Schaeffler unlocks factory insights with Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing

Imagine a factory floor buzzing with hundreds of machines, each generating streams of data that could reshape production—but only if unlocked. At Schaeffler, the motion technology company, data once took days to decode. The company needed to modernize data management and democratize information access for factory workers with generative AI to boost business performance. 

“We needed a solution that has the potential to scale to over 100 plants,” says Stefan Soutschek, Vice President, Operations Digitalization & IT Delivery Hub at Schaeffler. The goal was clear: find production insights faster and empower factory engineers and plant managers to maximize productivity, efficiency, and quality.

A collaborative effort with Avanade

Schaeffler collaborated with Avanade to pilot data solutions in Microsoft Fabric and an agent in Azure AI, part of Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing. Avanade played a key role, deploying the copilot agent, setting up data pipelines, and guiding Schaeffler in maximizing the potential of Azure AI.

“Avanade relies on existing state-of-the-art, scalable IT services, enabling it to focus on the key transformational topic of data harmonization,” Soutschek explains. Schaeffler uses the solution to extract and normalize factory data in Fabric. Then employees ask the agent questions in natural language and receive actionable insights. 

This shift to AI-driven insights is a game-changer for Schaeffler. Using the agent, employees can easily access metrics such as scrap rates, yields (the proportion of usable or acceptable components), and energy usage over time. Previously, engineers might spend hours identifying detailed downtime reasons. Now, they can simply ask the agent, “What caused the downtime on Line 3 yesterday?” and receive an instant, detailed response.

“We created an in-house app dedicated to trigger our operators when issues occur during operations. With the agent in Azure AI, our workers can now immediately search for the reason of the downtime and the best way to solve it. They don’t need to ask a colleague or phone someone. This makes us quicker, and it’s easier for the workers to remember the solutions for next time,” explains Tobias Ebersbach, Vice President, Operations Digitalization & IT Division B&IS at Schaeffler.

Driving operational efficiency, innovating for the future

“Avanade uses industry standards to unify, contextualize, and democratize access to intelligence across IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology) systems in near real time,” says Marko Weisse, Senior Director, Avanade Industry X. “We map data from ERP (enterprise resource planning), MES (manufacturing execution), and machine data to pinpoint the likely cause of production issues and suggest a fix.”

This is vital in complex, fast-moving, and continuously changing environments. It helps manufacturers make superior products faster with less waste, driving cost and carbon reduction co-benefits.  

Schaeffler is excited about the future. “The most innovative approach of this whole project is the human-centric approach,” Ebersbach continues. “We are using Fabric, Azure, and all these advanced products from Microsoft, but the most innovative part of generative AI is really to bring this top-notch technology not only to specialists in our IT department, but to factory workers on site.”

Building an AI-driven future

Schaeffler’s journey is a testament to the power of near real-time data intelligence to transform industrial operations. “I’m very excited about the agent in Azure AI. It has a lot of potential in the future because it delivers a streamlined end-to-end user experience within the Microsoft platform,” concludes Timo Spiekermann, Product Owner, Data Platform at Schaeffler. This innovative approach ensures Schaeffler remains at the forefront of manufacturing excellence.