For more than four decades, QAD has quietly built its global reputation by focusing on one thing: manufacturing. While many ERP platforms evolved as broad enterprise solutions serving multiple industries, QAD chose a different path: designing technology specifically for manufacturers. Today, the company supports a strong ecosystem of automotive Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, industrial manufacturers, food and beverage companies, and medical manufacturing enterprises across global markets.
During an exclusive interaction with Machine Maker, Amit Sharma shared how the company is now strengthening its India presence with a new innovation and R&D centre in Pune, focused heavily on AI-driven manufacturing solutions. Amit, who spent nearly two decades at SAP before joining QAD eight months ago, explained that India will play a critical role in the company’s future technology roadmap.
“QAD has been in the market for 40 years, predominantly focused on manufacturing,” said Amit Sharma. “Close to 35–40% of our customers are Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive suppliers. If you have sat in a car in the US, there is a high possibility that many of its components were manufactured using QAD ERP systems.”
According to him, the company’s strongest verticals include automotive, industrial manufacturing, food and beverage, and medical manufacturing. Unlike horizontal ERP platforms designed for multiple industries, QAD’s approach is deeply manufacturing-centric.
“Our ERP is not very generic per se,” he explained. “It is designed specifically for the workforce and operational challenges manufacturers face.”
Beyond ERP: Redzone and AI-led Manufacturing Intelligence
Amit highlighted that QAD’s manufacturing ecosystem today extends beyond ERP. One of its major platforms is Redzone, a connected workforce solution focused on improving shopfloor productivity, OEE, compliance, and workforce engagement.
“What Redzone does is focus on the person behind the machine,” he said. “How do you deliver more productivity, more compliance, and more output from the workforce on the shopfloor?”
The third strategic pillar for QAD is AI-driven manufacturing intelligence. The company is developing advanced capabilities focused on real manufacturing problems such as:
– Purchase price variation
– Inventory optimisation
– Scheduling and planning
– Lead time reduction
– Operational decision-making
“These are agentic AI capabilities designed around the problems manufacturing personas face, both on the shopfloor and in the back office,” Amit explained.
Pune to Drive Global AI Innovation for QAD
The newly inaugurated Pune centre represents a strategic shift for QAD in India. While the company has had a presence in India for nearly 20 years, primarily through Mumbai operations, the Pune facility will serve as a dedicated AI innovation and R&D centre.
“The objective of this centre is to shift our focus more towards delivering innovation via AI,” Amit said. “Seventy to eighty percent of the AI capabilities we are building globally will happen from this centre.”
The move reflects a larger global trend where India is increasingly becoming a hub for engineering, AI research, and manufacturing technology innovation. With Pune already established as one of India’s strongest automotive and industrial manufacturing ecosystems, the city provides a natural environment for QAD’s manufacturing-focused AI ambitions.
QAD’s Mid-Market Manufacturing Strategy
One of the most interesting insights from the interaction was Amit Sharma’s comparison between QAD and traditional large-scale ERP deployments. Drawing from his 19 years at SAP, he explained that QAD is specifically designed for the mid-market manufacturing segment rather than ultra-large enterprises.
“Our ideal customer is the supplier ecosystem around the OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers,” he said. “Typically, companies in the range of $200 million to $5 billion.”
According to Amit, many manufacturing MSMEs and mid-sized industrial companies struggle with the complexity, cost, and implementation timelines associated with large horizontal ERP platforms.
“Why should a mid-market manufacturer first buy a horizontal solution and then spend huge money making it work for manufacturing?” he asked. “We are vertically focused only on manufacturing, which allows faster implementation, sometimes even in four to eight months.”
This positioning could become increasingly relevant in India as manufacturing MSMEs adopt digitalisation, smart manufacturing, AI-driven planning, and connected shopfloor technologies.
India Emerging as a Manufacturing Technology Hub
QAD’s investment in Pune is another indicator of how India is no longer viewed as a strategic innovation destination for global manufacturing technology companies. The company already serves customers across India and Southeast Asia, with growing engagements in markets such as Vietnam and Thailand. Amit also mentioned QAD’s “Champions of Manufacturing” customer initiative, which brings together manufacturing leaders and technology partners across regions.
As global manufacturing transitions towards AI-enabled operations, predictive planning, connected workforce systems, and intelligent supply chains, companies like QAD are positioning India at the centre of this transformation.
For Pune’s manufacturing ecosystem, the new innovation centre represents how India’s engineering talent, manufacturing depth, and digital capabilities are increasingly shaping the future of global industrial technology.
