Sanhua One Europe: Bringing AI into Everyday Business

In June this year, the first Sanhua One Europe event was held in Poland. Colleagues from different European countries and business units came together through dialogue and co-creation, deepening mutual understanding and building connections. The event helped establish a shared commitment to strengthening collaboration across Europe.

From building understanding and connections to exploring new ways of working, Sanhua One Europe continues to turn shared perspectives into everyday practice.

In October, the project entered its next phase in Europe. Following the initial event in Poland, Sanhua One Europe moved into Germany, engaging with the European Automotive team in Stuttgart, as well as the Commercial, Microchannel and Leaderway teams in Nuremberg.

As Programme Designer and Facilitator of Sanhua One Europe, Oliver Peng incorporated digitalisation and AI applications into the overall programme design for this phase, extending the project from shared cultural understanding into practical business application. To support this work, Bruce Yang, Sanhua Intelligent Controls’ Overseas IT Director, was invited to join the activities, sharing the Group’s digitalisation experience and exploring practical AI applications in response to the needs of European teams.

The three activities addressed different business environments and priorities: from organisational collaboration and functional applications, to individual ways of working and process improvement, and further to customer needs and product development. Together, they reflected the European teams’ willingness to learn, experiment and collaborate in the age of AI.

01

Stuttgart · Automotive: 

Connecting People and Exploring AI Applications

In Stuttgart, the discussion with the Automotive Europe team began with the connections and collaboration between people, before moving on how people and technology work together in the age of AI.

From the internet connecting the world to AI extending human knowledge and creativity, technology continues to change how we access information, solve problems and work together. Yet introducing new technology does not automatically lead to better work. Real change also depends on how people understand it, how they work, and how organisations collaborate.

Drawing on his experience in organisational development and talent development at Sanhua, Oliver Peng extended the discussion of AI to individual growth, team collaboration and organisational capability. He encouraged participants to consider how they could remain open and proactive in learning, make technology serve real business needs, and turn individual experiments into shared team experience.

One of the themes explored during the session was “AI → 爱” — a reminder that as technology advances, understanding, trust and collaboration between people become even more important. Technology expands what is possible; it is people who decide how to use those possibilities and create value together.

Bruce Yang then introduced examples from the Group’s digitalisation initiatives, highlighting applications of AI across sales, production, warehousing, quality, equipment management and technical R&D.

Examples included sales planning management agents, production execution agents, inventory management systems, equipment lifecycle management platforms and automated technical documentation. These cases demonstrated how AI and automation can support information processing, process management and daily operations when applied to specific business needs.

Bruce also highlighted that digital transformation is not simply about upgrading technology. It involves continuous improvements in workflows, management practices and organisational capabilities. Beyond completing individual tasks, AI can help teams review existing processes and identify opportunities for improvement.

In the following discussion and practical session, colleagues from different functions explored potential applications based on their own work:

· Sales: The team explored potential business agents to support customer development, market intelligence, project progress and commercial decision-making, helping organise information more efficiently, support customer follow-up and improve market responsiveness.

· Sales Support: Colleagues shared ideas for an AI-powered industry news assistant to classify and analyse industry developments, customer information and market trends, supporting market insight and business decisions.

· Digitalisation and Logistics: The team demonstrated an inventory management tool through simulated goods-in and goods-out processes, inventory tracking and planning coordination, exploring opportunities for better inventory visibility and process monitoring.

· Human Resources: The HR team shared two agents built using existing tools, along with plans to expand their knowledge bases to cover more company policies and business processes, making relevant information easier to access and use.

· Finance: Yao Bin, General Manager of EMEA Shared Management Platform, shared potential applications of AI in financial data analysis, management reporting, budget tracking, expense management and operational risk identification. By integrating relevant tools into existing workflows, the finance team can reduce repetitive tasks and devote more time to business analysis and support.

The discussions across different functions demonstrated that there is no single formula for applying AI. Each team has its own priorities and challenges. The key is to start with real business needs, identify opportunities for improvement, test ideas in practice and refine them over time.

02

Nuremberg · Commercial: 

Making AI Part of the Way We Work

On 12 October, taking advantage of the opportunity to bring the team together during Chillventa 2026 in Nuremberg, Sanhua One Europe held an AI learning and exchange session with the European Commercial team.

Building on the overall design of Sanhua One Europe, Programme Designer and Facilitator Oliver Peng planned and coordinated this phase in response to the development needs of the European teams. He invited Bruce Yang, Sanhua Intelligent Controls’ Overseas IT Director, to share the Group’s digitalisation and AI practices through real-world examples, demonstrations and hands-on exercises, encouraging colleagues to explore how AI could support their everyday work.

AI was already familiar to many members of the European Commercial team, who were using various tools in their daily work. However, the session offered an opportunity to look beyond current applications and explore how AI could further improve working methods and business processes.

Turning AI Knowledge into Practical Applications

The workshop focused on practical applications. Through real examples and hands-on exercises, the team explored building assistants for daily communications, developing pricing tools and streamlining business processes. Bruce also shared best practices and training materials to support the team's continued learning and application.

In his reflections after the workshop, Ilan Peleg, General Manager of European Commercial, highlighted two key takeaways:

First, AI is more than another software tool.

As Ilan explained, used well, AI helps teams analyse information faster, structure ideas, automate repetitive tasks and prepare content more efficiently. This frees up time for activities where professional expertise and sound judgement add the greatest value for customers and the business.

Second, results depend on how we use it.

During the workshop, participants refined their questions and adjusted their prompts several times to achieve better outputs. As Ilan observed, learning to communicate clearly with AI is a skill — one that improves with practice, bringing gains in both quality and productivity.

