Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing
Efficiency Through IT/OT Integration
Volatile supply chains, rising energy and material costs, and a shortage of skilled workers are increasing pressure on the manufacturing industry to act. At Arvato Systems, we understand these pain points and support you in actively shaping your digital transformation. Artificial intelligence helps companies optimize equipment utilization, ensure quality, make knowledge more readily available, and make decisions based on up-to-date data.
The Foundation: Intelligently Connecting IT and OT
AI is only as powerful as the underlying data. In many companies, machine, quality, logistics, and ERP data are no longer stored in isolated silos. The integration of Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) creates a common database: Sensor data from manufacturing is linked with information from planning, materials management, and maintenance.
Using the shared database, it is possible, for example, to implement digital twins. Standards such as the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) help ensure that information is structured and accessible across system boundaries. This lays the foundation for real-time analyses, reliable forecasts, and progressively automated processes. Arvato Systems offers an open-architecture solution for creating a data foundation. It can be flexibly integrated into existing system landscapes.
From the Database to the Smart Application
When data from production, quality, logistics, and ERP systems are linked, AI can realize its full potential. Instead of isolated analyses, this leads to intelligent applications that support employees, optimize processes, and accelerate decision-making. Companies that start with clearly defined use cases and scale them incrementally are particularly successful. The following examples illustrate typical use cases in the manufacturing industry.
Predictive Maintenance: AI-powered predictive maintenance
AI continuously analyzes sensor data and machine conditions to detect wear and potential malfunctions early on. This allows for targeted maintenance planning, reduces unplanned downtime, and increases equipment availability.
Quality Management: Ensuring Quality in Real Time
AI detects anomalies in production and quality data even while the manufacturing process is underway. This makes it possible to address the root causes more quickly, reduce scrap, and improve product quality in the long term.
Generative AI: Delivering Knowledge Where It's Needed
Generative AI makes distributed maintenance manuals, work instructions, and expert knowledge quickly accessible in natural language. Employees receive relevant answers within seconds, thereby shortening training time and safeguarding valuable company knowledge.
Much of the potential for optimization does not end at the factory gates. Suppliers, customers, and service partners often have relevant information that is needed to make well-rounded decisions. Data rooms enable the secure and independent exchange of this data across company boundaries.
The Industry 4.0 Platform defines Industrial AI as the interplay of four layers that build upon one another. Only when these layers are seamlessly connected can industrial data be used to create scalable AI applications and measurable value creation:
- AI-Ready Infrastructure: A high-performance and secure IT/OT infrastructure provides computing power, connectivity, and reliable access to industrial data.
- Industrial Datasets: Structured, high-quality, and interoperable datasets form the foundation for training and operating AI models for industrial applications.
- Industrial AI Models: AI models tailored to industrial processes analyze relationships, generate forecasts, and derive recommendations for action.
- Industrial AI Solutions: Ready-to-use solutions integrate the models into specific production and business processes and make the benefits measurable in day-to-day operations.
The biggest challenge in AI projects is not the AI itself but a lack of data or focus.
Successful companies start with a clearly defined use case, validate its benefits, and then scale up gradually. Arvato Systems supports industrial companies throughout their entire AI journey—from data integration and AI application development to production operations. With our open solution, we lay the foundation for AI, digital twins, data rooms, and the Digital Product Passport. By connecting IT and OT, we help companies identify opportunities more quickly and achieve sustainable competitive advantages.
Would you like to learn how we can work together to prioritize your use case portfolio?
Written by
As Head of Strategic Business Development, Johannes Fuhrmann manages the portfolio and product development for the manufacturing industry, focusing on digital twins and data ecosystems. He previously worked at Deloitte and VELUX. He holds an MSc in Information Systems Management (University of Warwick) and a B.A. from HAW Hamburg.