Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2025. Read them in this 17th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By Damantha Boteju, chief product and technology officer; Henrik Hulgaard, vice president of product management; and Daniel Joseph Barry, vice president of product marketing, Configit
Being a manufacturer of complex products means dealing with a constant onslaught of technological changes (hello, AI!), regulations and customization demands. To address the current and rapidly approaching challenges, they must be clear about their priorities. This will enable manufacturers to clear hurdles and adopt trends that lead to competitive advantage and success. These trends include AI adoption, modularity and configurability – all of which are essential in today’s business environment but are by no means cheap or simple. But not embracing these trends is not an option, so let’s explore what’s ahead for the manufacturing vertical in 2025.
The digital configuration thread gains prominence. The need to manage both standard and configurable products has led to the digital thread concept as a foundational data structure.
As we move into 2025, we see this concept playing a bigger role. That’s because a digital thread can help manufacturers by providing end-to-end insight and traceability, enabling analysis and optimization of product portfolios and supporting digital twins. However, achieving this approach often requires manufacturers to cobble together information from multiple bills of material (BOMs) in varying formats that reside in disparate systems – typically under the purview of multiple departments. That can lead to misunderstandings, inconsistencies, control issues and maintenance concerns, but Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM) produces a “digital configuration thread” that can help manufacturers manage product configurations better.
A greater emphasis on configurability. Recent research from CIMdata about Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) professionals revealed that configurability is rising on their priority list, and that will likely continue next year. This will drive the need for new ways to support customization, as traditional processes and tools won’t suffice. Many manufacturers still try to manage configurable products and product variants as if they were standard products, but managing configurable products requires a different approach. This leads to the next prediction.
Configuration will help manufacturers address workforce challenges. Manufacturers are facing more demands than ever – at the same time that U.S. manufacturers are dealing with a dearth of workers. As seasoned workers hit retirement age, manufacturers will need to ensure they can capture the institutional knowledge of these employees more efficiently. That means moving away from a document- and experience-driven process to capture information from individual contributors. A Configuration Lifecycle Management approach is one way to do this, laying the foundation for better collaboration and innovation by centralizing product configuration information so it can be shared among multiple departments. This capability lessens the sting of retiring pros and the fear of losing a company’s “brain trust.”
Modularity on the rise. New compliance requirements and an increased demand for customization will bring about greater adoption of modularity. For instance, sustainability regulations that require reuse and recyclability, such as those in the U.S. and EU, are easier to meet with a modular approach. Many early adopters have already implemented a modular approach to their products, and we’ll see more adoption in the new year, as modularity benefits manufacturers by reducing time, effort and costs. It enables them to meet customization demands more cost-effectively by reusing modules (collections of features or pre-assembled parts) rather than custom engineering.
Modularization requires changes to processes, which can make it a challenge, but in light of both the competition and regulations, manufacturers will recognize it as a worthwhile investment. Forward-thinking manufacturers have already recognized this and are adopting new approaches centered on modularity and transitioning from engineer-to-order (ETO) to more customize-to-order (CTO) approaches that better meet their customers’ needs and enable faster response and delivery of solutions with minimal impact on engineering resources.
Generative AI will serve as a human enabler. Generative AI reduces time to market and returns time to employees so they can work on more creative and critical projects. Generative AI helps accelerate business processes and reduce mundane work, enabling employees to focus on being creative and putting more effort into better human interactions and collaboration. The most competitive companies in 2025 will be those who understand the power of artificial intelligence and copilots to build on the strength of their employees.
Better manufacturing processes ahead. Businesses that rely on technology must constantly adapt to change, which can be tricky for industries like manufacturing, which often have older technologies and manual processes. Modern manufacturers must have tools that enable customization, which means a wider adoption of modularity. This shift empowers companies to save time and money by changing from the engineer-to-order (ETO) paradigm to more of a customize-to-order (CTO) framework. The industry requires a solid data underpinning to get the traceability and insight that will move the needle, and CLM does this well. Generative AI will prove to be a great assistant but not a replacement for manufacturing veterans. However, as those long-timers retire, Generative AI and these other modern tools will help manufacturers fill the skills gap so that manufacturing configurable products becomes an easier goal.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Damantha Boteju, chief product and technology officer, Configit
Damantha Boteju is chief product and technology officer of Configit, the global leader in Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions and a supplier of business-critical software for the configuration of complex products. He joined Configit in March 2023, bringing over 25 years of expertise in software development with a focus on enterprise-class products. As CPTO, he leads the product and technology strategy, driving innovation and delivering solutions that meet the complex needs of Configit’s global customers.
Henrik Hulgaard, vice president of product management, Configit
Henrik Hulgaard is the vice president of product management and co-founder of Configit, the global leader in Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions and a supplier of business-critical software for the configuration of complex products. He holds a doctorate in computer science from the University of Washington and is an associate professor of computer science. He has published more than 25 articles internationally.
Daniel Joseph Barry, VP of Product Marketing, Configit
Daniel Joseph Barry is vp of product marketing at Configit the global leader in Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions and a supplier of business-critical software for the configuration of complex products. He has over 30 years of experience in the Telecom and IT industry, working in various technical and commercial roles.
Educated as an electronic engineer, he progressed from research and system development roles to leadership roles in business development, sales, product management, marketing and strategy in global multinationals like Ericsson, as well as startup and growth companies. After several years as an independent consultant, he joined Configit in 2023 in a role that leverages all his experience in articulating the value that CLM and Configit can provide, as well as providing insight into market needs.
