**9. Challenges in manufacturing**

The main challenges in today's Manufacturing world are customer satisfaction and new technology. Customers have higher expectation for product quality (performance) and on-time delivery at lower cost and shorter time to manufacture. This new paradigm of product development success "to provide the greatest value at the lowest possible cost and shortest time" is hard to achieve and impossible in some situations. The evolving landscape of new technology, digital manufacturing innovation and smart product design influence the strategic decision-making process for both customer and supplier. The lifespan of a new product is shorter nowadays, creating a demand for modularity and commonality weaved together to maximize value and use.

At such an increasing rate of rapid change, the product configuration must be managed strategically so that the organization or business will stand to gain profit and minimize losses. Because of this, most products are designed and built in a fashion that allows it to be remanufactured or reconfigured for reuse, and in certain cases, the quality or performance of the product may be compromised. This is a big concern, especially for reputable companies who have brand reputation at stake. Management finds it difficult to focus on time instead of cost. Period of profitability, time to design, late product launch and competition from rival companies add to the complexity of challenges, where the voice of the customer is always focused on center stage.
