
I'll send you the deck plus a tailored resource based on your answer.
(Spoiler: If you answered A, there's a $500 human-in-the-loop rule you can implement today. If you answered C, there's a vendor attestation clause that shifts liability back where it belongs.)
The companies that survive the next 18 months won't be the ones with the biggest security budget.
They'll be the ones who realized that in the age of agents, trust isn't assumed. It's architected.
Drop your letter below, and let's close this trust deficit together.

SMB Cybersecurity Strategy 2026

Had fantastic conversation with Shantanu Kelkar during our podcast...Sharing some quick insights ...

1.For SMB leaders, the difference between surviving and thriving now comes down to one strategic shift: moving from buying digital tools to building an intelligent operating system.

2. Sharing the Strategic Outlook 2026, which introduces the ORBIT Framework  roadmap designed to secure a 3.2x growth multiplier.

Here is the blueprint for the next era:
 - Orchestrate: Deploy AI as a cohesive workforce, not just isolated tools. 
- Resilience: Build sovereign, adaptive supply chains. 
- Build: Close the AI fluency gap with deep upskilling. 
- Integrate: Turn sustainability into a margin protection strategy. 
- Transform: Shift from reactive tech adoption to proactive redesign.

Check out the full presentation attached to see the execution plan.
 Download the PDF. Comment  if you are ready for 2026, and let me know in the comments: Which part of ORBIT is your priority this year?

SMB Strategic Outlook 2026

I often share  below framework to SMB leaders....The “3 D’s of Agentic AI”....

 Use this as a quick test when someone pitches an AI/automation project in supply chain this year:
Detect – Does the system continuously detect what matters (disruptions, demand shifts, constraint changes) without you pulling reports?

Decide – Does it recommend clear options with pros/cons instead of dumping raw data on planners?

Do – Can it execute low-risk actions autonomously (notifications, re-prioritizations, re-routes within guardrails), so humans focus on exceptions and strategy?

If a proposed “AI initiative” cannot clearly pass all three D’s, it is probably just another dashboard dressed up as transformation

Think about it!

Share your experience in the comment  below, I will be interested ..

SMB leaders:  Join our "Small But Global" podcast for expert tips on talent, compliance, and HR tech. Learn how to turn challenges into growth opportunities! Get ready to scale globally!

View event: Small But Global: Navigating Talent & Compliance in the Modern SMB

Small But Global: Navigating Talent & Compliance in the Modern SMB

Why Most Robot Companies Fail and What SMB Leaders Must Learn......
After 15 years in auto manufacturing+automation industry, I’ve seen automation projects soar and crash. The real reason most robot companies fail? It’s not the technology.
Too many robot companies build impressive machines nobody actually needs. Often, a dazzling demo hides a simple truth: if you cannot see exactly how it solves your pain point ..be it throughput, safety, or labor gaps...walk away. Don’t pay for a solution looking for a problem.
Don’t become a beta tester. Early adoption can mean great deals and more attention, but ask tough questions: How many real-world deployments? What’s your failure rate? Can I speak to your current users?
Vendor stability matters as much as tech specs. Many startups burn cash faster than they earn it. Insist on training, documentation, and a plan for vendor failure just in case. If i need to further drill it down for you..here it is ...
What works:
Solve clear, costly problems
Start small, prove value, then scale
Prioritize reliability over flash
Invest in your people as much as the tech
Best automation quietly delivers day after day. That’s the win. Everything else is noise.Robotics industry is maturing, but it is still volatile. Companies will continue to fail, not because their technology was bad, but because they built solutions nobody asked for, scaled before they were ready, or ran out of cash before proving their value.
Bottom line : As an SMB leader, your job is not to bet on which robotics company will survive. Your job is to identify real operational problems, find proven solutions, and structure deals that protect your investment regardless of what happens to the vendor.
The most valuable automation is the automation that quietly works. Day after day. Without drama.
That is the goal. Everything else is noise.

Reference article:https://lnkd.in/gYziqw4T #SMBleaders#Robotics#Automation#Industry4.0

Automation often sparks fear, but my experience leading automation projects at Amazon showed me a different story it empowers people. From reducing burnout to creating meaningful roles, here’s how automation transforms workplaces for the better. Curious? Let’s discuss! 👇 #Leadership #Automation

Brand partnership • Robotics, Automation & Supply Chain implementation expert | SMB Factory Modernization Expert | Ex-Amazon & Cummins | Lean Six Sigma | OEE, Reliability & Digital Transformation

Aniket S Waghchaure Process Automation Specialist Why Warehouse Workers Love Automation My Personal Story When I first joined Amazon as a Program Mana

Open article: From Burnout to Breakthrough: How Automation Transforms Workplaces and Empowers Teams by Aniket W • 4 min read

From Burnout to Breakthrough: How Automation Transforms Workplaces and Empowers Teams

Losing skilled workers faster than you can hire them?
You're not alone. But the winners aren't recruiting harder they're building their own talent.
NEW PODCAST: The Talent Forge
Real strategies. Zero fluff. Built for SMB manufacturers.
Episode 1 is live → https://lnkd.in/g7QMqdBH

View event: The Talent Forge" Where Manufacturing Leaders Build Tomorrow's Workforce

The Talent Forge" Where Manufacturing Leaders Build Tomorrow's Workforce

Change Healthcare ignored ONE security step.
Result: $2.87B loss. 190M Americans affected. Congressional hearings.
Meanwhile, India processes 20B transactions monthly with 99.9% uptime.
What's the difference?
Sunday 10am EST we are breaking it down.
Limited to 100 SMB leaders.
Don't be the cautionary tale.
When : Sunday Jan 25th 10 am EST 
Where :  https://lnkd.in/g7iN6tmH

View event: The $2.87 Billion Mistake: What 8 Global Cybersecurity Disasters Teach SMB 

The $2.87 Billion Mistake: What 8 Global Cybersecurity Disasters Teach SMB 

Recently finalized India-European Union Trade Deal marks a significant step toward deepening economic collaboration between two major global players.. This agreement is set to boost trade, reduce barriers, and foster innovation in key sectors like IT, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and green technologies.
With a focus on sustainability and mutual growth, the deal promises to create new opportunities for businesses, workers, and consumers across both regions. It also reflects a broader trend of nations coming together to tackle global challenges and build a more interconnected, resilient economy.
As we witness this milestone, it’s clear that partnerships like these are key to shaping the future of international trade and sustainable development. 
What are your thoughts on the impact of this deal? Let’s discuss!  #Trade #IndiaEU #GlobalEconomy #Sustainability #Innovation

View event: India-EU Trade Deal: 9 Game-Changing Impacts on EU -India's Future

India-EU Trade Deal: 9 Game-Changing Impacts on EU -India's Future

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