Global systems supplier, GEA Group, has partnered with NTT Data and Microsoft to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technology solution to make complex Engineer-to-Order (ETO) processes more efficient.
ETO processes present companies with major challenges due to the extensive technical specifications and high demands on the preparation of quotations.
In late 2024, GEA approached NTT Data and Microsoft with a request to develop a solution that would make the ETO process more efficient and reduce the high level of manual effort involved.
GEA separation & flow technologies division chief service officer, Dirk Hejnal, said the processing of complex tenders previously required a lot of manual effort, was risky and took a long time.
“We actively sought a solution and approached NTT Data and Microsoft with our requirements. By combining our expertise, we developed a practical application that will significantly improve our processes in the long term. Furthermore, consistently high-quality quotes and proposals give us and our customers a clear competitive advantage,” said Hejnal.
Together, the companies created an AI-powered application that extracts relevant requirements from technical specification documents, classifies and assigns them to the appropriate departments. This speeds up the processing of tenders, reduces the risk of errors and enables a structured and transparent distribution of tasks.
NTT Data Dach senior vice president and head of industry, Torsten Albrecht, said GEA provided a clear vision that sparked the momentum for the project, and the companies all collaborated closely.
“By leveraging cutting-edge technologies, we successfully addressed the complex requirements and designed an innovative, market-ready AI-powered solution,” said Albrecht.
“The excellent partnership with GEA and Microsoft has been crucial to the successful realization of this project, which impressively demonstrates the tangible advantages that AI provides to companies.”
GEA, NTT Data, and Microsoft will showcase the new solution at this year’s Hannover Messe industrial equipment trade show in Germany on 1 April.
Microsoft general manager enterprise commercial, Edith Wittmann, said the company’s cloud platform provides the foundation for innovative applications, but it took close collaboration with an experienced industrial company like GEA to create a solution that works in practice.
“The partnership with GEA and NTT Data has been extremely productive and highlights how technology can optimise industrial processes,” said Wittmann.
GEA supplies food and beverage equipment to companies around Australia, with its main headquarters located near Melbourne Airport, Victoria.
