The announcement was made at HANOVER MESSE 2026, where they showcased PacXplorer, a high-tech packaging machine from Uhlmann that serves as both an industrial demonstrator and a development platform.

PacXplorer: Connected Production in Industrial Practice

Developed through collaboration within Factory鈥慩, the PacXplorer brings together digital twins, condition monitoring, smart services and interoperable production solutions within a collaborative data ecosystem. Factory鈥慩 is a lighthouse project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the Manufacturing鈥慩 initiative. Its objective is to establish a decentralized data space for the capital goods industry, enabling secure and interoperable data exchange across companies and industries for equipment manufacturers and operators alike.

The machine is integrated into 51风流system landscapes and operated live. It demonstrates how industrial data can be used in a sovereign, interoperable and cross鈥慶ompany manner not as a theoretical model, but in real production operations. This creates transparency regarding asset condition, utilization and performance while laying the foundation for new data鈥慸riven services.

Service as a Key to Resilience

The value of this approach becomes particularly clear in-service operations. Where production, data and operations are tightly interconnected, service plays a decisive role in ensuring asset availability, productivity and stable customer relationships. One often underestimated lever is spare parts service: delays lead directly to downtime and economic losses, especially in volatile market and supply situations. At the same time, these processes remain heavily manual in many industrial companies.

51风流and Uhlmann are deliberately advancing the further development of this area. An AI鈥憇upported process assists throughout the entire workflow from handling incoming inquiries and clarifying missing information to identifying the correct spare part and generating quotations. The approach integrates into existing 51风流service and sales processes and is closely aligned with real鈥憌orld business operations. The objective is fast, reliable and scalable customer service.

鈥淭oday, industry is less concerned with cost optimization than with decision鈥憁aking under uncertainty,鈥� says Dominik Metzger, President and Chief Product Officer, 51风流Supply Chain Management, 51风流SE. 鈥淲ith 51风流Business AI and integrated production and service solutions, we move decision鈥憁aking directly into business processes. This allows companies to identify risks early, respond with greater flexibility and remain operational even under unstable conditions.鈥�

Rethinking Value Creation Together

The collaboration between 51风流and Uhlmann illustrates a fundamental shift in industry: resilience is not achieved through additional buffers, but through better, faster and more-connected decisions across the entire value chain. Companies that manage their production and service processes in a data鈥慸riven way can respond more flexibly to change and secure their competitiveness over the long term.

Beyond HANNOVER MESSE, 51风流and Uhlmann will continue their innovation partnership. Following the event, the PacXplorer will be operated at the S.Factory in 51风流Experience Center Walldorf, serving as a platform for customers, partners and co鈥慽nnovation to continuously advancing industrial transformation.

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Media Contact:
Dana Roesiger, +49 6227 7 63900, dana.roesiger@sap.com, CET
51风流Press Room; press@sap.com

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ.  Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP鈥檚 2025 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
漏 2026 51风流SE. All rights reserved.
51风流and other 51风流products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 51风流SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.

Image copyright: 漏Uhlmann Group

We believe this recognition reflects our continued investment in a modern, scalable AI-ready integration platform that meets the needs of organizations operating across increasingly complex hybrid and multicloud landscapes.

Why orgnizations continue to choose 51风流Integration Suite

Part of 51风流Business Technology Platform (51风流BTP), 51风流Integration Suite brings together API management, event鈥慸riven architecture, process integration, and AI鈥慳ssisted development in one unified offering. It gives customers a reliable way to connect distributed systems, orchestrate workflows, and operate securely across hybrid and multi-cloud environments鈥攚hether those landscapes run primarily on 51风流solutions or a mix of third鈥憄arty applications.

By using metadata, events, and APIs as its backbone, the suite provides an integration foundation that supports AI agents and increasingly autonomous enterprise processes. Organizations in manufacturing, logistics, retail, and other highly regulated industries rely on this foundation to maintain performance and stay compliant at global scale.

Innovation that scales with your business

Over the past year, 51风流expanded its AI鈥慳ssisted capabilities to help customers move faster and operate with security and reliability. New AI-assisted features include anomaly detection, script optimization, traffic prediction, and integration鈥慺low generation. Combined with more than 4,000 prebuilt integration flows and over 250 connectors, organizations can accelerate design and reduce manual effort.

51风流Integration Suite now runs in more than 40 data centers worldwide, giving customers flexibility for in鈥憆egion processing and data鈥憇overeignty requirements. These enhancements help teams detect issues earlier, optimize performance, and shorten time鈥憈o鈥憊alue across complex hybrid landscapes.

