New Report Finds Predictive Selling Is Changing Manufacturing Go-to-Market (GTM) In 2026-2027

Aleran Releases Built to Sell Volume 3: How Predictive Selling is Reshaping Manufacturing Go-to-Marketing (GTM) for 2026-2027

Survey of 200 decision-makers finds manufacturers are prioritizing front-office modernizations with four in 10 considering AI sales agents

MINNEAPOLIS (December 18, 2025) — B2B manufacturers are moving beyond standalone tools toward AI systems and platforms that work across quoting, pricing and forecasting to predict demand, buyer behavior, pricing and margin outcomes before they happen, according to a the national survey sponsored by Aleran Software and conducted by independent B2B research firm TrendCandy.

The survey of 200 B2B manufacturing decision-makers found 91% of respondents have or are planning to implement AI-powered sales automation, while AI-driven pricing tools are a No. 1 priority for streamlining sales going forward. In addition, 4 out of 10 respondents are eying AI sales agents as a top priority for sales modernization. And by 2027, nearly half of manufacturers expect AI-optimized product listings to be major contributors to customer acquisition.

In an earlier volume, Aleran reported that the survey of 200 B2B manufacturing decision-makers found manual sales and quoting processes are costing their companies an average of 5% of their revenue each year, with 88% of respondents reporting lost deals.  

And as they look ahead to 2026-2027, respondents reported that the biggest trends expected to impact manufacturing sales will be:  

• Personalization through data analytics 

• Growth of B2B marketplaces 

• SEO and AI-search optimized product listings with AI-driven connected sales and marketing. 

“The data speaks for itself – of the manufacturers we surveyed already using digital quoting and selling tools, 90% reported revenue growth, including 23% who saw significant increases,” said Aleran CEO Alex Sayyah.  

“Manufacturers are recognizing that this state of disconnection is costly – not only to lost deals from slow quoting like we reported previously, but also for productivity. Growth is going to come from standardization and connection, which will drive efficiency.” 

But it isn’t just growth that manufacturers are eyeing as they shift to predictive selling. Of the survey respondents, 46% rated “improved alignment with production and supply chain” as the #1 indicator of impact when asked what success looks like in digitizing sales and automating quoting. 

The research underscores the critical importance of how manufacturers must prioritize what extending their ERP looks like as part of this modernization. 

“ERP systems were built to govern the business and CRMs were built to manage customer relationships – neither were intended to be modern sales engines,” said Dan Aldridge, “The ERP Doctor” and Marketing Director at PCG with more than two decades of ERP consulting.  

“As pricing, configuration, and go-to-market complexity increased, manufacturers filled the front-office gaps with spreadsheets and manual workarounds. Today, those gaps aren’t just inefficient – they’re costing deals and margin. The path forward isn’t ripping out ERP, but layering digital commerce, CPQ, and AI on top so selling can scale without losing control.” 

A complementary research summary with recommendations is available online

Methodology

TrendCandy surveyed 200 respondents from decision-makers (manager and above) at U.S.-based manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors in July 2025. Respondents represented sales, marketing, finance, and operations and worked at companies with at least 100 employees. Companies represented a wide range of industry segments, including computer hardware, aftermarket parts and OEM components, plastics and chemicals, and electrical components and equipment. The margin of error for this study is +/- 4.6% at the 95% confidence level.

About Aleran

Aleran Software makes complex quoting and selling simple by providing a unified commerce platform purpose-built for discrete manufacturing, industrial distributors and wholesalers. Aleran Connected Commerce enables B2B manufacturers to simplify, unify, and accelerate sales online, offline and everywhere they sell. The platform includes AI sales agents, CPQ, PIM, digital catalogs, and customer portals. Aleran Connected Commerce provides an API-first architecture to make it easy to integrate back-end systems such as ERP and CRM with front-end sales channels with minimal IT help. Learn more about Aleran at www.aleran.com.

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For more information, press and analysts only:

Aaron Pearson
Narratio for Aleran Software
aaron@narratiomarketing.com
1.612.716.9228