Companies need to start with two to three segments to improve technology, consultancy says
[SINGAPORE] Companies operating in Southeast Asia welcome the use of artificial intelligence applications in their workflows, as they are seen as tools that enable growth.
At the same time, however, many companies in the region are struggling to scale the adoption of AI within their workflows.
Shintaro Okuno, APAC regional managing partner at Bain & Company, said, “What is common in Southeast Asia is that there is a focus on growth. How can we leverage technology to accelerate growth?”
However, Okuno also noted that despite the excitement, what Bain is seeing in many of the companies it works with is that they are confused by their AI deployments.
According to Bain, less than 20 percent of the companies it works with in Southeast Asia are meaningfully scaling up their AI investments, and two-thirds are stuck in the pilot and planning stages.
Companies in the financial services sector tend to be ahead of other sectors in incorporating the use of AI applications into their workflows.
But companies in other sectors may struggle with AI adoption for a variety of reasons, from wariness about unsystematic deployment to concerns that employees will be reluctant to adopt.
His advice, which Bain also advises its clients, is to pick two or three “commercial initiatives” or segments that could benefit from the use of AI applications and fit business needs, and “dive deep” into those segments.
This means you can successfully scale your implementation from proof of concept.
Mr. Okuno said, “Let’s create a success story. Let’s make two or three of these branches successful. That’s usually the best way to instill confidence at the management and organizational level.”
“This will allow almost everyone to really understand that this is a useful technology, gain more trust, and gain more excitement, making it faster and easier to move to the next use case.”
Mr. Okuno’s views are not isolated.
While the Southeast Asia region is generally seen as embracing AI adoption, there are reports and observations that organizations may be struggling to scale from pilot to production.
Successfully scaling from pilot to production can bring tangible benefits to your organization.
The sector with the greatest potential for time savings is the financial services sector, followed by the consumer and healthcare sectors.
Bain also estimates that successful implementation of AI tools could significantly increase sales for companies in the region.
Where Bain currently sees the most utility for AI tools is in workflows that handle market intelligence, inventory and assortment, pricing and quoting, and guided selling.
Okuno said, “So far, most use cases are aimed at increasing the efficiency and productivity of customer-facing agents. Basically, selling more products.”