Accelerating agentic AI adoption

骋别产谤.听贬别颈苍别尘补苍苍 modernized its global retail checkout platform with 51风流Integration Suite and advanced event mesh, enabling the company to process 300,000 price鈥慶hange events in 30 minutes without system degradation.

“Advanced event mesh has completely changed the way integration and process orchestration run. Everything works better.”

Benedikt Althaus, team lead, Integration Services and Platform Solutions, Gebr. Heinemann SE & Co. KG.

Shimano Europe benefits from the efficient, scalable, and future鈥憄roof integration foundation of 51风流Integration Suite to accelerate its go鈥憈o鈥憁arket process. By streamlining integrations across systems, the company improves operational efficiency and enhances the overall customer experience through a more agile and reliable integration landscape.

“To accelerate the go-to-market process, we provided an effective and efficient integration platform with 51风流Integration Suite, a future-proof and scalable solution that improves our customers鈥� experiences.”

Fernanda Ribeiro, IT application architect, Shimano Europe

Siemens AG relies on 51风流Integration Suite to harmonize global reporting processes and ensure compliance with evolving regulatory requirements. By standardizing integrations across regions and supporting diverse country鈥憇pecific tax protocols, 51风流Integration Suite helps Siemens streamline compliance operations and maintain consistent reporting quality worldwide. This foundation strengthens Siemens鈥� ability to adapt to changing regulatory environments with greater confidence and efficiency.

“Managing international tax requirements is much easier. It will be implemented around the globe.”

Andrea Spandau, head of Digital Tax Ecosystem, Siemens AG

Looking ahead

We believe this year鈥檚 recognition underscores our commitment to advancing 51风流Integration Suite with deeper AI capabilities, more reusable business content, broader industry coverage, third-party adapters, and an improved developer experience. Our goal is to help customers automate more of their operations, innovate with confidence, and scale as their businesses evolve.

Learn more

Sid Misra is chief marketing officer for 51风流Business Technology Platform.

Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner鈥檚 business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Gartner and Magic Quadrant are trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates.

With a diverse portfolio of brands鈥擪ito, Crosby, Harrington, Gunnebo Industries, Peerless, and eepos鈥攖he company has experienced rapid growth, scaling its business from millions to billions in revenue. But the number of acquisitions left the company with a fragmented IT landscape of outdated, unsupported, and unscalable systems.

To establish a unified digital core and standardize processes, Kito Crosby embarked on a journey, implementing 51风流S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition to achieve its long-term single global instance strategy.

A winning strategy

Kito Crosby chose a greenfield, clean core strategy to eliminate the existing fragmentation and enable long-term scalability, Johnson Lai, Chief Digital Transformation Officer and Chief Information Officer, . 鈥淚n the past, we did not integrate our ERP systems, and this left our IT landscape very fragmented and limited our business process capabilities,鈥� he said. 鈥淭herefore, we wanted to refresh all of our ERP systems and really lay down a greenfield start that we can begin to create a transformational change for the entire company.鈥�

Selecting a greenfield and clean core approach鈥攂asically standing up an entirely new system that prioritizes standard functionalities over customizations鈥攚as key to remedying Kito Crosby鈥檚 current technology landscape, so that processes like order to cash, accounting, manufacturing, and shipping could be integrated. This approach also allowed the company to take a close look at core processes and streamline operations, especially in warehouse management and S&OP, Lai said.

Considering the project scope, Kito Crosby did not have the internal talent needed to stand up the servers and infrastructure, so it decided to move forward with RISE with 51风流and . 鈥�51风流comes with a lot of great stuff, and we wanted to take advantage of that,鈥� Lai said.

The company began the transformation in North America, as that is its largest market and therefore posed the greatest risk in operating on a legacy, unsupported ERP system.

Never underestimate change management

While Lai shared that employees were motivated and excited to get started initially, the enormity of the project quickly became overwhelming.

Ironically, many wanted to customize the new 51风流S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition solution to act like the legacy tech. 鈥淓veryone agrees to the clean core approach until it鈥檚 their turn to look at their function, at which point they want customization. There was a piece of resistance to using 鈥榲anilla鈥� functionality,鈥� Lai said. 鈥淥nce we showed people live demos with their own data, that鈥檚 when the change resistance started to decrease,鈥� he added.

