Empowering smart manufacturing and innovation with AI PCs

A leading automotive firm partnered with HCLTech, Intel and Dell to deploy AI PCs for 30,000+ users, enabling edge insights, streamlined IT and cross-functional innovation across global operations.
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A leading automotive subsidiary sought to equip its 30,000+ workforce across , manufacturing and corporate functions for a data-intensive, AI-driven future. Partnering with HCLTech, Intel and , the organization deployed Dell AI PCs powered by Core™ Ultra processors with integrated NPUs, alongside Intel vPro® platform capabilities. HCLTech led a multi-phase rollout emphasizing persona-driven planning, zero-touch deployment and AI enablement. The initiative delivered real-time insights at the edge, streamlined IT operations and fostered cross-functional collaboration—driving efficiency, innovation and sustainability across factory floors and corporate offices.

The Challenge

The client faced several interrelated challenges like:

Challenge
  • Supporting data-intensive workloads for simulations and predictive maintenance
  • Enabling local AI inferencing to keep sensitive data on-premises
  • Ensuring real-time insights in manufacturing operations
  • Optimizing IT management for a hybrid workforce spread across multiple sites
  • Fostering seamless collaboration across distributed teams
  • Legacy devices and manual provisioning processes led to slow rollout times
  • Reliance on cloud-only AI models raised latency, cost and compliance concerns
  • Ensuring hardware security, device stability and scalable management at scale was critical

The Objective

Objective
  • Enable real-time analytics and productivity across engineering, design and factory operations with local AI inference
  • Optimize IT operations by implementing remote management, automated provisioning and streamlined patching
  • Minimize dependency on cloud for sensitive AI workloads by leveraging on-device inferencing
  • Enhance collaboration across distributed teams through intelligent productivity tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot)
  • Align device strategy with sustainability and total cost of ownership (TCO) goals, ensuring the right configurations per persona
Empowering smart manufacturing and innovation with AI PCs

The Solution

Dell Latitude and Precision AI PCs powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra processors with integrated NPUs, coupled with Intel vPro® for hardware-enhanced security and manageability, formed the foundation. HCLTech orchestrated a persona-driven, multi-phase rollout:

Solution
  • Persona-based planning: Telemetry-driven mapping of job roles to optimal device configurations (CPU/GPU balance, battery life considerations)
  • Zero-touch deployment: Leveraging Intel Endpoint Management Assistant (EMA) for remote provisioning, asset tracking and automated patching across hybrid locations
  • Local AI enablement: Integrating Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 with on-device inferencing to accelerate simulations, document summarization and generative design annotations without exposing sensitive data externally
  • Edge AI integration: Deployed edge AI agents on factory systems for real-time anomaly detection, quality checks and machine diagnostics. HCLTech conducted live sandbox sessions and “AI in a day” workshops to drive adoption
  • Training and change management: Role-specific training tracks for engineers, operations staff, IT teams, HR and finance, ensuring hands-on experience with AI PC capabilities and new workflows
  • Phased rollout and support: Coordinated deployment of over 8,000 Dell AI PCs across plants, R&D centers and offices with minimal disruption; provided ongoing support and feedback loops to refine configurations and usage

The Impact

Impact
  • Provisioning time reduced by up to 15% with out-of-the-box AI PC readiness
  • Downtime decreased at monitored stations through real-time anomaly detection and predictive maintenance
  • Simulation cycles shortened by 15–20% using on-device inferencing and copilot-enhanced workflows
  • Copilot adoption increased within 90 days, boosting cross-functional productivity
  • Edge cloud dependency reduced by offloading 5–10% of AI workloads locally, improving data compliance and reducing costs
  • Support ticket volume dropped by 5–10% due to reduced break-fix

Intel services used

  • Intel® Core™ Ultra Processors with Integrated NPUs
  • Intel vPro® Platform
  • Intel Endpoint Management Assistant (EMA)
  • Intel Hardware Security Technologies
  • Intel-optimized Edge AI solutions
  • Intel Developer and partner university resources