WAREHOUSING/FACTORIES A
s manufacturing shifts away from mass production toward more personalised offerings, differentiation increasingly depends on keeping the buyer at the center of every decision.
This transition is especially evident
across the advanced manufacturing sector. Companies operating in medical devices, industrial equipment and precision engineering are no longer competing solely speed, transparency and ease of buying. Meeting these heightened expectations
requires manufacturers to align every function, from engineering and sales to framework that delivers consistency across the entire manufacturing lifecycle. When all stakeholders work from shared, real-time data, the organisation can deliver more predictability and reliability to the buyer. For manufacturers operating in complex export markets, this level of alignment has become a critical differentiator as customers demand greater accuracy and traceability. At the same time, modern sales
relationships are increasingly digital- involvement. A 2025 Gartner survey found that 61 per cent of B2B buyers favor a rep- free buying experience. This shift requires manufacturers to fundamentally rethink how they operate. Yet many still rely on siloed systems, where
engagement occurs through e-commerce platforms or sales teams that lack real-time or delivered. Manufacturers of complex, customised equipment often struggle to deliver what was quoted due to disconnected teams, legacy systems and limited access to actionable data. As expectations for transparency and
real-time insight rise, these challenges are becoming more acute, particularly for SMEs who continue to operate with limited digital integration, constraining competitiveness in EU and UK markets.
pricing and delivery decisions are driven by the buyer’s needs and expectations for clarity and reliability. When operations are aligned around the buyer experience, visibility improves across every stage of the are purchasing and when it will arrive, while dependable lead times and stronger customer trust. Buyer-centric processes are reshaping
across the value-chain. In terms of how buyer-centric processes work, shared data is translated across the value chain, so sales receives the same product logic that engineering creates to build validated quotes. This data is then turned into business logic in the CPQ process to help sales teams interpret it. Then, sales orders are translated
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THE NEXT CHAPTER IN MANUFACTURING: A BUYER-CENTRIC MODEL IN THE CONSUMER AGE
By Klaus Andersen, CEO of Tacton, the Buyer-Centric Smart Factory for complex manufacturing
The new generation of industrial buyers expect the same seamless experiences they receive as consumers: bespoke products, transparent pricing and reliable lifecycle information
automatically into manufacturing BOMs for provided to all sections of the value chain comes from a single source of truth, yet is translated in line with its appropriate function. Engineering becomes the anchor,
logic remains consistent across PLM, CPQ, ERP and all connected systems. Updates reducing errors and protecting margins. accurate manufacturing BOMs, dynamic scheduling and agile order management. The result is a connected value chain that minimises margin loss and safeguards Buyer-Centric Smart Factory, an operational
FEBRUARY 2026 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
model where engineering, sales and order of data. By enabling end-to-end visibility and the model strengthens trust, agility and long-term value in the manufacturer–buyer relationship.
CREATING A BUYER-FOCUSED MODEL This shared, data-driven foundation is what makes true buyer-centricity possible in practice, translating internal alignment into externally visible value for the customer. Customisation is no longer a differentiator in manufacturing, it is the baseline. Today’s buyers need products that precisely match their requirements, from component dimensions and load-bearing capacity to pressure ratings and carbon
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