Knowledge Management (KM) refers to the organized approach to handling information and expertise. The main objective is to guarantee that essential explicit knowledge (documents, patents) and tacit knowledge (experiential skills) are readily available to drive organizational efficiency.

In manufacturing, KM is vital for preserving institutional memory and tackling the challenges of an aging workforce. Effective KM systems ensure that process expertise and complex machine know-how are systematically captured and transferred before skilled veterans retire. This leads to faster troubleshooting, more efficient onboarding of new engineers, improved product quality, and sustained competitive advantage through continuous process optimization.