The Dynamics of Success: How Technology is Revolutionizing Manufacturing | Propulsion 2025

Drawing from his experience advising global leaders in heavy industry, HVAC, automotive, and more, Nanda Chitrala of Salesforce outlines the technologies transforming operations—from AI-driven diagnostics to service-based revenue models. Nanda, who leads Salesforce's industry strategy across manufacturing, automotive, and consumer goods, shares frontline insights from work with leading brands like Caterpillar, Cummins, and Mitsubishi Electric.

In his coversation with Propel CRO Charles Lawson, Nanda outlines how manufacturers are narrowing tech stacks, unifying siloed systems, and modernizing with an eye toward both efficiency and new revenue. For product and IT leaders grappling with complexity, this session offers a strategic look at how to apply AI, drive service-based business models, and prepare for an agentic AI future.

KEY INSIGHTS

"IT leaders are increasingly thinking about modernizing their entire ecosystem. Gone are the days when CIOs and CTOs focused solely on best-of-breed solutions. That’s still important—you still need to ensure solutions meet business requirements—but now they’re also facing the challenge of integrating and unifying all their applications."

"Service technicians either need to swivel-chair between systems, or need to do another truck roll to get the job fixed. That’s been a huge area where PLM and the entire SLM—service execution—world are coming together to bring the best of both worlds, creating a common digital thread across all these systems. This has become a growing requirement from customers. It’s also one of those unique situations where not only sales and service leaders, but also product leaders are coming together at the table to drive this conversation."

"If you think about all the manufacturers producing any physical product with a shelf life of three to 30 years, there are huge margins to be gained through service revenue—especially if it’s recurring. Many of these manufacturers have very low margins on the initial sale of a physical unit, but the majority of their revenue actually comes from servicing."

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