SAP NEWSBYTE — April 20, 2026 — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and the mechanical and plant manufacturer Uhlmann present an integrated approach that integrates digital production environments, open data ecosystems and SAP Business AI directly into operational business processes.
The announcement was made at HANNOVER MESSE 2026, where the two companies presented the PacXplorer, a high-tech packaging machine from Uhlmann that serves as both an industrial demonstrator and development platform.
The PacXplorer: Networked production in industrial practice
Together with the machine and plant manufacturer Uhlmann, SAP will demonstrate at HANNOVER MESSE 2026 how this approach can be implemented in industrial practice. The focus is on the PacXplorer, a high-tech packaging machine from Uhlmann that serves as an industrial demonstration and development platform. Born from the collaboration in Factory-X, the PacXplorer connects digital twins, condition monitoring, smart services and interoperable production solutions in a collaborative data ecosystem. Factory-X aims to build a decentralized data room for the equipment industry, enabling factory equipment suppliers and operators to exchange secure, interoperable data across industries.
The machine is fully integrated into SAP system landscapes and is operated live. It shows how industrial data can be used confidently, interoperably and across companies, not as a theoretical model, but in real production operations. This creates transparency about system status, utilization and performance, as well as the prerequisite for new data-based services, individually tailored with a focus on predictive and dynamic service, based on specific machine parameters.
Service as the key to resilience
The added value of this approach becomes particularly clear in the service environment. Where production, data and operation are closely linked, service determines system availability, productivity and sustainable customer relationships. An often underestimated influencing factor is the spare parts service: delays lead directly to downtimes and economic losses, especially in volatile market and delivery situations. At the same time, these processes are still heavily manual in many industrial companies.
SAP and Uhlmann are therefore specifically driving forward the further development of this area. An AI-supported process supports the entire process, from processing incoming inquiries to clarifying missing information to identifying the right spare part and preparing an offer. The approach can be integrated into existing SAP service and sales processes and is based on business processes. The goal is fast, resilient and scalable customer service.
“Industry today is more concerned with the question of decision-making ability under uncertainty than with pure cost optimization,” says Dominik Metzger, President and Chief Product Officer for SAP Supply Chain Management at SAP. “With SAP Business AI and integrated production and service solutions, we shift decisions directly into the business processes. This allows companies to identify risks early, react flexibly and remain able to act even under unstable conditions.”
Reshaping value creation together
The collaboration between SAP and Uhlmann illustrates a fundamental change in the industry: resilience does not arise through additional safety stocks and capacity buffers, but through better, faster and networked decisions along the entire value chain. Companies that control their production and service processes based on data can react more flexibly to changes and secure their competitiveness in the long term.
SAP and Uhlmann are continuing their innovation partnership beyond HANNOVER MESSE. The PacXplorer will then continue to operate in the SAP S.Factory in Walldorf, where it serves as a platform for customers, partners and co-innovation with the aim of not only demonstrating industrial transformation, but also continuously developing it further.
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Contact person for the press:
Dana Rösiger, +49 6227 7 63900, dana.roesiger@sap.com, CET
SAP press area; press@sap.com
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Copyright cover image: ©Uhlmann Group
