AI CROSS Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & CEO: Noriko Harada; hereinafter "AI CROSS") is pleased to announce that its AI demand forecasting and operations service, "Deep Predictor," has been implemented in the inventory ordering operations of IKO International, Inc. (hereinafter "IKO International"), a subsidiary of Nippon Thomson Co., Ltd. that sells mechanical components (bearings and precision equipment) in the US market. This implementation has resulted in approximately a 63% reduction in work hours across all US locations, from 3.8 hours per week to 1.4 hours per week (an annual saving of 124.8 hours). This case study is available on the AI CROSS official website. Structural Challenges in Manufacturing: Labor Shortages, Personalization, and Supply Chain Sophistication According to the "2025 Manufacturing White Paper" (*1) by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the number of workers in the manufacturing industry is projected to further decrease from 10.55 million in 2023 to 10.46 million in 2024, with labor shortages becoming a serious structural issue. The white paper points out that to maintain and improve productivity with limited human resources, it is essential to move away from personalized operations and to standardize and visualize work through DX and AI utilization. Furthermore, manufacturing sites are increasingly facing demands for more sophisticated demand forecasting and inventory optimization, such as responding to high-mix low-volume production, preparing for supply chain disruption risks, and improving operational efficiency at overseas local bases. In particular, for the supply of critical mechanical components that support industries, such as bearings, balancing the avoidance of line stoppages due to stockouts with the suppression of financial burdens from excess inventory has become a management challeng