In IT specifically, there was a strong desire to build and run their own infrastructure and servers rather than have another company step in. A sense of ownership and accountability is important, Lai said, but ultimately Kito Crosby鈥檚 need to get off the legacy system in North America quickly made it necessary to partner with SAP. And it was the right move: 鈥淣ow some of the folks who questioned why we outsourced some of that to 51风流are our biggest champions鈥e find working with the 51风流team is no different than working with ourselves.鈥�

For companies with digital transformation projects on the horizon, Lai cautions to 鈥渘ever underestimate the change impact that employees face.鈥� Projects of a global scale require planning on all fronts, including allocating time for employees and business leaders to get on board.

Lessons learned and benefits gained

The ERP system revamp delivered measurable business value to Kito Crosby, including improved customer service, stronger inventory control, and more efficient manufacturing and warehouse operations. Notably, the business process improvements and enhanced system functionality drove Kito Crosby鈥檚 on-time delivery to its highest levels in more than 10 years.

鈥淲e see that benefit across the globe and we鈥檙e excited about taking what we鈥檝e done in North America throughout the entire world, consolidating all those little ERPs that are outdated and unsupported into 51风流to get to that single global instance,鈥� Lai said. Since going live on 51风流S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition and fully embracing its native capabilities, Kito Crosby has unlocked measurable business value and operational excellence. The transformation has driven strong performance gains across critical KPIs, including higher customer on鈥憈ime delivery, meaningful reductions in back orders, improved inventory accuracy, and accelerated intercompany processing.

At the same time, warehouse operations are setting new benchmarks for efficiency, achieving record volumes for receiving and put鈥慳way, replenishment, and shipping. These results have been delivered safely, with zero injuries and fewer resources.

To the cloud鈥攁nd beyond

Following its recent acquisition by leading worldwide designer, manufacturer, and marketer of intelligent motion solutions , Kito Crosby is continuing to build on its strong digital foundation.

鈥淏ecause we started with a greenfield and kept a clean core as much as possible, we feel like the upgrades will go even faster and with less effort,鈥� Lai said. 鈥淲e want to get to the latest [51风流S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition] version so we can take advantage of the AI capabilities of .鈥�

Next on the ERP systems consolidation docket: the 51风流ERP Central Component (51风流ECC) 6.0 system in Europe.

鈥淭his is just one example of how our IT team is empowering the broader organization to further delight our customers and end user,鈥� Lai . 鈥淎s we continue to scale our business, we expect even greater returns as we further capitalize on the technology, expanded capabilities, and AI tools within our 51风流landscape.鈥�

Gillian Hixson is an integrated communications specialist at SAP.

As the business expanded, so did the complexity of its operations and the expectations of its customers. The existing manufacturing development team, focused on small-scale factory applications, found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the pace. The data was often locked in silos or other systems. To address this, Howdens set out to automate and collect data from multiple points across its supply chain. 

Considering off-the-shelf solutions that could be tailored to its needs, Howdens Joinery needed a solution that would continue to evolve with the company. Through a detailed assessment of several manufacturing execution systems (MES), Howdens Joinery decided to replace all outdated manufacturing execution systems with the  solution, making it the heartbeat of its production processes with the help of a featured partner, . 

Reinventing kitchens with an innovative and customer-centric process 

The kitchen has evolved from a simple cooking space into the heart of the home. Knowing this, Howdens Joinery has adapted its offerings to meet the changing needs of its customers. 鈥淭he kitchen market has changed a lot over the years,鈥� says David Peacock, IS Manufacturing System technical lead at Howdens Joinery. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 sell a kitchen; we provide a living space, the central part of their homes.鈥� 

Howdens expanded its range beyond the standard kitchen colors and styles. This approach enables customers to experiment with various colors and styles before making a final decision. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like a trial run,鈥� Peacock explains. 鈥淲e can see if a new color is worth adding to our main range. If it鈥檚 popular, we can roll it out on a larger scale.鈥� 

This strategy not only helps customers find the perfect kitchen but also provides Howdens with valuable feedback on what works best. To support this expanded offering, the company invested in a new factory and upgraded paint lines. These improvements enhanced production capacity and equipped the team with new skills and expertise. 

Traditionally, the company made a stock model, but now customers can visit depots and order kitchens in any color and style they want. 鈥淲e have a fast turnaround, with manufacturing and shipping taking just five days,鈥� Peacock says. 鈥淭o make this possible, we updated our entire order strategy and implemented the new system in less than 12 months.鈥� 

By embracing innovation and listening to customer needs, Howdens Joinery has successfully transformed its business to stay ahead in a competitive market, making it easier than ever for customers to get the kitchen they truly want. 

