Article by Andrew Mamonitis, Vice President – APAC, Manufacturing Division, ECI Software Solutions
Has wondering where and how you should be using AI within your operations become the latest worry to be added to an already long list? If you answered in the affirmative, you’re in good company.
Small and medium-sized manufacturers have had more than their quota of challenges to contend with in recent months, from soaring input and energy costs to skills shortages and the cash flow cruncher that is Payday Super.
Containing costs, combatting competition from companies from lower cost countries and cranking out orders has left many operators with little time to explore what this headline grabbing technology has to offer and even less to devote to pursuing potentially risky and expensive AI deployments.
Homing in on less obvious opportunities to use AI
Part of this reluctance stems from the erroneous perception that high tech initiatives must be focused first and foremost on the factory floor – on the acquisition of autonomous machinery, advanced robotics and the like.
While such investments may result in compelling productivity gains, they can come with hefty price tags, putting them out of reach for hard pressed local businesses that aren’t in the position to drop seven or eight figures on new plant and equipment at this time.
The good news is, there are plenty of other less obvious – and less expensive – opportunities for manufacturers with modest budgets to begin using AI, without first having to hire a team of highly paid data scientists to kickstart the process.
The back office can be a good place to start the adoption journey. For many Australian manufacturers, it’s an area of operations that remains replete with manual and semi manual processes, with all the repetition, inefficiency and risk of introduced errors they entail.
Exploring affordable AI use cases that add practical value
Take requests for quotes and purchase orders for example. Entering them into a business system manually can take hours of painstaking work on the part of a data entry clerk.
Deploy an AI assistant that can extract and order the relevant information from customers’ paperwork quickly and accurately, flagging anomalies and instances where data is incomplete as it goes, and it’s a very different story.
AI assistants can also make short work of ingesting equipment manuals, service bulletins and the like into company systems and databases, and enable employees to extract information from these knowledge banks at speed. Rather than combing through mountains of documentation, employees are able to ask for what they need in simple terms and receive an almost instantaneous response.
Use cases such as these share a key feature: they’re centred around low value tasks that consume hours of employees’ time, time that could be better spent on activities that contribute to customer satisfaction and growth.
The benefits of embedded AI
The method by which AI is deployed can make a big difference to its uptake and effectiveness. Adding it to the tech stack as a standalone application may be expedient and cost effective but not if it’s viewed by workers as yet another piece of software they’re required to master.
Embedding AI seamlessly into employees’ existing workflows is a better way to go because it means they don’t need to become ‘AI experts’ to derive value from the technology. Rather, AI can be treated as the tool that it is – a powerful aid that relieves workers of repetitive and laborious manual tasks and enables them to get more done.
An effective way to embed AI is via an AI-powered ERP system. Once operational and financial data is consolidated into a single source of truth that facilitates oversight of every aspect of operations, it can be accessed by AI agents trained to carry out a gamut of tasks, in the back office and on the shop floor.
It’s an AI adoption strategy that’s straightforward, safe and likely to yield measurable returns fast.
Setting your manufacturing business up for a smarter future
AI can deliver vital gains for small and mid-sized manufacturers, at a time when improving productivity and containing costs has never been more important. AI powered ERP software makes it possible to enjoy the benefits, while eschewing the risk and expense of an open ended AI program. If that’s a priority in 2027, it’s time to start planning your adoption journey.
