Nexans is a global leader in electrification, connecting the places where energy is generated with the places where it is consumed. With more than 28,000 employees across 40 countries, the Group provides cable systems and complete solutions that support energy transition and sustainable electrification.
As part of its long-term business transformation, Nexans first launched the SHIFT program to improve performance across its activities. Building on this foundation, the Group initiated SHIFT AI to leverage data and artificial intelligence as core business performance drivers. To define its global AI strategy and industrialize data at scale, Nexans partnered with Artefact and Databricks to design a 2028 AI vision, establish a unified data platform, and deploy strong data governance.
“With SHIFT AI, our ambition is to use 90% of the data available to accelerate and amplify the impact of the program. Data is a hidden asset.” – Guillaume Eymery, Chief Strategy, Innovation and Digital Officer & Member of Excom at Nexans
Challenge: Structuring data and AI to support business transformation at scale
Nexans carried out a successful business transformation (SHIFT) thanks in part to increased data usage. Previously, teams used only 5% of the group’s data, but today that figure stands at 20%.
Building on this success, Nexans decided to amplify the impact of data and AI through the SHIFT AI program, with a goal of using 90% of the data.
In parallel, the company also needed to:
- Assess its current data and AI maturity
- Define a long-term strategic vision aligned with their business priorities
- Identify and prioritize high-value AI use cases
- Increase flexibility across the value chain, from pricing to delivery
- Balance growth, sustainability, and economic performance
Solution: A state-of-the-art Databricks platform with AI and generative AI capabilities
The close collaboration between Artefact’s teams and those of Nexans, coupled with the data-driving efficiency of the Databricks’ platform, enabled the transformation of operational challenges into scalable AI solutions.
The teams worked across two complementary workstreams to design Nexans’ 2028 AI vision and roadmap, and to deploy a centralized data platform and governance framework.
1) Design of Nexans’ 2028 AI vision and business roadmap
Artefact supported Nexans in conducting a comprehensive assessment of their existing data assets and architecture, as well as their tools and platforms, organizational maturity, and their ongoing data and AI initiatives. Based on their analysis, the teams:
- Identified 70+ data, BI, and AI use cases across business functions
- Prioritized 25 strategic use cases for the 2028 horizon
- Already deployed five use cases in 2025
Key transformation areas include complexity reduction, dynamic pricing and market sizing, costing optimization, advanced customer segmentation, and operational efficiency and supply chain performance.
2) Deployment of the Databricks data platform and governance framework
To support large-scale deployment, a centralized data platform was designed and implemented using Azure Databricks as the core technology.
The platform includes:
- A fully interoperable architecture connected to Nexans’ core systems
- Embedded AI and generative AI capabilities
- A marketplace of trusted, reusable data assets, co-built with business teams
- Enterprise-grade data governance, quality management, and monitoring
- A dedicated operating model structured across multiple data domains
Results: A scalable data and AI operating model already delivering business value
The unified and governed data platform now structures Nexans’ data across nine business domains, five of which are being activated. Core platform enablers have been deployed, including architecture, data, and AI stack, monitoring, and data quality.
To date, the platform has delivered more than 150 core data assets, with over 25 business stakeholders onboarded, enabling the creation of additional enterprise data assets and empowering teams to run autonomous, data-driven analyses at scale. Adoption is underway across Sales, Finance, Purchasing, and Supply Chain business units.
On the operational side, more than five use cases have been developed on the Databricks platform, with another five in the pipeline. Several AI use cases were already deployed in 2025, and 25 strategic use cases have been prioritized for 2028, directly supporting:
- Pricing and margin optimization
- Cost control and profitability
- Operational efficiency
- Customer performance and engagement
- Supply chain performance
Between the SHIFT AI program and the new data platform, Nexans is moving from limited data usage to large-scale data-driven operations. Their objective is to progressively leverage up to 90% of usable enterprise data to support decision-making and performance.
Conclusion: An industrial AI strategy aligned with long-term business performance
Artefact teams worked directly with Nexans’ business and IT teams to translate operational challenges into scalable AI solutions. Thanks to their close collaboration, they:
- Defined a clear 2028 global AI vision
- Built a centralized, governed, scalable data platform
- Structured a robust data and AI operating model
- Prioritized and deployed high-value AI use cases
- Positioned data as a core business performance asset
Nexans now operates with an industrial-grade data and AI framework that directly supports long-term business performance, operational excellence, and sustainability objectives. Today, data is managed as a strategic asset embedded in Nexans’ core business operations.
“What really made the difference was Artefact’s ability to work closely with our teams, ensuring adoption, knowledge transfer, and alignment across the organization. In short, Artefact helped Nexans move faster and smarter – turning our data and AI vision into something practical and value-driven.” – Guillaume Eymery