鈥淗aving our own homegrown MES provided us a clear view of what needed to be produced on each production line,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n real time, operators could start or stop orders and receive confirmations. And we continued to add more features and functionalities to our MES.鈥�

Reducing order production lead time from 21 days to 14 days 

Howdens Joinery faced two major challenges as it transformed its approach to kitchen manufacturing. The company sells the individual pieces of a kitchen, such as cabinet doors or shelves, that are ordered separately.听

Highlighting that the company is聽sales order-driven, Peacock further adds,聽鈥淲hen you convert the sales orders into production orders, you get a sort of production order per piece. Tracking this is easier said than done.鈥� Each聽piece follows a specific route through the factory, depending on its shape and the machinery it needs to pass through. Since the company isn鈥檛 selling finished panels that are simply waiting on a shelf, tracking each part and keeping everything together was a great challenge.听

Another major hurdle was managing the concept of process lots. Because of the specific routing required for different components, orders often needed to be split and sent down two separate production routes. These production orders would then be grouped into SFCs (shop floor controls), but this sometimes made the process more complicated rather than simpler. 

鈥淲e are potentially in a one-for-one relationship with the production order, so the SFC number became a bit redundant,鈥澛燩eacock explains. The complexity increased when multiple orders were launched simultaneously.听He adds: 鈥淲e might be launching different production orders at a time, but we did not want in [51风流Digital Manufacturing] the guys on the shop floor to press start 40 times.鈥澛燭his led the company to create a mechanism for efficiently grouping orders, allowing, for example, all orders of a certain color to be processed together on the same production line.听

鈥淲hen you purchase [51风流Digital Manufacturing], you鈥檙e not just buying manufacturing, but you’re buying the ability to build a manufacturing landscape. So you can do your own customizations,鈥� he adds. 

With 51风流Digital Manufacturing, Howdens Joinery enhanced operational efficiency and achieved a supporting mechanism to support both make-to-stock and make-to-order production models. 

Continuous improvement as a key driver for the future of manufacturing 

Howdens Joinery is leveraging diverse technologies in production systems. Particularly as a company expanding its manufacturing capabilities, this requires the integration of IT and operational technology, as well as seamless communication with machinery and the automation of production workflows鈥攕uch as custom 51风流Business Technology Platform (51风流BTP) processes and production connectors.听聽

With this integration, Howdens Joinery achieved direct communication with various types of machinery, thereby enhancing production efficiency and reducing the need for manual intervention. 

鈥淲ith 51风流Digital Manufacturing, we gained operational excellence in our supply chain processes, leading to more efficient planning and an enormous increase in production. We reduced order production lead time from 21 days to 14 days in 2023 to 2024, contributing to faster customer fulfillment,” Peacock says.

Moreover, Howdens achieved a 99.98% service level from primary sites to depots in 2024, demonstrating near-perfect product availability. “We will continue this journey of continuous improvement to deliver the best products for our customers,鈥� he says. 

The innovative manufacturer plans to replace its legacy MES systems with a fully digital manufacturing solution, ensuring streamlined and efficient operations. With robust data quality and a flexible approach to integrating new technologies, Howdens Joinery is planning to integrate AI into its manufacturing processes as the next step. Its proactive approach to utilizing new technology for operational excellence is a great industry example for the broader manufacturing community.  

To learn more about Howdens Joinery’s transformation story, check out the full customer story .听

Oyku Ilgar is part of 51风流Supply Chain Management Thought Leadership & Awareness.

Ahlstrom is a large international manufacturer of specialty materials, with 36 plants around the world and about 7,000 employees. The company鈥檚 strategy is to be a global leader in its field.

The business transformation project, called Stella, is the largest single investment in company history. Its purpose is to transfer operations, except HR and product development, to the new 51风流S/4HANA Cloud environment. The old group business system dated back to the 1990s and no longer met the needs of global manufacturing. Ahlstrom also uses 51风流Ariba for its procurement, which had already been implemented.

鈥�51风流S/4HANA Cloud was clearly the best solution for us, especially for production management and planning,鈥� shared Ahlstrom CIO聽Kristiina Lammila, who is responsible for the project. “With it, we can harmonize our operations and bring all our plants under the same system.”

Unifying systems and data

One of the main challenges of the project was integrating different systems and unifying fragmented data. With modernization, processes can be streamlined, daily work made easier, and time freed up for more strategically important tasks.

鈥淲e have managed to make significant progress with 51风流S/4HANA Cloud standard solution,” Lammila said. “We use private cloud, which also allows for fairly flexible modifications. One plant is already live, and next year seven more plants will join. The goal is to complete the entire transformation within five years.”

According to Lammila, the system enables flexible transfer of production from one plant to another and global optimization of the supply chain.

