With the days of China being a low-cost country long over, its manufacturing is at risk of being squeezed between innovation leaders on the one side and low-cost competitors on the other. There is much discussion about automation and digitalisation of production but this requires a foundation in terms of operational excellence, which in most industries is simply not there yet. This article introduces a back-to-basics approach and the lean enterprise as a solution, because a vast potential is still untapped by many manufacturing companies.