Show Notes
How do you get real returns from AI in a complex manufacturing operation? Tal Rozenberg is CEO of RH Group, Israel's leading contract electronics manufacturer, serving medical devices, aerospace, defense and green tech. RH runs more than 15,000 SKUs, 25,000 active purchase orders and a base of over 1,000 suppliers, with sites on three continents.
Tal walks through RH's AI journey in specific, practical detail, including how AI agents that work inside the tools buyers already use (Excel) cut the time buyers spend on tactical supplier follow-ups by more than 60%, improved supplier past-dues by over 40%, and increased confirmed order lines by 15%.
In This Episode
- How RH started its AI journey in 2023 with a cross-functional learning group, from executives to line workers
- The framework: business problem first, technology second, adoption with people in mind
- Why most of RH's early pilots failed, and how the successes paid for the losses
- How RH decides whether to build AI tools in-house or buy from vendors
- Building toward a unified data set, with separate tools for each function on top
- What's next: physical AI, humanoid robots and dexterity on a high-mix, low-volume line
- Three lessons for getting out of pilot limbo: involve operators from day one, manage expectations, and fix the process before you build
- Lessons from international expansion and M&A
- Why supply chain resilience is the most overlooked factor for companies in defense, AI hardware and data centers
If you run a complex manufacturing operation and are deciding where AI fits, this episode shows what a process-first approach looks like in practice.
Chapters
- 0:00 Preview
- 0:18 Introduction
- 1:39 How RH Group manages a highly complex operation
- 2:33 Starting the AI journey with a cross-functional learning group
- 5:03 AI agents in the supply chain: 60% less buyer time on follow-ups
- 8:50 How to get a whole organization on board with AI
- 16:17 Choosing which pilots to bet on
- 20:12 Build vs. buy
- 24:52 Building a unified data set
- 31:02 Physical AI and the biggest challenges now
- 34:45 Three lessons for escaping pilot limbo
- 39:23 How broad experience shapes decision-making
- 41:42 Lessons from international expansion and M&A
- 47:00 Why supply chain is the most overlooked factor
- 50:46 Closing
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