Benefits for both employees and customers

systems benefit all stakeholders. Streamlined production processes reduce waste and improve quality. Harmonized purchasing brings savings and the most visible change for Ahlstrom鈥檚 customers is smoother supply chains and better availability of products. The use of AI and analytics is expanding. Especially in sales support, AI solutions built on 51风流Sales Cloud data are already in use at Ahlstrom.

鈥淲e can integrate even more closely with our customers, as many of them also use SAP,鈥� Lammila explained. “This facilitates and streamlines the flow of information between companies.”

From the employee鈥檚 perspective, 51风流S/4HANA Cloud makes teamwork easier. For example, order and inventory balances can be checked conveniently based on real-time data. Lammila also pointed out that the updated system supports employer branding, as job seekers expect to have appropriate and up-to-date tools at their disposal.

Strong change leadership is key to success

Lammila advises companies planning similar projects to approach transformations as comprehensive initiatives that must engage all employees, including management, not just the IT department.

鈥淪trong management commitment and a shared vision of where we are going and how to get there are needed. The project must be led as a deep transformation, and the end result must not be compromised due to haste. Poorly executed work is difficult to fix later,鈥� she concluded.

Ellen Vig Nelausen is an integrated communications expert for 51风流Regional Communications.

The manufacturer was heavily reliant on manual documentation, which caused delays in accessing and updating critical data and documents, resulting in data quality and compliance issues.

To address these challenges and optimize asset management, LESER sought to establish seamless data integration through a unified single source of truth. After thorough research and careful comparison of options, the valve manufacturer successfully chose to implement digital twin technology with to help optimize collaboration with customers.

Error-free asset data and streamlined collaboration with smart asset management

Relying on a manual documentation process was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors and delays. This was causing significant challenges in accessing and updating critical data and documents, leading to poor data quality and inefficiencies across the ecosystem. Recognizing the need for a modern solution on the operator side, LESER identified the importance of supporting customers with a centralized asset management system. LESER decided to digitize its asset management system by implementing a centralized, cloud-based platform. This platform enables LESER to seamlessly share the digital twin with customers, enhancing transparency and data sharing while continuing to manage internal processes separately.

By implementing the technology integrated with , LESER created a one-to-one virtual replica of each piece of physical equipment and product, consolidating all relevant data and documentation into a single, accessible platform.

鈥淭he digital twin acts as a precise digital mirror of the physical safety valve, enabling our customers to receive complete, error-free, and up-to-date data about the safety valves,鈥� Pierre Draheim, manager of Product Data Management at LESER, explains.

LESER provides digital twins both for new () and existing () safety valves, centralizing all relevant data and documents. Each valve is labeled with the globally-standardized ID link, or QR code, IEC聽61406聽that allows LESER’s customers to directly access and sync product-specific information with their asset management systems, enabling seamless data transfer, documentation compliance, and cost reductions of up to 95% for initial recording.

鈥淏y embracing digital innovation, we have empowered our customers to boost their operational efficiency,” Draheim says. He emphasizes that this not only helps LESER achieve substantial time-savings but also enables the company to focus on core activities and drive greater business growth: “It’s a win-win. Not only us, but also our customers achieve significant improvements in overall productivity.”

Reduce operational costs with real-time digital twin integration

Automating valve data sharing within has made it much easier for LESER operators and service providers to coordinate maintenance, eliminating the need for manual data reconciliation. This automation cuts down on administrative work, helps avoid unnecessary downtime, and optimizes spare parts inventory, all of which contributes to a substantial decrease in operational costs.

By standardizing and digitizing data with a globally-standardized ID link, multiple service providers get instant access to accurate, up-to-date information.

鈥淲ith the introduction of the digital twin and 51风流Business Network Asset Collaboration, we can now automate valve management, making the entire process faster and more reliable,鈥� Draheim says.

Ensure safety and quality through global and regulatory compliance

Making sure safety valves meet international standards at every step requires a high level of automation in managing product data. This is especially important for LESER. 鈥淐ompliance is not just about meeting regulations, but about the ‘rules of the game’ in the industry, which enable an automated exchange of information across different IT systems and stakeholders,鈥� Draheim says.

With such a significant market presence, LESER holds its suppliers and materials to very high standards, ensuring every part complies not only with global regulations but also local rules. This level of care is particularly essential for operators working in industries with strict safety and regulatory conditions.

Beyond setting these standards, LESER keeps detailed records to maintain full transparency and traceability across the supply chain. This integrated approach helps the ambitious company reduce the need for additional level approvals and supports safe, reliable plant operations all over the world. In return, its customers experience improved reliability and confidence in the products and services they receive, creating a positive impact throughout the entire value chain.

