Accenture and Avanade Collaborate with Microsoft to Develop "Agentic Factory" for Reducing Manufacturing Downtime

【Hannover, Germany】Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Avanade, in collaboration with Microsoft, are co-developing an agentic factory intelligence system that reimagines factory operations through the seamless integration of people, machines, AI agents, and data. Ahead of its full launch in late 2026, companies like Kruger and Nissha Metallizing Solutions have joined as early adopters to verify the effectiveness of the system. The three partners showcased the Agentic Factory at Hannover Messe 2026.

The Agentic Factory goes beyond traditional manufacturing analytics, dashboards, and monitoring tools. When a production line or machine falls below target utilization, AI agents immediately assist field operators with initial verification, diagnosis, and troubleshooting. Furthermore, the system cross-analyzes operational status, historical machine behavior, and production data to suggest likely causes and recommended actions. If additional steps are required, it can even assist in issuing maintenance tickets or preparing spare part orders.

Tracy Countryman, Global Lead for Supply Chain & Engineering at Accenture, commented: "Manufacturing companies are fundamentally rethinking shop floor operations using AI to balance safety and productivity. What is needed is not just data visualization, but a mechanism that accurately supports workers at critical moments. The Agentic Factory creates an environment where production managers, operators, and technicians can resolve issues faster and more reliably while maintaining final decision-making authority."

Michael Schloys, Global Lead for Supply Chain & Engineering at Avanade, stated: "To make agentic AI truly valuable in manufacturing, it must closely support the people who run the factory every day. By combining Microsoft's technical expertise with our deep industry and manufacturing knowledge, we help clients move rapidly from proof of concept to measurable results on the factory floor."

Built on the 'Factory Agents and Analytics' platform from Accenture and Avanade, the system utilizes Microsoft technologies such as Azure, Fabric, Foundry, and Copilot. It is offered under a subscription model, allowing customers to start small and expand as value is demonstrated. The system integrates structured data from MES, telemetry, and historians with unstructured data like FMEA documents and manuals. Using Fabric as a unified data foundation, it provides contextual guidance to workers through a conversational interface.

Current early adopters, including Kruger (a major pulp and paper producer) and Nissha Metallizing Solutions (a global metallic paper manufacturer), are validating performance in their own environments. Eric Ashby, COO of Kruger, noted that even a 10-15% reduction in Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) can translate into millions of dollars in performance gains when scaled across production lines and sites.