AI consulting for businesses:
Integrating AI effectively and making the most of it
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, there’s one topic you can’t have missed: artificial intelligence. AI is fundamentally changing the economy and the world of work. However, the pioneers are often large corporations that are already investing heavily. Small and medium-sized enterprises tend to be more uncertain and are almost always left out of the discussion.
Current surveys show that around 30 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises now use AI technologies. Around 40 percent want to invest within the next 18 months. And there are still some companies that have not yet looked into AI at all.
It is important to note that not everything has to be automated with AI, but ignoring the potential that AI offers is not the best strategy either. Instead, it makes sense to use the new technologies in a targeted manner where they offer the greatest added value. We show you the opportunities, challenges, and why AI consulting is a logical first step for medium-sized companies.
Potential & use cases: Where can artificial intelligence add value?
When we talk about artificial intelligence, it is important to make a distinction. The areas of application for AI are almost unlimited; you will find a possible AI solution for every area of your company. However, this does not mean that every application scenario is really suitable for your individual requirements. First, here are a few examples to give you an impression:
- Production (e.g., process automation, productivity increases, intelligent data management and data analysis solutions)
- Logistics (e.g., optimization and automation of supply chain management, inventory management, transport, and warehouse management)
- Data management (e.g., automatic consolidation, analysis, and organization of data sets for efficient further processing)
- Software engineering (e.g., developing software more efficiently, comprehensively identifying requirements, automating code generation, testing, and validation)
- Prototyping (e.g., AI-supported designs and idea generation, simulation, validation, and error analysis, as well as optimization suggestions)
- Sales (e.g., automation of sales processes, efficient lead generation, use of chatbots with personalized responses)
- Marketing (e.g., AI-supported content creation, optimization of advertising messages and newsletters)
- Accounting (e.g., automatic document recognition or booking processes through to AI-supported ERP systems, analyses, reports, and forecasts)
- Customer service (e.g., chatbots for round-the-clock availability, cost reduction, and support relief, analysis of optimization potential)
- Human resources (e.g., automation of selected recruiting processes, creation of training materials and training for new employees)
If we take a step back from the specific areas of application, we arrive at two common denominators in all application scenarios: AI makes processes more efficient and saves resources. This includes costs, but also personnel expenses, which should not be underestimated in view of the shortage of skilled workers.
However, it is important that you do not take a scattergun approach, but rather use AI in your company where efficiency gains and cost reductions can be demonstrably achieved. However, many companies find it difficult to identify these areas without prior experience.
The first important argument in favor of professional AI consulting is therefore that you gain a valid impression of where AI makes the most sense and where the priorities should lie in your company.
Challenges of artificial intelligence: Consulting helps you overcome them
You guessed it – the use of artificial intelligence promises great potential, but there are also some challenges. In many companies, the fear of these challenges is so great that they prefer to forego AI rather than take a risk. But this brings us back to the cheese dome. You cannot ignore AI, which is precisely why it is important to understand the challenges in order to deal with them.
Without a clear strategy, implementing AI can be expensive, inefficient, or even counterproductive. During an AI consultation, you will learn about the most important hurdles, we will examine which ones apply specifically to your company, and show you possible solutions. Typical challenges can include:
- Unclear objectives and lack of strategy: Many companies invest in AI without knowing exactly what specific problems they want to solve or what business case they want to realize. In an AI consultation, you will identify meaningful use cases that work specifically for small and medium-sized businesses.
- Lack of internal expertise: AI technology is currently developing exponentially, and it is almost impossible for most companies to keep up if they also have other things to worry about in their day-to-day business. An AI consultation shows you where you lack knowledge and resources, what you can upgrade internally and how, and where external support makes sense.
- Data quality & data protection: One of the biggest concerns in most companies – without high-quality data, you cannot use AI efficiently, but at the same time, much data is subject to strict data protection regulations. AI consulting is a first step toward understanding the necessary criteria for data collection and processing, as well as the data protection regulations related to AI.
- Cost & resource planning: Integrating AI into your company means investing. This applies to both the initial consultation on artificial intelligence and its implementation. Without a clear cost-benefit analysis, this can quickly become a cost trap. AI consulting helps you gain an initial overview and better estimate costs and benefits.
- Technical integration & maintenance: If you want to use AI tools, it is essential to integrate them seamlessly into your existing systems. AI consulting gives you an initial impression of which processes can be automated and where AI can productively replace manual intermediate steps as a useful interface.
The second important argument in favor of AI consulting is therefore: Instead of being deterred by the challenges surrounding AI, you can better assess which ones are relevant to you and what solutions are available.
The AI consulting process: Understand, identify, plan
There are probably just as many AI consulting services for companies as there are AI tools. Whether we are talking about AI coaching or artificial intelligence consulting is ultimately irrelevant.
The focus should always be on demystifying AI and showing you concrete potential and possible challenges – in short, giving you a realistic picture and practical options for action. Every provider certainly takes a slightly different approach here. In our experience, three points are useful:
1. Understand AI & learn about areas of application
Using AI goes beyond the use of ChatGPT in companies (even if this is greatly underestimated). The first step is to understand AI itself, learn about the various areas of application, break it down into processes, and identify specific potential that goes beyond general cost savings.
2. Identify a business case for a pilot project
Once you have an overview, you can go into more detail as part of AI consulting. Now it’s time to set clear priorities and identify the business case that can be easily implemented as a pilot project. It is extremely important not to tackle all options at once (see the scattergun approach), but to focus on a clearly defined area. Once this has been successfully integrated into daily business, you can move on.
3. Provide an outlook for long-term potential
When we talk about innovation and cost-benefit, it is of course also important to be able to assess the long-term potential of AI. After the pilot project, the goal is always to tackle further areas of application and thus transform all business processes step by step. As the technology is currently developing rapidly, it would be negligent to make absolute statements. But AI consulting can help you get an idea of the possibilities.
Showing the way: customized AI consulting from Riwers
Every company is at a different point on the path to AI integration. Some want to understand how artificial intelligence works first, others are looking for specific areas of application or need support with implementation. We see AI consulting as the first step in finding out where you stand and how we can provide you with targeted support.
Depending on your company’s level of AI maturity, we offer three different approaches to get started with AI in your organization:
- AI Discovery Workshop: You gain an initial overview of the possibilities of AI, how you can strategically integrate AI, and how you can easily implement initial use cases.
- AI Discovery Journey: In this model, we analyze where there is concrete potential for optimization, in which areas you can work more efficiently with AI, and which approaches are valid and feasible. Above all, we ensure that the implementation is completed successfully.
- AI Business Coaching: Here, we accompany organizations on their AI journey. We focus on the potential of AI in a business context, challenges, the relevance of AI strategy, and advice on the targeted evaluation of measures.
Our commitment to AI and our AI consulting: The trust of our customers is just as important to us as the responsible use of artificial intelligence. We are committed to transparency with regard to the areas of application and functioning of AI, prioritize data protection and security as well as compliance with the GDPR, and ensure fairness through fair algorithms that actively avoid bias in order to prevent discrimination and promote equal opportunities.
Artificial intelligence? Use consulting in a targeted manner instead of leaving potential untapped
The use of AI is not an end in itself. Just like any other technology before AI, integration only makes sense where there is a business case with real added value. To identify this, however, you first need to understand AI, its potential, and the challenges it poses, and above all, recognize the specific role AI can play in the context of your company.
