Hitachi Vantara's advanced storage manufacturing site in Norman, Oklahoma, has been selected as a 'Global Lighthouse Factory' by the World Economic Forum (WEF). This designation recognizes the facility's deployment of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, including AI and robotics, to achieve exceptional operational performance. The recognition marks the second time a Hitachi Group site has received this honor, following Hitachi's Omika Works in 2020.

The Norman facility serves as an end-to-end digital manufacturing hub for data infrastructure products such as the Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One (VSP One). By positioning the site as 'Customer Zero,' Hitachi implemented Agentic AI across global demand forecasting and inventory management. These initiatives resulted in a 77% reduction in lead time from order receipt to shipment and a 50% reduction in inventory, while also enabling immediate responses to demand fluctuations and reducing CO₂ emissions.

Operational Improvements

The facility's transformation focused on three key areas to optimize its supply chain and manufacturing processes:

• AI-Driven Demand Forecasting: AI analysis of business meeting data improved monthly demand forecast accuracy by approximately 19%. Additionally, AI-generated draft responses for sales proposals reduced customer response time by approximately 26%.
• Global Supply Chain Optimization: A 'Global Inventory Control Tower' consolidated inventory and supplier data into a single dashboard. AI-driven calculation of optimal safety stock levels reduced global inventory by approximately 50% and mitigated stockout risks.
• Autonomous Manufacturing: Agentic AI automated complex software configuration setups, reducing lead time for configure-to-order production by 84%. A 'Real-Time Work Navigator' using AI vision reduced training time for new workers by 80%.

Strategic Impact

Hitachi intends to integrate the AI technologies and insights gained from the Norman facility into HMAX, its next-generation suite of AI-powered solutions. The company aims to accelerate AI Transformation (AX) across the Hitachi Group and for its customers by expanding these initiatives to global production sites, including Hitachi Rail. This 'One Hitachi' approach seeks to strengthen HMAX with proven technologies derived from real-world practice.

The Global Lighthouse Network is a WEF initiative that acknowledges operational sites demonstrating excellence in productivity, supply chain resilience, customer centricity, sustainability, and talent. The Norman facility's inclusion underscores Hitachi's commitment to embedding intelligence into its operations to drive sustainable business growth.

Hitachi, Ltd. announced it will expand its work with OpenAI to accelerate AI-driven modernization and cybersecurity. The collaboration combines OpenAI's frontier AI technology with Hitachi's domain expertise in mission-critical systems and social infrastructure to drive AI transformation (AX) for customers and society.

Legacy System Modernization

The companies' Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) teams will leverage OpenAI's AI agent "Codex" to analyze the source code of mission-critical legacy systems. The goal is to establish an AI-driven modernization approach that supports safe migration through enhanced visibility into system design. Hitachi aims to develop solutions for core system modernization and roll them out sequentially across industries, starting with financial institutions.

Cybersecurity Enhancements

Hitachi plans to access OpenAI's AI models for cybersecurity through OpenAI's "Trusted Access for Cyber (TAC)" initiative. This program, part of OpenAI's Japan Cyber Action Plan, provides advanced AI capabilities to trusted defenders to strengthen cyber resilience in Japan's critical sectors. Under this framework, Hitachi will explore the use of models for defensive purposes such as remediation and validation, with appropriate safeguards and human oversight.

Hitachi's Cyber CoE will act as "Customer Zero," practicing these efforts internally to validate Hitachi-provided systems. The insights gained will be applied to further strengthen cybersecurity capabilities.

Strategic Impact

The insights gained from these initiatives will enhance Hitachi's FDE capabilities in modernization and cybersecurity. The company will further advance HMAX by Hitachi ("HMAX"), its next-generation AI solution suite for social infrastructure. These efforts aim to support customers in building resilient systems and advancing AX in social infrastructure.

Toshiaki Tokunaga, President & CEO of Hitachi, Ltd., emphasized the importance of the collaboration. "Modernizing legacy systems and enhancing security are critical management priorities for all enterprises seeking sustainable growth in the age of AI," he said. Tadao Nagasaki, President of OpenAI Japan, Ltd., added that applying AI to legacy modernization and defensive cybersecurity is essential to strengthening the business foundations of Japanese enterprises.