To usher in a new era of productivity for industry, Accenture and Avanade have joined forces with Microsoft to create an agentic factory intelligence system. First showcased at Hannover Messe 2026, the innovation seeks to bring a new level of sophistication to the management of factory activities by promoting collaboration between people, machines, AI agents, and data.
In light of the rising demands for improving operational uptime in the manufacturing industry, the solution marks a departure from traditional analytics systems. Initial clients, such as prominent manufacturing firms Kruger Inc. and Nissha Metallizing Solutions, are presently testing the platform before its general release later in 2026.
Moving Beyond Dashboards to Autonomous Assistance
The agentic factory distinguishes itself from conventional control mechanisms through the use of proactive AI agents. Not only do these agents observe the operations but help the shop floor staff in carrying out the task of checking the statuses, performing diagnostics, and guiding on how to solve problems that come their way.
If there is any slowdown in the production process or failure of the equipment, the AI agents will draw from the existing knowledge to determine the cause and offer remedial measures.
Tracey Countryman, global Supply Chain and Engineering lead at Accenture, emphasized the human-centric design of the technology: “Manufacturers are looking to reinvent their shop floor operations with AI for improved safety and productivity. This includes moving beyond visibility toward systems that support frontline workers in critical moments. Our agentic factory helps production supervisors, machine operators, electricians, mechanics and quality controllers resolve issues faster and with greater confidence, remaining in control of final decisions.”
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A Unified Data Foundation Built on Microsoft Technology
Built upon the Accenture and Avanade Factory Agents and Analytics framework, the system leverages the full power of the Microsoft stack, including Azure, Fabric, Foundry, and Copilot. By unifying structured data from manufacturing execution systems (MES) and sensor telemetry with unstructured data like machine manuals and maintenance logs, the platform provides role-specific guidance through intuitive conversational interfaces.
Michael Schleuss, global Supply Chain and Engineering lead for Avanade, highlighted the practical impact of the collaboration: “What makes agentic AI real for manufacturers is how it shows up for the people running the factory every day. Our agentic factory combines Microsoft technology expertise with hands-on industry and manufacturing know-how to help clients and their teams move quickly from concept to measurable impact on the shop floor.”
Early Success and Scalable Value
The solution is delivered via a subscription model, allowing manufacturers to pilot the technology on a small scale before expanding across their global footprint. For companies like Kruger Inc., the potential for ROI is significant.
Toby Elster, Chief Information Officer at Kruger Inc., noted: “A 10–15% reduction in mean-time-to-repair quickly translates into multimillion dollar savings when scaled across production lines and sites. With this agentic factory, we can help our teams respond faster to issues, capture operational knowledge, and continuously improve how our factories run.”
Similarly, Giorgio Bosso, CEO of Nissha Metallizing Solutions, added: “With Accenture’s and Avanade’s agentic factory, we can improve root cause exploration in order to significantly reduce scrap and unplanned downtime for a competitive edge in an increasingly dynamic market.”
Driving Industrial Transformation
This program highlights the common vision that exists between Accenture, Avanade, and Microsoft, who are keen on ensuring that autonomous agents are incorporated into the workforce in order to improve decision making and achieve uniformity in terms of performance at different locations.
