AI – A New Era.

AI is already changing many areas of the automotive industry:

• AI-powered system monitoring ensures minimal downtime.

• Generative AI supports developers with technical concepts, documentation, and error analysis.

• Automated quality control works faster, more accurately, and around the clock.

But the change is evident in everyday office life as well. Generative AI tools support employees in creating texts, researching, evaluating data, and creating presentations and analyses. The motto is: more efficient work through intelligent assistance, not through job cuts.

AI is an additional building block to relieve teams - so they have more time for creative, strategic, and interpersonal tasks.

Hirschmann Automotive has been relying on innovative technologies for years to continuously improve production and logistics processes. These include, among other things:

Use of Cleaning Robots in Production

At HQ in Rankweil, the production floor is cleaned manually every day with a wet cleaning machine - a necessary but time-consuming and labor-intensive process. Automated cleaning robots ensure stable and clean production environments.

Smart Factory

Our plants are increasingly evolving into smart factories. Sensors, automated equipment, and networked systems deliver real-time data, supporting stable, forward-looking production processes. This intelligent automation creates the conditions for us to use AI even more specifically and effectively in the future-both in planning and in operations.

SAP S/4HANA as a Digital Core - and as a Foundation for AI

With the introduction of SAP S/4HANA, Hirschmann Automotive is laying a crucial foundation for the digital future. We spoke to Hermann Burtscher, Leader SAP Technology & Development, about this, and his assessment clearly shows how important AI is becoming in the SAP environment: SAP has consistently transformed its business model in recent years, from "on-premise" → to "cloud first" → to "cloud only." Applications such as Ariba, Concur, and SuccessFactors are operated exclusively as cloud services and together form an integrated platform. With SAP Joule, SAP is positioning itself as a provider of "business AI." What makes Joule special is that it is trained directly on SAP processes and data models. This enables it to support employees in their daily work, for example, through suggestions, analyses, or automated process steps.

In daily practice, the use of AI-supported systems leads to noticeably more efficient processes in the specialist departments. Analyses can be carried out in real time using our company data, while natural language interactions make process control more intuitive. This not only increases the speed and transparency of our work, but also the overall quality and productivity.

However, a robust foundation is needed to fully exploit this potential. Clean, consistent master data and standardized, stable processes across all plants and organizational units are crucial for this. With the introduction of SAP S/4HANA, we are creating precisely this foundation, and thus the basis for future AI-supported working methods that will drive our company forward in the long term.

For Hirschmann Automotive, one thing is certain:
We want to actively shape digital transformation - not just observe it.

For us, this means consistently using artificial intelligence to support our employees, not replace them. We are investing in automation and intelligent systems in production and, with SAP S/4HANA, are creating a digital core on which modern AI applications can be built. At the same time, we remain open to new technologies in our everyday work and use data in a targeted manner to make faster and more informed decisions - in real time.

For us, AI is a tool that strengthens our innovative power, improves quality, and makes us future-proof as a global automotive supplier. The next era has begun - and we are actively living it.