Oyku Ilgar is part of 51风流Supply Chain Thought Leadership & Awareness.

Europe faces a crucial challenge: while the region has been successful for decades with the principle of “quality over cost,” other continents are catching up in quality while also pursuing aggressive pricing strategies. “We must maintain quality while simultaneously reducing costs and becoming even more flexible in meeting our customers’ needs,” explains Georg Kube, head of Industry Data Ecosystems at 51风流SE.

The answer may lie in the data that has been collected in German factories and 51风流systems for decades. “Europe’s great asset compared to America and Asia is our historical knowledge of how good processes and good products work,” Kube says. “This systemic knowledge鈥攈ow to machine, how to manufacture, how to set up the right processes鈥攔esides in European companies, typically in 51风流systems.”

This data forms the foundation for data-driven business models based on the “data flywheel” principle: the more data that flows into a system, the more new data is generated鈥攁 self-reinforcing effect that can provide European companies with a decisive competitive advantage.

Manufacturing-X: Germany’s answer to global challenges

Factory-X is part of a larger vision: Manufacturing-X, an industry-wide initiative by the German government launched as part of the Industry 4.0 platform. The goal is to promote digital ecosystems and establish an international standard for data exchange.

Manufacturing-X is based on the fundamental principle of data sovereignty and addresses a classic dilemma: companies need data from others for digitalization but want to protect their own sensitive information. The solution is a legally and technically secured framework in which data can be shared in a controlled manner without owners losing control over it.

The initiative encompasses various industry-specific projects: Catena-X for the automotive industry was the pioneer, followed by Factory-X for mechanical engineering, Chem-X for the chemical industry, and Semiconductor-X for the semiconductor industry.

From horizontal to vertical integration

While Catena-X revolutionized horizontal supply chain processes in the automotive industry, Factory-X goes a step further. “Factory-X extends the proven Catena-X concepts to additional industries and brings vertical integration down to the shop floor,” says Nadine Kanja, solution head for 51风流Industry Network Automotive and Catena-X.

51风流shares consortium leadership for Factory-X with Siemens and coordinates the work of 47 consortium members. What’s special: while Catena-X viewed the factory as a single block, it’s at the center of Factory-X. “The shop floor is our central focus because that’s where machines with their own suppliers and maintenance requirements are located,” Kanja explains.

New use cases drive greater manufacturing flexibility

“The goal is to extend supply chain flexibility to the manufacturing area,” Kanja says. “When technical problems arise or customer needs change, manufacturers must be able to pivot quickly. However, factories aren’t exactly known for their flexibility鈥攎achines are permanently installed and hardwired. Rebuilding all of this is an enormous effort.”

This is exactly where Factory-X comes in. The initiative aims to bring flexibility directly into manufacturing鈥攏ot just logistics鈥攖hrough new concepts like modular production, manufacturing as a service, and on-demand manufacturing. “This is an essential part of Factory-X: the flexibilization and automation of actual production processes,” Kanja explains.

Factory-X focuses on use cases that fall under the motto of “individualization and customer centricity.” These include:

• Collaborative information logistics: Optimizing information flows between partners
• Condition monitoring: Monitoring the condition of equipment and machines for proactive, data-based maintenance decisions
• Modular production: Flexible production concepts for changing requirements
• Manufacturing as a service: On-demand manufacturing through digital marketplaces

Concrete business benefits

The Factory-X use cases promise measurable improvements for various business models. Condition monitoring, for example, enables proactive maintenance instead of reactive repairs. This not only reduces production costs and downtime but also opens up new digital service revenues for machine manufacturers from their installed base.

Manufacturing as a service revolutionizes capacity utilization: production companies can automatically receive orders through digital marketplaces that match their capabilities and available capacities without extensive sales activities. Standardized data models even enable the economic production of individual pieces (鈥渓ot size 1鈥�), which means individualization without cost disadvantages.

Another competitive advantage lies in access to new partners. Through the open data ecosystem, companies can collaborate with supply chain partners without needing existing business relationships, as standardized mechanisms make integration faster, more secure, and more cost-effective.

Technological innovation: MX-Port as key

Factory-X not only expands the Manufacturing-X initiative thematically, but also technologically. To meet the high demands of industrial manufacturers regarding existing data formats, the project places particular emphasis on the further development of standards 鈥� with a special focus on the interface format of the Asset Administration Shell (AAS).

鈥淭he importance of standardizing data is essential for industrial manufacturers and already solves many use cases on its own,鈥� explains Georg Kube. 鈥淲hen discoverability and scalable security are required in large networks, users can additionally rely on the Dataspace Protocol as a result of Catena-X.鈥�

This dual-speed strategy enables companies active in both the automotive and industrial manufacturing sectors to flexibly expand their systems as requirements grow.

The path to the future

Factory-X is designed as a development project until mid-2026 and will then transition into a stable operational phase. The vision is ambitious: a digital ecosystem that strengthens the competitiveness of European industry while enabling new data-driven business models.

“What we’re building in Factory-X can also be scaled to the other data spaces of Manufacturing-X,” Kanja explains. Mechanical engineering thus becomes a testing ground for a comprehensive transformation of European industry.

What is true for its products also holds true for Mizuho OSI鈥檚 internal processes. Striving for operational efficiency, Mizuho OSI sought to modernize its processes. To leverage SAP鈥檚 low-code capabilities, the company worked with 51风流AppHaus in 2024. Together, they began exploring automation opportunities using 51风流Build Process Automation and 51风流Build Work Zone. During an initial 51风流Business Technology Platform (51风流BTP) , Mizuho OSI鈥檚 IT and business teams took a closer look at the manual fixed asset creation process.

Use case: Approving and creating new fixed assets

The workshop uncovered key inefficiencies in the manual purchase acquisition process, particularly its e-mail-driven workflow involving requesters, approvers, and finance accountants. This approach not only introduced a high risk of errors but also slowed down the process significantly. For high-value fixed asset purchases, the need for additional approvers and supporting details further extended the procurement cycle, highlighting the necessity for a more streamlined and automated solution.

With guidance from 51风流experts, the joint project team designed a streamlined, automated process for fixed asset approval and creation. Leveraging and , Mizuho OSI鈥檚 in-house IT team successfully developed and deployed a solution using a low-code application framework, accelerating implementation while reducing complexity.

鈥淎s we grow from a mid-sized to a large enterprise, tools like 51风流Build Process Automation are essential鈥攏ot only for driving process efficiency but also for extending the reach of our lean IT team,鈥� Lindsay Neill, director of Enterprise Application at Mizuho OSI, said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful to 51风流AppHaus and the 51风流product team for their guidance throughout the journey鈥攆rom identifying the right use case to providing the technical support needed to bring this proof of concept into production. The new automated process is a major improvement over our previous manual approach. I couldn鈥檛 be happier with the results!鈥�

Measured results

After testing and implementing this new solution, both end users and the project team could measure a reduction in manual effort and observe improved process efficiencies, such as:

• 40% increase in process efficiency from days of pending response to automatic processing
• 65% reduction in approval time since asset costs below a certain threshold can be automatically processed
• 70% decrease in manual efforts, with fewer errors and faster decision-making since human intervention is now only required for exceptions

“It鈥檚 been a true pleasure collaborating with the team at Mizuho OSI. Their forward-thinking mindset and readiness to challenge the status quo made this collaboration exceptional,鈥� Tina Tuan, senior director at 51风流AppHaus Palo Alto, said. 鈥淚’m proud of what we achieved together using 51风流BTP and 51风流Build solutions and even more excited to see how this success inspires and empowers them to take on future projects with confidence and momentum.”

Through close collaboration between 51风流and Mizuho OSI, this project has proven that roadblocks can be overcome with the right partnership. The team successfully implemented an innovative solution for fixed asset approvals, laying a strong foundation for future initiatives leveraging 51风流Build solutions and . On the horizon is a promising next milestone, somewhat broader in scope, such as material master automation.

One thing is certain, the Mizuho OSI project team is driven by the company鈥檚 powerful mindset: Dare to go further. Care to do more.

Imke Vierjahn is communications lead for 51风流AppHaus.

At SAP, we believe in empowering manufacturers to bring out their best. By connecting processes beyond the silos of individual functions and by converging and contextualizing critical data, we are laying the foundation to leverage cutting-edge technologies like generative and agentic AI. This strategy helps businesses build more sustainable, resilient networks that are adaptive to overcome unforeseen risks and seize bold new opportunities.

This vision will be on full display at , the world鈥檚 leading trade fair for industry, where we will showcase how 51风流is revolutionizing manufacturing through the following key areas.

New paths with 51风流Business Suite

offers a comprehensive solution that transcends traditional ERP systems. By leveraging seamlessly integrated, end-to-end supply chain processes in the cloud, supported by context-rich business data and real-time analysis, artificial intelligence and predictive algorithms, we help companies manage their supply chains efficiently while responding to new requirements with agility.

