In this blog, we continue the conversation with Raffaello Lepratti, Global VP of Industrial Manufacturing at Mendix, to explore how Agentic AI is reshaping industrial operations end to end. With 25 years of experience across manufacturing, operations, and engineering—and deep expertise in human‑machine collaboration—Raffaello breaks down where Agentic AI is delivering real impact today, from proactive design optimization and predictive maintenance to resilient, adaptive supply chains.

In this Q&A, he also explains how Mendix and Siemens Xcelerator work together to embed Agentic AI directly into industrial workflows—connecting systems, breaking down silos, and keeping humans firmly in the loop as manufacturers build the next generation of intelligent, adaptive value chains.

Agentic AI and the value chain

Let’s talk about Agentic AI in industrial or manufacturing. What areas of the value chain are you seeing organizations improve with Agentic AI? Can you give a specific example?

Rafaello Lepratti (RL): Agentic AI is revolutionizing how manufacturing organizations optimize, automate, and adapt across the industrial value chain. By “Agentic AI,” we mean systems capable of proactively assisting users through reasoning, decision-making, and context-aware workflows. This is especially impactful in industries where complexity and precision are non-negotiable, such as aerospace and heavy equipment.

Agentic AI can provide measurable improvements across almost all phases of the value chain. Here are some of the most prominent areas (pick what best could fit in your opinion)

Design and engineering: 

• Proactive Design Optimization: AI helps engineers design and validate products faster by predicting performance in real-world scenarios. 
• Generative Design: AI can suggest innovative product designs based on desired performance, materials, and manufacturing constraints, enabling lightweight, cost-efficient structures.

Production processes & quality control: 

• Predictive Maintenance: AI predicts when machinery or tools require maintenance to avoid unplanned downtime and maintain productivity. 
• End-to-End Workflow Automation: Agentic AI integrates production workflows, ensuring seamless data exchange between PLM (Product Lifecycle Management), MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems), and SCM (Supply Chain Management). 
• Non-Convergence (NC) Detection: AI-driven systems continuously monitor for defects or deviations on shop floors, enabling real-time quality control.

Supply chain and procurement: 

• Dynamic Supply Chain Optimization: AI adjusts procurement, logistics, and distribution strategies in real time to navigate disruptions such as raw material shortages or delivery delays. 
• Risk Assessment: AI helps manufacturers identify risks such as supplier reliability issues or geopolitical concerns before they impact operations.

The adoption of Agentic AI is enabling manufacturers to rethink traditional silos and drive agility into their workflows. Whether it’s leveraging AI-driven insights to improve quality, managing supply chain disruptions, or ensuring uptime through predictive maintenance, the benefits ripple across the industrial landscape. 

Manufacturers embracing Agentic AI are designing the future. If an organization hasn’t already begun adopting Agentic AI, it is time to explore its potential for your value chain.

Agentic AI with Mendix and Siemens

How can Mendix and Siemens help organizations with Agentic AI?

RL: Mendix and Siemens combine to deliver Agentic AI solutions within the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, enabling organizations to adapt and extend their digital ecosystems. Siemens Xcelerator acts as the agentic toolkit, with specialized agents tailored to address engineering and manufacturing tasks (e.g., design optimization, production scheduling, quality management). Mendix serves as the agentic orchestration layer, empowering companies to create, adapt, and manage end-to-end workflows that span diverse personas and domains, meaning from engineering to manufacturing and beyond, including supply chain and business operations and combining data from Siemens and 3rd party systems.

This approach allows organizations to seamlessly connect and tailor processes to specific workflows across systems like Teamcenter, Opcenter, Capital and Polarion.  Leverage AI to provide dynamic, context-aware support for decision-making, automation, and collaboration. Break silos by enabling non-technical and technical personas alike to contribute through low-code and conversational AI tools.

Mendix and Siemens Xcelerator enable manufacturers to build connected, adaptive systems that turn complex processes into streamlined, AI-driven workflows, driving agility and innovation across the value chain.

Don’t forget the human in the loop aspect.