Manufacturing workforce transformation through artificial intelligence promises to elevate knowledge workers into strategic decision-makers, yet many enterprises are still early in the evaluation phase and have not moved agentic systems into full production.

For QAD Inc., its ambition is focused on decision intelligence that extends AI from basic automation to richer, context-aware support for day-to-day manufacturing decisions. The company frames its approach as one of employee empowerment, positioning agentic AI within practical manufacturing scenarios such as inventory optimization and supply chain management, according to Paul Gillin (pictured, left), enterprise editor at SiliconANGLE. QAD’s approach brings needed substance to a space that is often crowded with abstract promises.

“For the last year, agentic AI has become the buzzword of choice, of course,” Gillin said. “It’s become almost meaningless without applications. What was refreshing to me about this conference was that this company seems to have real ideas about where they’re going to apply AI.”

At the QAD Champions of Manufacturing event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, Gillin spoke alongside Scott Hebner (right), principal analyst at theCUBE Research about oncoming agentic deployments and its implications for the factory floor. (* Disclosure below.)

Manufacturing workforce transformation meets implementation reality

Even organizations positioned at the leading edge of AI adoption are only beginning to deploy agentic systems in production environments. The measured pace reflects the compressed timeline enterprises face, leaving chief information officers limited time to absorb generative AI before confronting autonomous agents, according to Gillin.

“You got to remember, ChatGPT came out less than three years ago,” he said. “It was late November of 2022, and that is a blink of an eye for large enterprises to observe, evaluate and assimilate a new technology. Then all of a sudden, we have agents to deal with.”

Of course, QAD’s manufacturing focus gives it a domain advantage in identifying practical use cases, and the path from conference discussion to deployment will depend on adoption rates and trust-building. The company clearly distinguishes its vision from pure automation by emphasizing human empowerment, positioning it to drive meaningful, long-term change for manufacturing workforces, Hebner noted.

“They were crystal clear that they don’t envision this replacing people,” he said. “It’s really about superpowers and allowing them to become more fulfilled [and to do] their jobs better.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the QAD Champions of Manufacturing event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the QAD Champions of Manufacturing event. Neither QAD, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE