MCADCafe Industry Predictions for 2024 – Aras

Rob McAveney, CTO, Aras

By Rob McAveney, CTO, Aras

Generative AI’s Impact on PLM

“Early adopters have demonstrated the potential of GenAI in PLM use cases, driving innovation, automation, and efficiency. But challenges like user confidence, data governance, and skills shortages persist.

In 2025, we’ll see a shift from prompt-based AI to agentic AI—autonomous background agents that make inferences and suggest optimizations without human intervention. These agents will analyze market trends, customer feedback, and performance data to generate new product concepts, streamline processes, and enhance sustainability. This evolution will transform PLM into an active partner in innovation, reducing time-to-market and improving operational efficiency.”

AI will Enhance Compliance Efforts

“With the rise of the digital thread, AI and machine learning tools are vital for synchronizing and unlocking the value of product data. The US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that investments in AI and ML technologies for manufacturing processes, including PLM, grew by 23% last year and will continue to ramp up for years to come.

AI can establish traceability across domains, ensuring compliance with regulations like the Digital Product Passport (DPP), a digital record containing detailed info about a product’s entire lifecycle. In 2025, companies that fail to prepare for evolving compliance standards risk falling behind.”

Growth of Mass Personalization and Customization

“While product personalization is widespread in many spaces like fashion and consumer packaged goods, mass personalization is finally expanding into the manufacturing industry. To enable this, companies are shifting from engineer-to-order (ETO) to configure-to-order (CTO) models to help customers select products that are tailored to their specific needs and preferences.

CTO models leverage variant management tools to handle design complexity and streamline supply chain processes. Best-of-breed tools integrate customer preferences into early product development stages, maximizing reuse of common elements across all phases of the digital thread.”

Emergence of Industry 5.0 and Engineering 5.0

“Where Industry 5.0 focuses on human-centric collaboration with advanced technologies, Engineering 5.0 applies this concept more specifically to engineering and product development processes. AI-driven tools like digital twins and predictive analytics will enhance creativity, sustainability, and efficiency in 2025.

Sustainability is another key aspect of Industry 5.0 and Engineering 5.0 to consider in 2025. Companies must adopt more sustainable materials, energy-efficient processes, and circular economy principles to meet new regulatory demands and satisfy eco-conscious consumers. Companies adopting sustainable materials, energy-efficient processes, and circular economy principles will gain an edge, with digital threads enabling detailed lifecycle tracking and AI-assisted design optimizations.”

Jason Kasper,

Jason Kasper, Senior Director of Product Marketing, Aras

Demand for Agility and Adaptability will Increase

“The vast majority of manufacturers today experience operational challenges and supply chain issues along with rapidly changing market and business dynamics. To navigate volatile markets and supply chain challenges, manufacturers must rethink PLM strategies.

Legacy tools create silos and limit scalability, and leave companies stuck in the past. Successful enterprises need to effectively use product data. They can accomplish this with digital threads that enable real-time data integration and improve resilience and decision-making.

In 2025, manufacturers will prioritize supply chain resilience, extending connectivity across multi-tier supply chains to adapt to evolving regulations and demands. By taking a more holistic approach to integrating and accessing data from multi-tier supply chains, manufacturers will adapt more effectively to evolving regulations and market demands. A unified digital thread is no longer optional – it is essential for maintaining resilience, agility, and compliance across the extended enterprise ecosystem.”

Category: Predictions

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