In this segment from the QAD Champions of Manufacturing event, theCUBE Research’s Paul Gillin and Scott Hebner break down the biggest insights from the morning keynote and what QAD’s agentic-AI vision means for the manufacturing sector. They unpack new CEO Sanjay Brahmawar’s strategy for accelerating transformation across factory operations, from adaptive ERP to Champion AI and Champion Pace. The discussion highlights why manufacturing – long a tech-driven industry – is now poised for a new era of digital labor, decision intelligence and faster, more flexible workflows.

Gillin and Hebner also explore the shifting mindset inside manufacturing organizations as agentic AI moves from concept to practical impact. They dig into bottlenecks around rigid systems, the push for speed in ERP deployments, and the need to augment workers with AI-powered reasoning rather than replace them. With 60%+ of manufacturers expecting digital labor to become inevitable, the conversation surfaces the competitive urgency behind AI-infused workflows, better factory-floor decision-making and maintaining uptime while modernizing mission-critical systems.

In this interview from the QAD Champions of Manufacturing event in Dallas, Texas, Ron Davis, senior vice president of product engineering and head of AI at QAD Redzone, joins theCUBE Research’s Scott Hebner and Paul Gillin to unpack the vision behind Champion AI. Davis explains how QAD’s agentic AI platform is purpose-built for manufacturers, drawing on decades of QAD domain expertise and Redzone’s deployment in more than 1,700 plants. He details how Champion AI keeps people at the center by removing mundane tasks, empowering frontline workers to make real-time decisions and driving measurable outcomes such as double-digit productivity uplift in as little as 90 days.

The conversation goes deeper into how Champion AI combines role-based agents, generative interfaces, traditional machine learning and embedded process mining to tackle high-value use cases like inventory optimization and ERP modernization. Davis shares how the platform captures expert knowledge from seasoned operators through Redzone’s learning module and turns it into “Line Lead Champion” guidance that helps new leaders start each shift with context, hazards and countermeasures. He also outlines why manufacturing requires tightly guided, domain-aware AI rather than generic chatbots, how QAD’s partnership with AWS supports a continuously evolving agentic platform, and why the next phase of AI in factories is about decision intelligence and proactive problem-solving, not just automation.

At the QAD Champions of Manufacturing event in Dallas, Texas, theCUBE Research’s Scott Hebner and Paul Gillin sit down with Zack Sosebee, senior vice president of operations at QAD Redzone, for an inside look at how QAD is redefining ERP deployment through Champion Pace. Sosebee outlines how this approach replaces years-long ERP rollouts with a focused 90-day path to measurable results – emphasizing inventory optimization, customer value and eliminating the fatigue that comes from feature-heavy implementations. By zeroing in on the “vital few” outcomes and minimizing customizations, Champion Pace helps manufacturers stay agile and maintain operational focus while modernizing their systems.

Sosebee also explains how rapid deployment is just the first step, with coaching playing a central role in building new behaviors and decision-making patterns on the factory floor. He breaks down how AI accelerates the process – from dramatically reducing data prep time to enabling Champion AI agents that scan inventory in real time and guide users toward value-driving actions. Looking ahead, Sosebee shares his vision for manufacturers who choose speed, simplicity and outcomes over complexity, ultimately improving margins and reinvesting gains back into their people.

At the QAD Champions of Manufacturing event in Dallas, Texas, theCUBE Research’s Scott Hebner and Paul Gillin sit down with Amit Sharma, president of manufacturing ERP at QAD Inc., to unpack how QAD is reimagining ERP from a system of record into a system of action for manufacturers. Sharma explains why he joined QAD to double down on deep vertical focus, detailing how built-in capabilities such as production scheduling, warehouse management and quality are designed specifically for tier-one and tier-two industrial and automotive suppliers operating on razor-thin margins.

The conversation explores how QAD’s Champion AI platform embeds agentic AI directly into manufacturing workflows to drive measurable outcomes, starting with inventory optimization that balances working capital and service levels while keeping humans in the loop. Sharma outlines how role-based “champion” agents will support planners, procurement and factory leaders, how AI is being used to accelerate data migration and reduce legacy customizations, and why QAD’s integration strategy with Boomi and its AI partnership with AWS (via Amazon Bedrock) are central to a 90-day greenfield ERP implementation model for mid-market manufacturers.

