Impact of AI on the Future of Operational Management in Business
I’m sure by now you’ve heard countless times about the positive impact that artificial intelligence (AI) has when implemented in businesses as a mechanism for innovation and efficiency in operational management. Today, I can tell you that this is only the beginning, so prepare yourself for the coming years when you will continue to hear about this topic and success stories of companies taking advantage of this opportunity and leveraging the advances of this technology.
All signs indicate that companies will increase their investment in artificial intelligence in the coming years. A few months ago, La República shared an article on “Artificial Intelligence in Latin America,” published by MIT Technology Review. Among the relevant data from the research, it was mentioned that 60% of the companies in the sample started incorporating artificial intelligence in the last three years, and 20% did so in 2023. Furthermore, 71% of the companies recognized that artificial intelligence has enormous potential for their businesses, and those with the most leadership in the field plan to allocate 15% of their technology budget to artificial intelligence in the coming years.
A success case where the implementation of artificial intelligence plays a crucial role is Amazon, as reported by The Logistics World, a leading news and digital content medium for the logistics industry. Amazon uses AI to improve delivery routes, optimizing logistics and the speed of delivery between the product and the customer. Additionally, Amazon prioritizes AI to optimize its inventory and distribution organization, ensuring that products are increasingly closer to the consumer, thus facilitating their same-day or even next-day delivery goals. They also use this technology to forecast product demand and determine the optimal placement of inventory, as well as to automate tasks in their warehouses.
Evidently, this is just the beginning of the efficiencies that artificial intelligence can generate at an operational level. In recent months, the perception of AI as a threat to human talent has decreased, positioning itself as a crucial ally for the optimization of internal processes. Cases like Amazon’s have demonstrated this reality, motivating entrepreneurs to invest in this field within their organizations. However, 20.5% of professionals, according to the article shared by La República, identify the lack of specialized talent as one of the main challenges to driving this digital transformation.