Hitachi Group's Second Site Selected as WEF 'Lighthouse' Advanced Factory

- The advanced storage manufacturing site in Norman, USA, operated by Hitachi Vantara, has been newly selected as a 'Lighthouse' by the World Economic Forum (WEF), in recognition of its achievements in AI-driven transformation under the 'One Hitachi' approach at customer zero.

- Leveraging cutting-edge AI expertise and technologies developed through internal implementation, Hitachi will further enhance HMAX and accelerate AI Transformation (AX) across the Hitachi Group and for its customers.

Storage Manufacturing Site in Norman, Oklahoma, USA

Hitachi, Ltd. (hereinafter 'Hitachi') and Hitachi Vantara Corporation (hereinafter 'Hitachi Vantara'), a group company of Hitachi, announce that the storage manufacturing site in Norman, Oklahoma, USA, has been selected by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as one of the world's most advanced factories—'Lighthouse'—leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution through the use of technologies such as AI and robotics. This selection follows the 2020 designation of Hitachi's Ōmika Plant*1, marking the second site within the Hitachi Group to receive this recognition.

The Norman site manufactures high-end data infrastructure that supports AI-driven business transformation and serves as the core of end-to-end digital manufacturing and supply chains. The site has implemented comprehensive AI utilization across all operations. By leveraging Agentic AI for global demand forecasting and inventory management, it achieved a 77% reduction in lead time from order to shipment and a 50% reduction in inventory. These comprehensive initiatives—including building a resilient, AI-powered supply chain capable of responding instantly to demand fluctuations and significantly reducing CO2 emissions—were highly evaluated, leading to this selection.

Through these initiatives, treating its own operations as 'customer zero,' Hitachi will further enhance 'HMAX by Hitachi' (hereinafter 'HMAX')—its next-generation suite of solutions that innovates social infrastructure with AI—and accelerate AI Transformation (AX) across the Hitachi Group and for its customers. In the future, Hitachi will deploy the knowledge gained at the Norman site to global production sites such as Hitachi Rail, advancing AX in the OT (Operational Technology) domain under the 'One Hitachi' framework, and creating a spiral-up effect by strengthening HMAX with proven technologies and use cases from real-world implementation.

Hitachi will continue to strengthen and deliver HMAX through 'One Hitachi,' accelerating customers’ on-site AX across a wide range of global industries, thereby contributing to sustainable business growth through improved sustainability, productivity, and resilience.

*1 January 10, 2020 Press Release: Hitachi's Ōmika Plant becomes the first Japanese company to be selected as a 'Lighthouse' by the World Economic Forum (WEF)

Background

The Global Lighthouse Network is an initiative led by the WEF, recognizing top-tier facilities and value chains that have achieved outstanding results in productivity, supply chain resilience, customer-centricity, sustainability, and talent. Since Hitachi's Ōmika Plant became the first Japanese company to be selected as a Lighthouse in 2020, Hitachi has positioned the plant as a 'Lumada Practice Factory,' accelerating the global deployment of cutting-edge digital technologies developed on-site to both internal and external stakeholders.

Currently, with the rapid proliferation of AI, demand for data infrastructure supporting business transformation is surging. The Norman site manufactures reliable storage products such as the 'Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One),' which provides the foundational infrastructure for AI. The site faced challenges in improving decision-making speed and resource allocation to rapidly respond to complex product configurations involving nearly 3,000 variants, driven by global demand fluctuations and increasingly customized customer requirements. To address these challenges, the two companies collaborated to introduce cutting-edge AI and digital technologies into the site, going beyond data utilization to include autonomous decision-making and control by AI. This initiative served as a customer-zero showcase for HMAX Industry, driving end-to-end supply chain transformation from order to shipment.

Specific Initiatives

(1) AI-Driven Demand Forecasting and Business Process Enhancement

AI was used to holistically optimize operations from customer touchpoints to backend planning. First, AI analyzed sales opportunity data in systems to predict monthly demand, improving forecast accuracy by approximately 19%. Furthermore, for RFPs (Requests for Proposal) received by sales staff, AI automatically generated response drafts based on technical information and past proposals, reducing customer response time by approximately 26%. These improvements enabled the site to respond swiftly to volatile market conditions and meet customers’ sophisticated needs promptly.

(2) Optimization of the Global Supply Chain

A 'Global Inventory Control Tower' was established, consolidating inventory and supplier information from global sites into a single dashboard. AI calculated optimal safety stock levels for each component, successfully reducing global inventory by approximately 50% while minimizing stockout risks. This achievement improved cash flow and minimized inventory assets.

(3) Realization of an Autonomous Manufacturing Floor with AI

On the manufacturing floor, autonomous operations powered by Agentic AI were advanced. For complex, customer-specific software configuration setups, Agentic AI automatically retrieves and integrates information from multiple systems to automate the process. This achieved a dramatic 84% reduction in lead time for CTO (Configure-to-Order) production. Additionally, the 'Real-Time Work Navigator' uses digital work instructions and AI Vision-based image recognition to detect and correct deviations in real time. These measures reduced new operator training time by 80%, enabling both high-quality manufacturing and flexible workforce deployment.

Comment from Kiva Allgood, Managing Director, World Economic Forum (WEF)

Leading manufacturing companies are no longer just optimizing individual processes—they are rebuilding their entire operating systems. The newly selected 'Lighthouse' factories demonstrate how intelligence is deeply embedded into daily operations. This enables companies to respond faster, continuously learn, and unlock new levels of performance across the entire value chain.

Comment from Jun Abe, Executive Vice President, Digital Systems & Services, Hitachi, Ltd.

We are extremely proud that, following the Ōmika Plant in 2020, the Norman site has been selected as a WEF 'Lighthouse.' Under our 'true One Hitachi' framework, Hitachi has advanced transformation through comprehensive AI utilization, treating our own manufacturing sites as customer zero. No