Most manufacturing leaders have sat through the AI panel that promises everything and shows nothing. You know the one. Forty-five minutes of slides, a lot of talk about “the journey,” and not a single number you can take back to your CFO. If you have quietly wondered whether anyone is actually running this stuff on a real line, with real orders and real suppliers, you are the type of person Champions of Manufacturing was built for.
This year, QAD | Redzone is running the event in two of the world’s most important industrial capitals: Chicago, Illinois, September 21–23, and Munich, Germany, October 8–9. Both are free to attend. Both are built on the same premise, which I’ll put as bluntly as a plant manager on a Monday morning: the AI debate is over, execution has started.
What Makes This Year Different?
Most tech vendor conferences these days are trying to sell you the promise of AI. That’s unavoidable, AI is too hot a topic. But for manufacturers that just want to solve the problems they face every day, this one is about the proof. Proof that AI in manufacturing actually delivers results.
Champions of Manufacturing was built around the people doing the work and the companies putting AI into action now. Attendees will hear directly from the operators, leaders, and teams who have made the shift and started their AI journey. The distinction matters. Yes, there will be opportunities to demo the tech, but the event is about seeing your peers describe what broke, what worked, and what AI did to their numbers.
The content follows suit. Real manufacturers share examples of how they’re accelerating decisions, automating workflows, and eliminating operational bottlenecks that hit efficiency and the bottom line. The framing throughout is strategic and operational, not so much technical. As CEO Sanjay Brahmawar put it, there is a lot of noise around AI and most vendors are talking about features and functionality, while QAD | Redzone is focused on amplifying human potential to drive real performance gains.
Why Scottie Pippen and Dr. Peter H. Diamandis?
The Chicago event pairs two people who look unrelated until you think about the industry you’re in. Six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen spent his career proving that raw talent does not necessarily win titles. Trust and execution under pressure do. That is a message any leader trying to get four shifts and a dozen systems pulling in the same direction will recognize.
Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, AI futurist, entrepreneur, and XPRIZE founder, brings the other half. He maps where exponential technology is taking industry, and why the manufacturers who move now build advantages the laggards never catch.
“The pace of change has never been this fast, and it will never be this slow again,” said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis. “The manufacturers that embrace AI now won’t simply keep up. They will define what leadership in their industries looks like for years to come.”
One built a dynasty on execution. The other studies how execution scales when the ground keeps shifting. Between them, they frame the question living rent-free in every operations leader’s mind: how do you lead people through change while building an organization ready for what comes next?
Chicago and Munich: Same Conviction, Two Front Doors
The two events share the same structural bones but serve different rooms.
Chicago runs three days and folds in something new. The QAD User Groups come together for an all-access event, bringing manufacturing professionals, industry leaders, and power users under one roof, spanning both strategic innovation and hands-on product expertise. Executives get the strategy track. The people who live in the system daily get the practical sessions. Nobody leaves with only half the picture.
As Cedric Brown, CIO at Mueller Industries, described a prior year, one of the most valuable parts of Champions of Manufacturing was connecting directly with peers and having open conversations about the challenges and opportunities manufacturers face, with this year building on that through a strong focus on AI, operational execution, and measurable business outcomes.
Munich is the European counterpart, purpose-built for manufacturers across the region who want the same proof close to home. Germany is not a random pin on the map. It is the industrial heart of Europe, and holding the event there puts the AI in manufacturing conversation in front of the automotive, industrial equipment, and precision manufacturers who feel supply chain volatility and labor constraints the most. The through-line is identical to Chicago’s: companies winning today are not experimenting endlessly with AI, they are already deploying it to increase throughput, reduce downtime, accelerate decisions, and outperform competitors.
What You’ll Actually Take Home
Skip the tote bag. The real takeaways are more practical.
You will leave understanding how agentic AI works inside operations rather than alongside them. ChampionAI is designed to act, integrating with QAD Adaptive ERP and Redzone Connected Workforce to automate decisions, streamline workflows, and eliminate delays in real time, with workflow agents (called Champions) operating inside procurement, sourcing, and sales to execute the high-volume work that slows teams down. You’ll have the opportunity to see where that applies to your own bottlenecks.
You will leave with a practical understanding of how AI in manufacturing delivers outcomes, not a technology wish list. Our recent CFO guide argues the point directly: AI is not a technology initiative, it is an operational and financial discipline, and the manufacturers who lead will be the ones who execute faster and translate AI into measurable outcomes, not the ones running the most pilots.
Finally, you’ll leave with a peer network that has already done the work, plus a clearer read on where your organization sits on the curve. Short-term movers win. Everyone else plays catch-up.
Manufacturing has entered a new era. The question is whether you and your team will be the ones that execute when everything is on the line.
