A ginger shot, fresh off the line, was the first stop for many visitors at SAP\u2019s booth at Hannover Messe. But the real takeaway was seeing AI in action. From mixing the ginger shot to packaging and warehouse delivery, visitors saw how SAP is turning AI ambition into real-world manufacturing execution, delivering end-to-end supply chain management processes, and building the resilience every manufacturer needs.<\/p>\n
Held from April 20\u201324, Hannover Messe is the world\u2019s leading industrial trade fair.<\/p>\n
On day one, Christian Klein, CEO of SAP SE, stopped by the SAP booth before joining German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other industrial leaders on the center stage to discuss the importance of moving from AI ambition to real-world execution.<\/p>\n
And visitors to the SAP booth experienced that shift firsthand, following the production of the ginger shot.<\/p>\n
Packaged in a neat blue box, the ginger shot was refreshing but that wasn\u2019t the only takeaway. The real takeaway was how SAP\u2019s new set of AI-powered manufacturing and supply chain innovations can deliver connected end-to-end supply chain business processes powered by AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n Supply chain orchestration<\/p>\n From AI and data and then using SAP\u2019s agentic AI, visitors saw what supply chain orchestration looks like in practice. SAP uses agentic AI<\/a>, trusted data, and applications to help manufacturers\u00a0sense, analyze, and act in real time.<\/p>\n Orchestrate your supply chain as a single, connected system using AI and data to sense, analyze, and act in real time<\/p>\n At the booth, visitors saw human operators interact with an ANYbotics<\/a> robot through Joule using natural language to run live, remote field service inspections; Uhlmann\u2019s high-tech glass-fronted packing machine, PacXplorer, in action opposite the CNC machine from DMG MORI that was creating spare parts for the PacXplorer; and, at end of the production cycle, AIMBO\u2019s robot handling the picking and packing of the ginger shot. Both AIMBO and ANYbotics are part of SAP\u2019s growing network of physical AI partnerships<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition to many tours held in German and English, day one also saw tours in Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese\u2014Brazil was the partner country at Hannover Messe 2026.<\/p>\n Equipped with headphones to block out the noise of the crowds at the booth, visitors heard how SAP\u2019s AI can deliver trusted orchestration and smarter execution for manufacturing<\/a> and supply chain management<\/a>.<\/p>\n Live AI use cases demonstrate functions and benefits<\/p>\n Operations and insights use case<\/p>\n Here, visitors experienced SAP\u2019s vision of supply chain orchestration. In this vision, supply chain orchestration acts as the nerve center of the enterprise. It uses external alerts such as natural disasters, port congestions, or supplier routes to optimize enterprise logistics and planning using agents.<\/p>\n Benefits can include faster response times with AI-assisted monitoring and automated alerts; improved decision-making with data-driven, operational decisions powered by integrated business AI capabilities; and seamless integration with end-to-end connectivity from supply chain planning through to manufacturing execution and quality control.<\/p>\n Top AI functions<\/p>\n