At TJ Digital Systems, we believe in bringing operators and directors together, connecting the business from top floor to shop floor. ‘It’s never been easy for an operator to go to a director and say, “These are our challenges”,’ explains Tim Shelley. ‘But put those viewpoints around the same table and you gain real insights, whether they’re hard truths or nice-to-knows.’

Maximilian Abenthum, Senior Solution Consultant at CONTACT Software, sees the cost of a disconnected business among the German manufacturers he works with. When engineers change a product design, the paper drawings out on the shop floor often don’t get updated. ‘They’re still producing the older version,’ he says. ‘That leads to a lot of errors and a lot of rework. It sounds so simple, but it’s one of the biggest pain points in the market.’

Factory 2050 at the AMRC is a space at the cutting edge of digital manufacturing that’s pushing the boundaries of what is possible with AI. Guests will go home with renewed energy to act, having spent the day in a world-leading centre for research and innovation.

It’s also inspiring to share ideas with an external group of people working in adjacent fields, as it can give you a new perspective, plus practical tips to take away. Sometimes, you just don’t know what you don’t know.

For Max, that view of the wider landscape is valuable whatever you decide afterwards. ‘Even if you don’t choose CONTACT Elements, at events like these you always get a state-of-the-art picture of what’s happening in the market,’ he says. ‘You keep your finger on the pulse.’

Guests will leave with a vision of where their organisation is today, where they want to be, and the pathways to get there — inspired by real projects in progress on the AMRC shop floor.

Your roadmap doesn’t need to be set in stone, though. CONTACT’s platform is designed to be adopted in stages, with modules added as needed. ‘You can select what you need and scale up as your company evolves,’ says Max. ‘In the end, that’s a change process, and change processes are tough.’

Alina Wenzel, International Marketing Manager at CONTACT Software, also points out that you can remove modules if they no longer fit. ‘It’s important to have a plan in place, but also to stay flexible enough to change it,’ she says. We recommend a clear plan, and then making small, iterative steps.

The day is split into four parts:

1. A guided tour of Factory 2050, hosted by the AMRC. This includes a briefing on trends such as digital transformation, industrial AI, and what leading manufacturers are doing about both.

2. A session on your digital readiness, business case and roadmap, hosted by TJ Digital Systems. It’s a chance to assess where your business really is, identify the drivers worth pushing, and start building your business case and roadmap, using an approach proven across 60 countries. It also includes what to look for when selecting digital platforms and AI solutions.

3. A demo of digital platform solutions, hosted by CONTACT Software. Guests will experience what a modern digital platform can do in practice, and assess how digital solutions would best be tailored to your operations and your roadmap. Max finds most people see the value ‘within the first two minutes’.

4. Industrial AI from top floor to shop floor, hosted by CONTACT and the AMRC. Where industrial AI is today, where it’s heading, and how to map a practical strategy for applying it in your business — without the hype.

The workshop will leave guests with renewed energy to make changes and the clarity to take the right next step on their digital journey. Places are limited — see the full details and register here.