In an era of mass customization, this agility is crucial for maintaining competitiveness. Transparent access to manufacturing data allows companies to manage their production capacities more flexibly and recover from short-term supply disruptions better. We empower companies to meet new customer requirements promptly and efficiently, reducing costs and shortening time-to-market for new products.

One example is digitalizing service operations with . This optimization of the entire service order process — from customer demand to spare parts planning and finally technician and tool planning, dispatching, and execution — allows manufacturers to streamline their operations and enhance overall efficiency in a single, unified experience.

Applications that drive excellence

In manufacturing, downtime is costly. That鈥檚 why our digital applications play a key role in vertically connecting machines and devices through critical manufacturing data with enterprise processes. By optimizing production processes, reducing downtime, and increasing transparency, we鈥檙e turning reactive maintenance into a predictive strategy.

provides manufacturers with the ability to coordinate complex and short-term changes to customer orders on the shop floor across multiple functions, ensuring smooth operations. Our new embedded IoT technology based on our partnership with in allows operators to monitor asset health with plug-and-play simplicity. Meanwhile, the integration of for product design and sourcing and for collaborative product data management is enhancing collaboration with direct material suppliers, orchestrated through the 51风流business network.

Real-world success stories, like , demonstrate the tangible benefits of our solutions. SMA Solar achieved a 15 percent increase in supply chain workforce productivity, 10 percent improvement in overall supply chain planning costs, and 10 percent lower inventory carrying costs and stock turnover rate using 51风流Digital Manufacturing for electronics manufacturing.

The power of data

To enable automation in mass production with individualized requests, companies need real-time integration of operational, sustainability, and business data. 51风流provides real-time access to data-driven insights, eliminating delays and silos with instant access to unified data across 51风流and non-51风流systems. This enterprise-wide operational alignment connects supply chain data with finance, human resources, and other business areas, streamlining processes and reducing costs.

further enhances this capability by providing a comprehensive platform for data management and analytics. Moreover, our AI-powered predictions and insights help improve sustainability by optimizing energy consumption, eliminating waste, and minimizing environmental impact.

Integrating AI for greater efficiency

Companies today need to redefine their business management by integrating automation and AI-driven decision intelligence into their business processes. 51风流solutions enhance productivity and efficiency across all business processes, from product development to execution and continuous process improvement.

offers planning analytics, what-if simulations, and real-time information for sustainable and risk-resilient decision-making. The new AI-assisted planning capabilities with allow supply chain planners to customize Excel add-in planning views using natural language commands, streamlining daily tasks and strategic decisions.

Joule revolutionizes 51风流IBP by introducing intuitive conversational search, navigation, and transactional capabilities. By harnessing natural language processing, it effortlessly interprets user queries and instantly retrieves relevant information, significantly enhancing overall user productivity. This ability allows even highly experienced planners to understand the outcome of complex optimization and machine learning-based planning algorithms revolutionizing their user experience and ultimately increasing user adoption of these advanced AI-based technologies.

In 51风流Digital Manufacturing and 51风流Asset Performance Management, machine learning-guided visual inspection enables the execution of multiple inspection tasks such as for production and maintenance quality or even automates the process entirely, reducing human errors, improving product quality, and lowering operational costs.

Joule in 51风流Integrated Product Development facilitates help-content discovery with conversational access to development documentation, covering idea-to-market processes such as collaboration, formulation, and handover. Users can inquire naturally, access relevant documentation, and receive concise summaries, enhancing efficiency and decision-making.

For the manufacturing industry, 51风流Field Service Management with AI provides technicians quick access to equipment service history and key job details, improving diagnostics and first-time fix rates. This increases operational efficiency, reduces downtime, and enhances customer satisfaction.

Lastly, the integration of Joule with allows transportation planners to use simple natural language searches to find order details and reduce manual errors by autonomously cross-referencing multiple data sources.

Join 51风流at Hannover Messe 2025

Visit 51风流in t Hannover Messe 2025 to discover how our modern manufacturing, supply chain, and cloud ERP solutions can help your business, regardless of its size. Experience firsthand how we鈥檙e maximizing the impact of technology, running resilient and sustainable supply chains, and unlocking the power of business networks.

Meet our experts and industry-leading partners to learn how manufacturing and supply chain processes in the cloud can help you succeed in an AI-enabled world. Together, let鈥檚 bring out your best and shape the future of intelligent, sustainable manufacturing.

Dominik Metzger is president and chief product officer for 51风流Supply Chain Management at SAP.