IT-Enterprise joins European WASABI project to develop AI assistant for GIPANIS footwear manufacturing
IT-Enterprise, footwear manufacturer GIPANIS, the Sustainable Development Agency ASTAR, and EDIH* Clotex Hub are combining their expertise as part of the European WASABI project to deploy an AI assistant directly within the footwear manufacturing process. The solution is designed to help footwear and light-industry manufacturers reduce production waste, monitor process parameters, and improve energy efficiency.
The project is being implemented under the EU’s Horizon Europe programme as part of the CIRC-SHOE experiment, which involves deploying a digital AI assistant — AI-WVMA (AI Waste Valorization & Monitoring Assistant) — on the EVA component production line at GIPANIS in Ukraine.
Within the project, GIPANIS serves as the industrial partner and test site for validating the AI solution in real-world production conditions. IT-Enterprise is responsible for ERP integration and analytics, while ASTAR and EDIH CLOTEX HUB support digital transformation and the dissemination of the project’s results.
“What makes WASABI particularly valuable is that it brings together the interests of all project partners. For GIPANIS, it is a practical tool that addresses real production challenges today. For ASTAR, it is a tangible example of digital transformation that can be shared with businesses across the region. And for IT-Enterprise, it is an opportunity to advance AI technologies using real industrial data. That is why we see this project as a model that could be scaled across the industry,” says Oleksandr Ochkasov, Head of AI Projects at IT-Enterprise.
From production monitoring to data-driven management
EVA footwear manufacturing faces a number of challenges typical of the light industry, including fluctuations in process parameters, limited real-time analytics, product defects, significant volumes of production waste, and high energy consumption.
At GIPANIS, an KCLKA EK3–6E2 injection moulding machine is used to manufacture soles, insoles, clogs, boots, and other footwear components. Deviations in temperature, pressure, injection volume, and other process parameters can result in defects and additional costs.
EVA waste is another major challenge. Sprues, offcuts, and non-conforming products are often disposed of or sold at low value due to a lack of systematic monitoring and analytics, rather than being identified for potential reuse.
This is why CIRC-SHOE has relevance beyond a single manufacturing site. If successfully validated, the model could become a practical example of how AI can support resource efficiency in the light industry and be adapted to other manufacturing processes.
AI assistant: from monitoring to production support
As part of CIRC-SHOE, IT-Enterprise is developing AI-WVMA, a digital AI assistant for EVA footwear component manufacturing. Its role is to turn production data into actionable insights for process engineers, operators, and maintenance personnel.
The assistant collects data from the production process, monitors key parameters, identifies deviations, and alerts the relevant employees. As more data is accumulated, the AI assistant will be able not only to detect deviations but also to identify patterns, anticipate potential issues, and help teams respond more quickly.
The production value of this approach lies in reducing the “reaction gap” between the moment a problem occurs and the moment it is detected. Instead of discovering a deviation only after defects or excessive resource consumption have already occurred, AI works with production data in real time.
For the business, this means fewer defects and instances of unplanned downtime, more efficient use of raw materials and energy, and greater process stability. At the same time, AI-WVMA does not control equipment autonomously. It remains a monitoring and decision-support tool, while responsibility for operational and technological decisions remains with people.
Impact beyond a single production site
The potential impact of CIRC-SHOE extends beyond a single manufacturing company. Economically, the solution can help light-industry businesses reduce production costs, raw material losses, and energy consumption without requiring a major overhaul of their manufacturing operations.
From an environmental perspective, the project supports a shift from simply disposing of EVA waste towards systematically tracking and reusing it, reducing waste volumes as well as the associated resource use and carbon footprint.
The project also has an important intellectual impact: it promotes a new approach to manufacturing in which process decisions are based not only on the experience of specialists but also on data, AI analytics, and predictive insights.
The ability to adapt and scale this approach across other light-industry manufacturers makes the experiment a potential industry precedent. In particular, the project is considering expanding the solution to an additional 8–12 Ukrainian companies over the next two years.
WASABI is a European project focused on the practical adoption of digital and AI solutions by SMEs to improve efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness. One of its experiments, CIRC-SHOE, focuses on developing an AI assistant for footwear manufacturing. The project is implemented under the EU’s Horizon Europe programme and aims to demonstrate how artificial intelligence can be applied in manufacturing environments across different countries and industries.
IT-Enterpriseis a Ukrainian product IT company with more than 35 years of experience supporting the digital transformation of major companies across the real economy. Its customers include Interpipe, Ferrexpo, Nibulon, DTEK, Ukroboronprom, Ukrposhta, Ukrnafta, Ukrzaliznytsia, and other leading Ukrainian organisations. Since the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the IT-Enterprise team, together with government institutions, has been delivering critical projects for Ukraine, including humanitarian aid accounting, the restoration of procurement processes, and support for business relocation. Oleh Shcherbatenko, Co-Founder and CEO of IT-Enterprise, is a long-standing advocate of Industry 4.0 and 5.0 approaches and technologies. Since 2014, IT-Enterprise has been developing its AI infrastructure and has delivered more than 40 Industrial AI implementation projects. Its portfolio includes more than 1,450 completed projects across MilTech, agriculture, energy, retail, manufacturing, financial services, and banking.