SAGE Group launches TilliT digital manufacturing operations business

SAGE Group has announced that it is launching its TilliT SaaS and IoT service as a separate business, as well as the acquisition of Adelaide-based AI software company Ailytic.

The launch of the TilliT technology business forms part of a strategic expansion for SAGE Group to deliver software as a service (SaaS) and associated IoT hardware solutions for customers across the broader manufacturing industry.

SAGE Group Managing Director and CEO Adrian Fahey sees this as an exciting step in the company strategy and one that meets continued demand for agile software solutions and lightweight sensors in line with the accelerating transition to Industry 4.0.

“SAGE continues to invest in the evolution of our offering to clients, operating across the sectors that are shaping the world, to accelerate their digitalisation journey,” said Fahey. “TilliT will be a standalone organisation within the SAGE Group, bringing together two existing software products — TilliT Digital Operations and the Ailytic AI Scheduler — to enable us to continue focus on the development of smart manufacturing solutions.”

TilliT Digital Manufacturing Operations platform

The company says the TilliT SaaS and IoT solution is a powerful yet simple-to-implement digital factory suite tailored to manufacturers of all sizes. It provides an integrated way to plan, execute and analyse manufacturing processes orchestrating people, machines, material and tasks. It provides visibility of asset and manufacturing line performance, directs the execution of events and orchestrates activities necessary to manufacture any type of finished good. It also handles quality checks, production scheduling and digital workflow with a focus on real-time visibility.

SAGE says that feedback from TilliT customers has been positive. TilliT was incubated within Nukon, a consulting company within the group. Key architects and Nukon founders Alec Konynenberg and Rafael Amaral have decades of experience in understanding firsthand the challenges facing manufacturers when looking to increase efficiency, reduce costs and optimise operations. This hands-on learning drove the development of a new approach to digitalising production processes and removing paper from the shop floor.

Nukon remains a key implementation partner of the solution and represents the first of many distribution and implementation partners TilliT is targeting globally. Amaral is moving across to TilliT as the Chief Technology Officer and will drive an accelerated roadmap to build on the current released tech platform.

Ailytic to sit within the new TilliT business

The Ailytic AI Scheduler is a tool for optimising detailed schedules in food and beverage, plastics, steel manufacture, electronics and other discrete industries. The tool is already used by a diverse range of Australian and global manufacturers. Ailytic founder James Balzary will head up the TilliT business in the role of Chief Executive Officer.

“This is an exciting step for the team, which will allow us to enter new markets, build new channel relationships, and ultimately service current and future clients with an expanding portfolio of innovative software technologies,” said Balzary. “The newly expanded TilliT platform can operate standalone between the ERP and the machine control layer to digitalise the operation, or co-exist with existing tools in place due to its flexibility and ease of deployment as a cloud solution.”

Image: TilliT Chief Executive Officer James Balzary and SAGE Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Adrian Fahey.