Hanover Fair 2016

In recent years, Hannover Messe has played a major role in paving the way for the Industry 4.0 era. Rarely has a technical development spread so quickly and effectively.

This industrial turnaround gained further momentum at the Hannover Messe. It is not just about the technologies, but also about the resulting new business models.

Predictive Maintenance

With predictive maintenance, machine and plant manufacturers rely on sensors that enable machines to automatically report that they will need maintenance in the near future. Using this data, the plant manufacturer can offer the operator maintenance services at an early stage and thus expand its service business.

Jochen Köckler, spokesman for the Hannover Messe:

"At the new Predictive Maintenance 4.0 special area, we will be showing examples of Industry 4.0 applications and new business areas that are now emerging."

The partner country USA will also provide a huge boost for the Hannover Messe. Leading companies from the world's largest economy will be presenting their solutions for the networked industry. Köckler:

"The fact that US President Barack Obama opened the trade fair together with German Chancellor Angela Merkel is strong evidence of the international significance of Hannover Messe."

SAP Asset Intelligence Network

The increasing use of sensors and smart devices opens up new possibilities for system management. Plant manufacturers and operators are helping to make use of the Internet of Things.

At the Hannover Messe, SAP presented the Asset Intelligence Network business network and the Predictive Maintenance and Service solution. By using these two innovations, companies are able to derive new insights from asset information and focus more on the proactive monitoring of assets.

"Companies can now successfully address business challenges such as balancing cost, risk and performance with technologies such as in-memory analytics and cloud-based collaboration platforms. These provide a quantum leap in the optimization of operations"

explains Hans Thalbauer, General Manager for the Extended Supply Chain division at SAP.

"Networking via the Internet of Things enables machines to communicate with information systems. Our new offerings create the necessary network for this and offer the opportunity to achieve better results based on new insights. This creates a completely new, digital plant life cycle."

The SAP Asset Intelligence Network provides a central, global directory with model and equipment information. The network enables collaboration and communication with business partners inside and outside the company via a secure cloud platform. The exchange of standardized content via a cloud-based portal ensures that business partners use uniform definitions.

"All devices manufactured by Endress+Hauser are automatically displayed via the network with all relevant life cycle information in our customers' SAP systems"

says Klaus Endress, President of the Board of Directors of Endress+Hauser.

"The ability to access the information we need at any time is invaluable, as it improves efficiency and therefore the results of the entire company."

The Asset Intelligence Network extends S/4 with cross-company integration of asset data. With standardized equipment definitions, improved transparency and shared access to data, the network not only provides a platform for the exchange of asset data and collaboration, but also provides business context information for predictive maintenance and servicing.

Analysis data, which can be used to identify and better understand trends, can be exchanged via the network. It is also possible to notify both manufacturers and operators of systems of impending problems or failures.

Role-based Fiori interface

The SAP Asset Intelligence Network has a user-friendly, role-based interface based on SAP Fiori for use on mobile devices. Predictive Maintenance and Service is designed to help companies reduce their maintenance and servicing costs while optimizing the availability and reliability of their assets.

Using predictive analytics based on the Hana platform, the solution processes huge amounts of real-time operational data read from sensors and intelligent systems.

The functions of SAP Predictive Maintenance and Service can be put to productive use immediately. Companies in plant-intensive industries and original parts manufacturers can use it to remotely evaluate sensor data and monitor equipment behavior. This makes new service models possible for customers.

The solution provides predictive models for machine learning and supports seamless integration into enterprise systems, which can be used to trigger countermeasures in the maintenance and repair systems when problems occur, thereby avoiding unplanned downtime.

Cemat - IT in focus

Cemat, which takes place in Hanover from May 31 to June 3, also has a clear IT focus. The organizers of the world's leading trade fair for intralogistics and supply chain management are thus taking account of the fact that the physical logistics world is becoming increasingly intertwined with the digital world.

"The quality of the hardware and its intelligent networking in the IT systems determine the success of an intralogistics solution today"

explained Wolfgang Pech, Business Unit Director at Deutsche Messe. SAP is represented at Cemat for the first time this year with a large partner stand. The company will be prominently positioned in the Logistics IT exhibition area in Hall 27, which attracts a large number of visitors.

"We are placing our S/4 Hana solution as a software suite and the overall solution approach for logistics at the center of our trade fair presence"

said Ralf Schränkler, Solution Sales Executive SCM at SAP.

"We don't separate internal and external logistics so much - for us, networked logistics from the supplier to the end customer is crucial."

The Supply Chain Execution (SCE) platform is an integral part of this. SAP is focusing primarily on integrated systems in order to advance the direct connection of warehouse automation or the entire warehouse technology.

The aim is to create advanced intralogistics. IT and digitalization are also playing an increasingly important role at Viastore. More than half of the intralogistics provider's employees now work in the IT environment.

"And company growth is also currently taking place in software-related processes and logistics automation in particular"

explained Viastore boss Philipp Hahn-Woernle.

"In the Software division, we are relying on our strategic partnership with SAP on the one hand, and on the further development of our own Viadat product as a solution for intralogistics on the other."

"Digitalization begins in the mind"

said Rainer Glatz, Managing Director of the Software Association of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA).

"Visitors and exhibitors must learn to think in terms of digital processes."

In reality, there is often still a strict separation between production and logistics, IT and logistics or between companies.