AI, sustainability and data: shaping the future of industry at APMS Conference
Experts from industry, academia and institutions came together at the University of Bergamo for APMS Conference 2026, the international event promoted by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and dedicated to the evolution of production systems across sustainability, data, artificial intelligence and the human factor.
Scm Group was among the industrial companies invited to share its experience through a keynote by Alessandra Benedetti, Enterprise Transformation & Technologies Director, focusing on the role of Artificial Intelligence in accelerating servitization.
Scm Group’s contribution draws on its experience in the digital transformation of its business model, through an approach that integrates technologies, data, expertise and organisation.
This journey has supported Scm Group’s evolution from a machinery manufacturer into a technology partner able to support customers throughout the entire lifecycle of their solutions, developing new services and ways of engaging with customers based on the growing availability and value of data. This direction is also reflected in the partnership with Tecnest, a company specialising in software solutions for production planning and supply chain management. The agreement enables Scm Group to expand its offering with MES/MOM digital systems.
Alessandra Benedetti’s presentation, entitled “Leveraging AI to Accelerate Servitization”, started from a practical consideration: the potential of AI for industry is now clear, but its ability to generate value does not depend solely on the availability of algorithms or machine connectivity. Turning data into new opportunities for customers requires a broader transformation, bringing together technology, people, processes, expertise, customer interfaces and relationships across the industrial ecosystem.
Against this backdrop, Scm Group’s experience has highlighted how data generated by machines and production processes can be combined with human expertise to create a form of collective intelligence, capable of enabling new after-sales services, enhancing diagnostics, supporting predictive maintenance, facilitating access to knowledge and increasing customer autonomy.
The presentation also addressed the key managerial challenges that accompany this transformation: from data governance to the cross-functional adoption of new technologies, from capability development to organisational and leadership alignment, as well as the ability to innovate business models while preserving the value of existing ones.
Scm Group’s journey therefore demonstrates how AI applied to servitization is not simply a technological challenge, but a broader strategic and organisational challenge, in which technology, data, people and partners must evolve in a coordinated way to generate tangible and meaningful value for customers.
