“This is where the rubber meets the road” is a phrase we toss around often. At Michelin, the 2nd largest tire manufacturer in the world, it’s not just a metaphor. It’s their literal strategy; embedding over 200 AI use cases directly into operations to modernize core business processes.
One standout initiative is IRIS, Michelin’s in-house AI solution for the end-of-line visual tire inspection. Traditionally a manual intensive process, it now uses AI to flag potential defective tires, freeing up human experts to focus on final judgment rather than repetitive tasks.
Other use cases span demand-forecasting, stockout detection, and manufacturing performance prediction, all woven into day-to-day operations, not just experimental pilots.
It’s also refreshing to see Michelin’s commitment to responsible AI: designing people-centric systems, ensuring explainability where it matters, and clearly assigning accountability for each decision process.
A few insights from Ambica Rajagopal, Chief Data and AI Officer at Michelin:
- Absorb complexity, improve decisions. The goal is to use AI to absorb complexity and enhance decision-making. The ability of AI to model complex processes and detect predictive signals is helping us maximize value for customers, employees, and partners.
- AI as a co-pilot. We see a lot of applications where AI will act as a copilot, augmenting human intelligence, and decision-making, not replacing them.
- Real results with GenAI. Michelin is already gaining traction with generative AI: document processing in the tax department, social listening in marketing, and root-cause analysis in manufacturing.
- Culture of enablement: Employees understand the power of data and their role in creating value and supporting the business strategy.
- Tangible ROI: Michelin’s AI programs now deliver over €50M+ annually, with 30–40% year-over-year growth over the past three years.
Thanks to @Thomas H. Davenport and @Randy Bean in publishing “Accelerating Manufacturing Innovation at Michelin with Data and AI,” MIT Sloan Management Review. We appreciate @Ambica Rajagopal’s sharing of her insights.