In this interview from the QAD Champions of Manufacturing event in Dallas, Texas, QAD Inc. chief executive officer Sanjay Brahmawar joins theCUBE Research’s Scott Hebner and Paul Gillin to share his vision for the company and the future of manufacturing. Brahmawar explains why he returned to his manufacturing roots, how QAD is targeting mid-market manufacturers, and why a people-first approach to AI is central to closing a growing capacity shortfall. He outlines how QAD’s Champion AI strategy is designed to give frontline workers “superpowers” by amplifying their productivity rather than replacing jobs, and how a 26% productivity gain can translate into more output with the same workforce.

The conversation explores how QAD is rebuilding trust with customers by listening closely to feedback, refocusing on product quality and pivoting quickly to an agentic AI-led roadmap. Brahmawar breaks down QAD’s three-part manufacturing platform – Adaptive ERP as the “brain,” Redzone as the connected workforce layer, and an agentic AI layer that works across different ERPs – and explains why inventory carrying costs are a prime target for AI-driven optimization. He also discusses simplifying QAD’s own organization, driving speed and accountability internally, and why he’s bullish on the long-term outlook for U.S. manufacturing as massive investment meets AI-enabled decision intelligence on the factory floor.

In this interview from the QAD Champions of Manufacturing event in Dallas, Texas, Ken Fisher, president of QAD Redzone, joins Brian Lange, senior director of manufacturing for the Salty Division and North American CMG Manufacturing at The Hershey Company, and Terry LeDoux, former vice president of Nestlé Purina North America, to talk with theCUBE Research’s Scott Hebner about what a true connected workforce looks like on the factory floor. The group explains how Redzone’s people-first approach, coaching model and learning module are helping large manufacturers onboard workers faster, upskill operators in their native language, and turn continuous improvement practices into everyday habits that stick. Real-world examples from Hershey’s fast-growing salty snacks operations and Nestlé Purina factories show how frontline workers become the primary problem-solvers and culture carriers.

The conversation also digs into how breaking down silos and making factory data visible to everyone transforms “neighborhoods” of departments into a single community focused on winning the day for the whole plant. Fisher, Lange and LeDoux unpack Redzone’s ROI flywheel of productivity, engagement and retention, why 90-day coaching programs are essential for sustainable change, and how leadership behaviors must shift toward servant leadership as operators gain more ownership. Looking ahead, they discuss how Champion AI and agentic workflows can help frontline teams move from reacting to issues to preventing problems before they happen, freeing operators to spend more time on forward-looking continuous improvement and business growth.

Ricardo Leitao of QAD participates in the QAD Champions of Manufacturing Conference in Dallas. Ricardo Leitao, the senior vice president of global professional services for manufacturing and supply chain at QAD, discusses the evaluation and benchmarking criteria that guide QAD's innovative strategies for implementing technological solutions effectively.

During this session, hosted by SiliconANGLE Media's Paul Gillin and theCUBE Research's Scott Hebner, Leitao shares their extensive expertise in enterprise resource planning services. The discussion explores how QAD's methodologies, such as the Champion Benchmark, facilitate the adoption of QAD Adaptive solutions by ensuring a clear understanding of business objectives, current information technology landscapes, and unique customization needs.

Key insights from the dialogue include the importance of an adaptable and standardized approach to process management, as emphasized by Leitao. They highlight the role of QAD's system of action in managing manufacturing processes and the integration of artificial intelligence in accelerating ERP implementation. The Champion Benchmark serves as a vital initial assessment tool for defining customer roadmaps and ensuring quality, effectiveness, and successful integration of QAD Adaptive solutions.

From the QAD Champions of Manufacturing event in Dallas, Texas, theCUBE Research’s Scott Hebner and Paul Gillin sit down with Tom Roberts, vice president of strategic industry development at QAD Inc., and Dave Miller, director of enterprise applications at Hendrickson USA, LLC, to explore how customer–vendor co-creation is shaping QAD’s agentic AI roadmap. Miller explains how Hendrickson’s need to better manage complex MRP parameters led to a one-page framework that helped inspire QAD’s Champion AI inventory optimization agent, while Roberts outlines how QAD’s data science team turned that concept into a reusable capability by combining analytics, process understanding and an AI-powered architecture built on chatbots, large language models, memory and tools.

The discussion highlights how this collaboration is moving ERP from a traditional “system of record” to a “system of action” that supports planners as co-pilots rather than replacing them. Roberts and Miller walk through the feedback loop between Hendrickson and QAD – from UK plant workshops to iterative formula tuning – and unpack how AI-driven optimization can relieve plant “firefighting,” reduce stock-outs and excess inventory, and free teams to focus on continuous improvement. They also touch on preparing organizations for the efficiency gains AI will unlock, building internal data and analytics skills, and why embedding agents directly into core systems is key to scaling intelligent manufacturing across inventory, costing and beyond.