Marie Clavaud, who also took part in the workshop, shared a complementary perspective from her own experience:

“Of course we know about AI, and as we could see during the meeting, most of us use AI on a daily basis, but, we are only ‘scraping the surface’ and the possibilities are endless!”

For Marie, one of the most valuable aspects of the session was the opportunity to step away from daily routines and explore how AI could support and improve the way the team works. Through practical exercises, including creating an assistant to manage daily emails and starting to build a new pricing tool, participants could see how AI might be applied to real work.

She also highlighted that the quality of AI-generated results depends on how users interact with it. Questions and prompts often need to be redefined several times to achieve the expected outcome. With more practice, both the quality of results and the efficiency of using AI can improve significantly.

As Marie reflected:

“For me the most important outcome was the opportunity to exchange ideas and consider how AI could be applied to our own daily activities and processes.”

She noted that the team returned from Nuremberg with new ideas and inspiration, and that colleagues showed strong interest in bringing what they had learned into their day-to-day work.

From Individual Learning to Departmental Improvement

Looking ahead, Ilan said that over the coming months the team would identify practical AI use cases at both individual and departmental levels.

As he put it:

“Our goal is not just to adopt new technology but to work better, increase efficiency, and create measurable value for our customers and our business.”

This will require continuous learning, collaboration and the sharing of best practices. Marie similarly highlighted the importance of dedicating time to putting the learning into practice — not only at the individual user level, but also by changing and improving departmental processes.

Both perspectives point to the same ambition: moving beyond simply using AI tools towards making meaningful improvements in the way the team works.

Ilan expressed his appreciation to Oliver and Bruce for making the training possible and for their commitment to the team's development. Marie also expressed her gratitude for the opportunity and for the thoughtful organisation of the session.

From individual experimentation to improvements in departmental processes, the European Commercial team is exploring how AI can become a practical capability in everyday work.

03

Nuremberg · Microchannel and Leaderway:

From Learning to Co-creating Practical Solutions

Also on 12 October, the European Microchannel and Leaderway teams came together in Nuremberg for an AI learning and exchange session.

Johnny Wang, Sales Director of Microchannel Europe, commented:

“Under the thoughtful organisation and guidance of Oliver Peng and Bruce Yang, team members explored how AI could support information access, data analysis, customer management and improved work efficiency, drawing on their everyday business scenarios. We also learned from and shared successful AI application cases from other business units, broadening our perspectives on how AI can be integrated into real business operations.”

Building on the discussions, the session moved towards practical business applications. The European business team worked with Bruce to map out and co-create an AI-enabled functional module for task decomposition and information summarisation. The aim was to integrate AI into specific workflows and improve the efficiency of information organisation, task summaries and reporting.

The activity also received strong support from the Microchannel Deputy General Manager, Mr Yan. Through cross-team exchange and practical collaboration, the session further strengthened the team's understanding of AI applications and encouraged colleagues to take a more active role in learning and experimentation.

For the Leaderway team, the discussion focused on how AI could connect more closely with frontline sales and product development.

Logan Wang from Leaderway Europe shared some of the insights he gained from the session. He highlighted the participation of Jack, Deputy General Manager of Leaderway Electronics, who joined the discussion and explored with Bruce how AI could support sales management through data visualisation, business chart generation and more refined access controls.

The availability of the Group's AI platform and resources, together with management's attention to applying AI in business, also gave frontline colleagues confidence that technology was being brought closer to real business needs.

Bruce demonstrated the capabilities of the Group's AI platform, including an example in which multiple AI agents worked together to develop a cost-optimisation solution for valve products. This gave Logan Wang a new perspective. Drawing on his experience in developing the European market, Logan began to consider whether similar intelligent collaboration could be introduced into the R&D iteration of Leaderway Electronics' inverters. Could potential issues arising from actual European customer operating conditions be identified earlier, at the solution design stage?

This idea also points to new possibilities for closer collaboration between sales and product development. By identifying customer needs and potential compatibility issues earlier, frontline sales teams could gain a more accurate understanding of customer requirements, improve product proposals and respond more effectively to customised needs. Over time, this could help strengthen product differentiation and support business development in the European heat pump market.

Logan Wang said he hoped to bring the insights and learning from the session back into his daily work, applying AI to customer communication, proposal responses and business development.

04

From Individual Exploration to Team Collaboration

The three activities addressed different business environments and revealed different directions for AI application.

The Automotive team explored how AI could support daily operations across organisational and functional areas.

The Commercial team focused on improving individual ways of working and departmental processes.

The Microchannel and Leaderway teams extended the discussion further into customer needs, sales management and product development.

Despite their different applications, the discussions pointed towards a shared understanding: the value of AI is not limited to completing individual tasks or saving time. It also lies in helping people rethink their workflows, discover new ways to solve problems and make better use of the professional knowledge and experience across different roles and teams.

Throughout the sessions, Bruce encouraged colleagues to embrace new technologies while staying grounded in real business needs — testing whether an application genuinely solves a problem and refining it through practice.

Technology can provide new tools and possibilities. But the people who truly drive change are those who understand the business, recognise problems, try new approaches and continue learning and improving through practice.

From building understanding and connections in Poland in June to engaging with different business teams in Germany in October, Sanhua One Europe is helping turn shared perspectives into everyday practice. Exchanges across countries, business units and functions create opportunities for experience to be shared, adapted and gradually developed into a collective organisational capability.

Culture helps build understanding and trust. Technology creates new possibilities for improving the way we work. Real change happens when people are willing to experiment, collaborate and improve together.

Connecting through dialogue. Building experience through practice. Bringing professional capabilities together to achieve more.

The Sanhua One Europe journey continues.

This article is based on the three activities held in Germany and feedback from participating teams.