<p>Smart manufacturing is a holistic strategy for product optimization in manufacturing with minimum costs and improved operational efficiency. However, the implementation of smart manufacturing technologies in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is limited due to a lack of awareness and understanding of their potential benefits. The manuscript aims to propose a hybrid picture fuzzy information (PFI)-based decision support tool and its application in dealing with the smart manufacturing technologies assessment problem for SMEs. The proposed method firstly computes the decision experts’ weights using a picture fuzzy distance measure and rank sum model. In the following, a modified distance measure is introduced for PFI and presents its effectiveness over the existing ones. Next, the individual experts’ views are combined into group decisions using picture fuzzy Sugeno-Weber-weighted geometric (PFSWWG) operators. To this aim, new PFSWWG operators are developed for PFI with their desirable characteristics. Further, a collective weighting procedure is developed by combining the objective weight with the symmetry point of criteria (SPC) model and subjective weight via the picture fuzzy ranking comparison (RANCOM) method. Based on these procedures, we present a hybrid combinative distance-based assessment (CODAS) approach for solving multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) problems with PFI. Moreover, the CODAS model is executed as a case study of smart manufacturing technologies evaluation problems for SMEs, which exemplifies its practicality and feasibility. Sensitivity assessment is accomplished to test the steadiness and reliability of the attained outcomes. Lastly, the comparison is made to validate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The findings show that the presented methodology can offer a practical way to solve smart manufacturing selection problems with uncertain data.</p>