The advances in Information Technology (IT) which allowed the transformation of products into cyber-physical systems (CPS), brought new challenges and opportunities for development in manufacturing. Connected product networks (CPN) which bare more advanced features opposing to regular products, require special resource management and more flexible processes during the whole lifecycle of a product, from conceptualization to development and use. Cloud computing and data analytics enhance the opportunities for reconfiguration and optimization of machines and products, leading to reduced costs for the factories. Situational awareness driven by ontologies, together with Big Data analytics exhibit significant potential for competitive manufacturing that is able to follow the fast-evolving market, nevertheless, with respect to the user and the environment. The current paper suggests an approach for the exploitation of manufacturing context, using sensors and data management techniques in industrial business cases, to achieve reuse of information, resulting to reduced manufacturing waste.