At Hannover Messe this year (April 22-26), we’ll be showcasing some exciting new AI- and data-related innovations that are helping manufacturers make superior products faster with less waste. We believe these innovations will be critical in helping the manufacturing industry navigate its way through challenging times, marked by several headwinds, to drive sustainable growth:

• Labor shortages: By 2030, Korn Ferry predicts a global talent shortage of around 85 million people, causing potential revenue losses of around $8.5 trillion. In the US manufacturing sector alone, forecasts suggest we’ll need 3.8 million extra employees between 2024 and 2033 due to retirements, career changes, and new roles being created according to the Manufacturing Institute.
• Rising sustainability expectations: Analysis of five years of US sales data across 44,000 brands by NielsenIQ found a clear correlation between consumer spending and sustainability-related claims on product packaging. Understanding the carbon footprint of a product is challenging. A massive 64% of emissions come from Tier 2 suppliers and beyond according to Accenture, and tracking these is notoriously difficult at the moment.
• Increased complexity and disruption: Businesses are missing out on around $1.6T in revenue growth opportunity on average due to vulnerability to supply chain disruption according to Accenture. Geopolitical tensions, natural resource shortages, and extreme weather events are commonplace. While the push for product diversification and customization adds complexity to production processes.

Manufacturers can only overcome these issues with the ability to anticipate and adapt using near real-time intelligence from a combination of OT and IT systems. This is essential to drive better decision-making and more advanced automation to augment the work of highly skilled employees. Our new product launch – Avanade Manufacturing Copilot, powered by Manufacturing Data Solutions in Microsoft Fabric – addresses this precise need.

At Hannover Messe, we have some clients talking about their expectations and experiences with this new solution and their broader data democratization and AI programs.

We hope to see you in these sessions:

What?: Building a digitally-enabled Rolls-Royce with AI
Explore the role of digital threads and AI across the lifecycle of aircraft assets—from design to manufacturing, supply chain, and aftermarket.
When?: Monday 22 April, 13hrs
Where?: Microsoft Theatre, Hall 17, Booth G06
Who?: Duncan Thomas, VP of Data Science & Self-Service, Rolls-Royce

What?: Bridgestone: Creating a unified factory data foundation
Using generative AI to address production disruptions and scheduling inefficiencies, like yield loss, which can cause quality issues.
When?: Wednesday 24 April, 11hrs
Where?: Microsoft Theatre, Hall 17, Booth G06
Who?: Bart Kerkhofs, VP IT, Bridgestone EMEA

What?: Avanade and Litmus providing Copilot experiences in production, based on Manufacturing Data Solutions in Microsoft Fabric
When?: Monday 22 April, 15hrs
Where?: Litmus booth, Hall 16 Booth D04
Who?: Marko Weisse, Senior Director, Industry X, Avanade

We also have a range of exciting demos you can explore:

What?: Transform your design-make-and-use value chain
How the world of product designers, plant managers, line operators, logistics managers and retailers is changing with generative AI.
When?: 22-26 April, 9-18hrs
Where?: Microsoft, Hall 17, Booth G06, Intelligent Factories Zone
Who?: Thor Scheuler, Senior Director, Innovation, and team

What?: Unlock total intelligence in manufacturing
Unlock intelligence in IT-OT systems to supercharge the ask-an-expert capabilities of Microsoft Copilot for better business outcomes.
When?: 22-26 April, 9-18hrs
Where?: Microsoft, Hall 17, Booth G06, Intelligent Factories Zone
Who?: Felix Weindel, Global Advisory Lead, Industry X, Avanade, and team

On top of all this, we’ll showcase two new Microsoft Dynamics 365 supply chain demos on Tuesday and Wednesday morning in the Resilient and Sustainable Operations Zone in the Microsoft booth. The first looks at how to optimize manufacturing operations to improve throughout, quality and uptime. We’ll highlight new ways to enhance end-to-end visibility of your manufacturing processes on the shop floor and supply chain with the latest track and trace capabilities in Dynamics 365. You’ll discover how to use Microsoft Copilot to empower workforce with AI-guided productivity and perform predictive maintenance to improve throughput, quality and uptime.

At the same time, we’ll look at how to plan your supply chain with speed and agility using Copilot and Dynamics 365. This includes opportunities to enable demand and supply planners to use Microsoft Copilot to plan with confidence, drive consensus with stakeholders and streamline sales and operations planning processes to profitably meet customer demand on time and in full.

You can also join one of our three free lunch and learn sessions. Discover the most critical digital topics today in just 20 mins and grab a bite with your peers in our relaxed, café lounge away for the noise and bustle of the exhibition halls. Click here to book now.

Choose from:

What?: Empower frontline workers with Generative AI
Explore the future of smart connected assets/workers, quality assurance, predictive maintenance, remote support and inventory management.
When?: Monday 22 April, 13hrs
Where?: Avanade café and lounge, room 211, Arcades
Who:? Tom Nall, Global Manufacturing and Automotive Executive, Avanade

What?: Imagine what you will do with AI superpowers
Democratize access to intelligence from diverse IT-OT systems and enable the ask-an-expert capabilities of copilot with our new solution
When?: Tuesday 23 April, 13.30hrs
Where?: Avanade café and lounge, room 211, Arcades
Who?: Brendan Mislin, Global Industry X lead, Avanade

What?: Copilots and video detection: real-world intelligent supply chains
Join Sony and Avanade to discover how AI vision processing and generative AI copilots can transform end-to-end supply chain processes.
When?: Wednesday 22 April, 13hrs
Where?: Avanade café and lounge, room 211, Arcades
Who?: Jordan Janeczko, Global Business Innovation, Industry X, Avanade with guest speakers from Sony and Microsoft

Or join us for a drop-in lunch in the lounge on Thursday from 13hrs. As you can see, we’ve put on a packed program for you at the show.

But what if you’re not coming to Germany this year? Don’t worry – we’re bringing all this great stuff to a city near you in North America, Europe, and Japan. Please reach out to us to register your interest. We’re looking forward to catching up with you soon.