Software teams take version history, code review and repeatable builds for granted. Hardware teams often don't have them. A part lives in one CAD file, and changes happen by hand.
When a part is described in code, everything changes. A dimension becomes a number you can edit. Every version is saved with a note explaining why. The same inputs always produce the same part, so a teammate can rebuild it exactly.
It also makes AI help safer. An assistant can suggest a change, and an engineer can look it over like any other change before it reaches the printer or the board house.
The result is shorter design loops and more time spent testing ideas instead of redrawing them.