One Avanade client, a global snack food brand, used AI agents to cut inventory by 20%. Another, an electronics manufacturer, recovered $35 million in a year in lost fees. At Hannover Messe 2026, Avanade presented two demos in the Microsoft booth, co-branded with clients Nissha Metallizing Solutions and Kruger, showing how AI agents embedded in […]
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The transition to Industry 4.0 has long been stalled by the “Data Silo” problem. In 2026, the conversation has shifted. Leading manufacturers are synchronizing Atoms (physical goods), Bits (digital data), and Neurons (human intelligence) through a paradigm known as Liquid Computing.This isn’t just incremental improvement; it is a structural rewiring of how quality is enforced on the factory floor.The “Wow” Factor: […]
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Why Manufacturers Can’t Scale Digital Innovation Without Internal Data GovernanceThe real blocker isn’t technology, it’s trustManufacturers often agree that wider data sharing across plants, partners, and supply chains is necessary to stay competitive. The goals are practical: improving efficiency, reducing friction in collaboration, and turning operational data into measurable value. Yet many initiatives never move […]
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In the fast-paced world of industrial automation, manufacturers face a brutal dilemma. On one hand, the market moves at breakneck speed, demanding agility and new digital capabilities. On the other hand, plants are filled with assets that have been operating for decades.For years, the industry solution was the dreaded “rip and replace”, tearing out expensive […]
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The industrial sector is accelerating the adoption of practical, high-impact AI applications. Based on insights from IIoT World Days 2025, industry leaders focus on scaling these technologies across global operations. From Agentic AI that autonomously manages supply chains to Computer Vision that ensures precision on the factory floor, manufacturers are deploying AI to solve specific, high-value bottlenecks. Not all […]
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At the MES & Industry 4.0 event in Porto, Jeff Winter, VP of Business Strategy at Critical Manufacturing, outlined a practical roadmap for manufacturers ready to move beyond experimentation and into scalable transformation.Start with a Purpose-Built MVPRolling out MES across multiple sites doesn’t need to be slow or resource-draining. The key is starting with a Minimum […]
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Interview with Andreas Dick, Member of the Board for Production & Logistics at Škoda AutoŠkoda Auto, a Volkswagen Group brand, was founded in 1895—making it one of the oldest car manufacturers still in operation today. This year, Škoda celebrates its 130th anniversary, a milestone that honors not only its heritage but also its continued commitment […]
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At the MES & Industry 4.0 Summit in Porto, May Yap, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Jabil, offered a clear message for manufacturers navigating global digital transformation: technology isn’t the hard part—alignment is.Across dozens of production sites and functions, the challenge isn’t just implementing tools like MES or AI; it’s coordinating them to […]
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At the MES & Industry 4.0 Summit in Porto, Adélio Fernandes, VP of Engineering and Co-founder of Critical Manufacturing, shared forward-looking insights on how MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) must evolve to meet the needs of today’s data-intensive, AI-driven factories. His perspective highlights a shift from monolithic platforms to flexible, edge-ready architectures designed for speed, adaptability, […]
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What if deploying MES didn’t require a massive budget, a year-long integration plan, or buy-in from every corner of the enterprise? A growing number of manufacturers are shifting away from all-in-one MES rollouts and embracing a more agile approach—building their execution systems app by app, module by module, and scaling only what works. The result […]
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Despite years of digital transformation buzz, many manufacturers still rely on spreadsheets, paper-based records, and siloed systems to run critical operations. As Augusto Vilarinho, Head of Global Sales at Critical Manufacturing, bluntly put it during the recent MES & Industry 4.0 Summit in Porto:“Excel is still the most used MES in the world.”The consequences? Missed […]
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As manufacturers accelerate their digital transformation journeys, the limitations of fragmented data environments are becoming more visible—and more costly. The promise of smart manufacturing hinges on one capability: enabling data to move seamlessly from the factory floor to the cloud and back without loss, latency, or complexity.This is where edge-to-cloud synchronization emerges not as an […]
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