The front cover envisions the role and contributions of cyber–physical production systems (CPPS) in driving the next generation of manufacturing, commonly referred to as “smart manufacturing” or “factories of the future.” In their perspective article, Suvarna et al. consider how CPPS will act as key enablers of next-generation manufacturing systems by focusing on three aspects of smart manufacturing: data-driven analytics, decentralized systems, and integrated blockchains for data security. Along with a brief description of recent advancements in each of these aspects, they establish a link among them and explain how one engenders the other in the drive toward smart manufacturing.