Arkite strengthens its Industry 4.0 footprint with SAP: A technical partnership enabling fully connected manual operations

Arkite, the Belgian specialist in Augmented Reality–driven Operator Guidance, has entered a strategic partnership with SAP to accelerate the digitalisation of manual assembly processes worldwide. The collaboration originates from Arkite’s participation in the SAP IoT Startup Accelerator Program, where SAP selected five of the most innovative manufacturing startups to jointly industrialise their solutions. This selection advanced Arkite’s platform as a complementary technology inside SAP’s smart manufacturing landscape.

Today, Arkite and SAP are aligned on a joint objective: to deliver a packaged, certified and easily deployable connector between the Arkite Operator Guidance Platform and the SAP Manufacturing Suite. Through this connector, manual workstations become fully integrated nodes in SAP-driven production environments, enabling real-time process control, traceability, quality validation and variant management.

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A partnership built on deep system integration

Modern SAP-based factories depend on real-time orchestration: ERP defines what to produce, MES decides when and where, while Arkite ensures it is produced right, every time, directly on the manual workstation.

Key integration domains

The Arkite Platform supports advanced connectivity with enterprise systems, including SAP, through:

• The Arkite API, used for exchanging production orders, Bill of Materials (BOMs), routing information, resources, consumed quantities and scrap counts.

• Barcode/QR scanning integration, enabling SAP to trigger the right assembly variant in Arkite.

• Client–server architecture, where the Arkite server handles all communication, database storage and integration logic to external IT systems.

• Protocol-level interoperability such as OPC UA, MQTT, HTTP and Modbus for hybrid OT–IT environments.

Typical SAP → Arkite data exchange

When a new job or production order is released in SAP, the following information can be transmitted to an Arkite workstation:

This automated flow ensures that the operator always receives the exact process instructions linked to the active SAP order—no operator input required.

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Projected Augmented Reality: Bringing SAP data into the real world

Arkite uses projected augmented reality to bring SAP-driven digital instructions directly onto the workbench surface, eliminating paper, PDFs or static screens.
Operators see 1:1 projections, pick-by-projection highlights, virtual buttons, dynamic images and CAD/CAM overlays to guide them through the process.

Powerful validation features—enabled by the Arkite 3D Sensor—verify operator actions step-by-step:

• Presence detection

• Picking confirmation

• Sequence enforcement

• Tool usage validation

• Vision-based inspection (ARKITE VISION license)

This transforms SAP instructions into controlled, validated and traceable actions on the shop floor.

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SAP → Arkite → SAP: A closed-loop concept

The collaboration focuses on a bi-directional data flow that closes the loop between planning, execution and analytics.

Outbound data from Arkite back to SAP

Arkite can transmit structured manufacturing data back into SAP MES/MII or SAP Digital Manufacturing:

• Cycle times

• Step durations

• Error type and frequency

• Rework & scrap events

• Operator ID / badge information

• Assembly confirmations

• Torque values and tooling compliance

• Presence/absence validations

• Vision inspection results (for Arkite Vision installations)

This data is already natively available inside Arkite’s logging and dashboarding system and stored through the client–server architecture.

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Packaged and Configurable Connector: Key Technical Principles

The joint development effort with SAP aims to deliver a standardized connector that is:

1. Certified for SAP Manufacturing Suite

Ensuring reliability, compliance and lifecycle support.

2. Configurable rather than custom

Minimal project engineering required. The connector exposes configuration for:

• Mapping of BOM items to Arkite detections

• Mapping of operations to Arkite process steps

• Variant selection logic

• Operator authorization

• User experience levels (junior vs. senior operators)

3. Deployment-ready for large roll-outs

Arkite supports scaling through:

• Central project management with server-based distribution

• Versioning and approval flows for SOP updates

• Workstation cloning based on template configuration

• Multi-language support for global SAP deployments

Large-scale deployments—such as Arkite’s 30+ workstation roll-out for an international manufacturer—illustrate how the configuration-first approach allows rapid replication and maintenance.

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Why SAP customers adopt Arkite

1. Quality assurance inside manual operations

Arkite removes variability by enforcing validated step-by-step execution—critical for industries such as automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical devices. Real customer results show:

• 100% error elimination in multiple aerospace and automotive projects

• 64% scrap reduction in PCB manufacturing

2. Operator-independent production

Through projected AR and automated validation, training time is reduced by up to 50%—ideal for fluctuating workforce availability.

3. Native support for product variants

Arkite loads variant-specific workflows via barcode or API calls from SAP, enabling high-mix/low-volume production.

4. Full traceability for SAP-driven quality workflows

Using Arkite’s logging architecture, manual steps become measurable and auditable.

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A unified vision for the future of smart manufacturing

Arkite’s collaboration with SAP directly supports SAP customers moving towards:

• Full paperless operations

• Connected operator workstations

• Consistent enforcement of SOPs

• Real-time quality control

• Traceable and auditable manual processes

• Seamless integration with MES, ERP and automation layers

This partnership builds a natural bridge between SAP’s digital manufacturing ecosystem and the physical workstation—bringing intelligence, validation and ergonomics into every manual task.

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Conclusion

The Arkite × SAP partnership enables factories to achieve a fully integrated, error-free and data-driven manual assembly environment. By combining SAP’s manufacturing orchestration with Arkite’s AR-guided operator platform, companies gain end-to-end control—from BOM release to final confirmation—supported by real-time validation and actionable production data.

The upcoming Packaged SAP Connector marks a major step towards plug-and-play integration, lowering implementation time and giving SAP manufacturers a direct path to digitised, controlled and traceable manual operations.