"Artificial intelligence (AI) is almost impossible to ignore in SMEs as a tool to collect data and maintain competitive advantage over competitors," says Hans Oeges, account manager at Pegamento. AI is a tool for making improvements to certain processes that can have a direct impact on the company's bottom line. With the proper implementation of AI, you can gain a huge advantage over your competitors. "For example, we were able to build a great solution for Carglass, and at Bakkerij Amstelveld they now use AI to assess the bread rolls coming out of the oven for quality. That drastically reduces waste," Oeges said.
Before we implement AI at a company, we first engage in extensive discussions. This intake is necessary to know where the tool can add value. Not every process is eligible for AI. Therefore, a brainstorming session with a knowledgeable party is a must.
There are 3 reasons why SMEs should implement AI
"The first reason is that every company benefits from management information that often stems from business process optimisation. That information comes from data sources and data that often already exist but that are not, or not sufficiently, utilised," says Oeges. AI can gather this information, allowing processes to be optimised or the existing processes to be overturned.
The second reason to deploy AI in a business is its ability to properly anticipate events. Often, information flows in in a fragmented way from various internal and external channels. AI can aggregate this information and make connections, make interpretations and, where appropriate, make decisions that deviate from the standard business rules.
Next, you can immediately put AI to good operational use to make optimisation moves. There are numerous 'down to earth' applications for using AI. "For example," says Hans Oeges, "by automatically matching a damage report with a previous damage report relating to the same car. The report can then be handled fully automatically, which saves FTE deployment."
The question is no longer whether you should implement AI, but when you should implement AI to remain competitive.
The municipality of Amsterdam already uses AI for its customer contact centre (CCC). This allows them to better serve customers and to increase customer satisfaction. "Not only that, but they can also handle significantly more work with fewer people," says the account manager.
Many people still talk about 'having to do something with AI', but that mainly remains talk. Truly innovative parties have already applied AI, giving them a huge competitive edge. The momentum for AI is now.
Published by Hét Ondernemersbelang
Artificial intelligence within my organisation?
Pegamento has been implementing AI for over two years now, in various ways and in various orders of magnitude at companies in all kinds of sectors. In this white paper, we discuss our findings, recommendations, and implementation strategies.
