About half of the experienced employees in the manufacturing sector will retire soon, and manufacturers are struggling to find new employees to replace them. This comes at the worst possible time for manufacturers of highly complex customizable products, who depend on skilled employees who know from experience what it takes to successfully design, make and deliver a customized solution. It’s crucial to capture these employees’ knowledge in a way that other employees can use so that when the more seasoned workers retire, companies don’t lose their knowledge base.
For complex, configurable products, experienced employees know which options and capabilities can be combined and offered to customers and which can’t. This information can be captured as rules and constraints in a shared product model that is available to both experienced employees and new hires, making both more efficient and effective.
This “shared source of truth” can capture rules and options end-to-end from engineering, sales, manufacturing and service departments, ensuring that the information from all these sources is aligned and validated. This enables automation and eliminates manual errors. This is the Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM) approach, as it defines and manages the possible configurations of the product across the entire organization over the lifecycle of the product.
Manufacturing labor challenges
Increased demand, coupled with pro-manufacturing policies and international investment, has led to a resurgence of U.S. manufacturing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that, as of January 2024, the number of manufacturing jobs had risen above pre-pandemic levels to reach nearly 13 million.
With the growth of manufacturing comes the need for more employees at all levels across the industry, not just engineers. Yet a skills shortfall persists, one which will be exacerbated as seasoned workers retire and due to the reality that not enough people are applying for these jobs. The 2025 First Quarter Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey noted that if Congress does not extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 45% of survey respondents will hold off on hiring more employees.
The manufacturing sector is also up against a “relatively old” workforce and anticipates a tidal wave of retirements within the next decade. Not wanting to replace them or being unable to find replacements could spell disaster for manufacturers if they don’t find a way to retain the key information and expertise that keep their businesses running.
Securing the brain trust
Who will show the next generation of employees how things are done? Manufacturers must gather operational knowledge ahead of their seasoned pros’ retirement dates. They will need to lay aside documents and manual processes that have ruled thus far, and they will find that a CLM approach can be helpful for this transition. This approach provides a structure that assists collaboration and innovation because it creates a central source of product configuration information that all teams can share.
By using a CLM approach, all possible product options, along with all rules for configurable products from multiple systems and sources, can be consolidated into a shared product model. This establishes a shared source of truth that enables validation and alignment of what is being offered to customers.
To implement a CLM approach, a powerful configuration engine is needed. Such an engine needs to:
- Enable existing product models and other data to be imported to create a shared product model.
- Incorporate verification tools to ensure alignment of configuration data from different sources.
- Include open APIs to enable the consumption of the shared product model with any user or system.
The configuration engine is responsible for managing the lifecycle of product models and ensuring they are up to date, as well as supporting product configuration applications in engineering, sales, manufacturing and service with fast validation and responsive guidance of users when multiple conflicts need to be resolved. A single powerful configuration engine can support multiple product configurators and CPQ systems, ensuring error-free, high-performance consistency and reliable data.
A configuration engine can be used to create a common product model that captures cross-functional employee knowledge on product configuration as rules and constraints, enabling manufacturers to implement a CLM approach that also provides the basis for automation and even greater efficiencies.
Another benefit of a CLM approach is that it improves the employee digital experience (DEX). Manufacturers may not think about this, but it’s an important aspect of employee satisfaction and even retention. Different teams don’t need to come together to reach a consensus; it’s already in the shared product model. No one has to track down why entries are inconsistent or explain to a customer why the wrong product was delivered. Following a CLM approach makes the whole process error-free.
CLM enables end-to-end processes, helping to eradicate misalignment of data that causes errors and frustration among departments. This makes for a better work environment and leads to increased worker engagement and satisfaction – key ingredients in retention and recruitment.
CLM bridges the workforce gap
A company’s institutional knowledge is the gold refined by years of experience, error and learning. Yet, as half of the manufacturing industry’s workforce approaches retirement, that knowledge is in jeopardy of being lost. It is imperative for the sake of business continuity that manufacturers collect this gold and store it in a central repository accessible to all who need to draw from it. Adopting a CLM approach is an effective choice for this purpose, mitigating internal strife over the ownership and management of knowledge. It creates error-free processes and improves DEX so that valuable employees will remain at their posts, and new recruits will be eager to join them.
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.