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The AI Advantage—If You Know How to Use It
Artificial Intelligence is changing how B2B manufacturers plan, produce, and perform. Yet according to MIT, 95% of generative AI pilots fail to deliver measurable business impact.
It’s not because AI doesn’t work. It’s because many companies treat it like a tech experiment instead of a business strategy. That’s what we call the “learning gap”. It’s the space between curiosity and capability.
At WSI eResults, we help B2B manufacturers close that gap with a clear, actionable roadmap that turns AI from a buzzword into a profit driver.
From Curiosity to Capability
AI success doesn’t happen by accident. Too many companies jump straight into tools without alignment, training, or integration. This creates fragmented efforts that never scale.
A AI Roadmap should be built to change that failure result. It’s designed to help your organization not only adopt AI, but grow with it.
The Four Phases of the WSI AI Roadmap
Foundation: Build the Base
Establish AI vision, governance, and policies that align with your business goals.
This will help you:
- Create an AI Council
- Define guardrails and governance policies
- Conduct a baseline productivity survey
This phase gives leadership clarity and direction before any implementation ever begins.
Enablement: Upskill Your Teams
Technology only works when people know how to use it!
Through AI Foundations and Intermediate Training, you build literacy and confidence across your organization.
Star by conducting:
- A data inventory and tech stack analysis
- Leadership and C-Suite enablement coaching
This ensures your entire team, from the shop floor to the boardroom, is ready for transformation before it begins.
Identification: Find High-Impact Opportunities
Here’s where theory meets practice. Work side-by-side with your team to pinpoint AI use cases with the biggest ROI potential.
Deliverables should include:
- Prioritized automation projects
- Custom GPTs tailored to your workflows
- ROI analysis for each initiative
One manufacturer reduced manual documentation time by 50% using a custom GPT. They saved thousands of hours in the first year alone!
Implementation & Scaling: Drive Real Business Impact
This is where pilots turn into enterprise-level results.
You Should:
- Integrate AI solutions into existing systems
- Optimize and scale successful pilots
- Create a cycle of continuous learning and innovation
With a strong foundation in place, your organization becomes an AI learning organization that keeps adapting, improving, and leading.
A Manufacturer’s AI Transformation
A global manufacturer partner of ours in the automotive and marine industry came to WSI excited about AI but unsure where to begin.
Their challenges:
- Manual credit approvals slowing sales cycles
- Fragmented systems with limited integration
- Reactive inventory planning
- Lack of AI governance and enablement
Our roadmap changed everything.
By automating credit pre-approvals, applying AI to predict inventory needs, and improving customer communication through smart scheduling, the company achieved:
- Faster approvals and higher conversions
- Predictive inventory planning
- Improved retention and post-sales engagement
The result? A measurable leap in efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Building Confidence Through AI Literacy
AI adoption starts with people.
Our Level 1: AI Foundations Workshop introduces teams to core AI concepts and real-world applications. Participants learn how to use prompting frameworks, generate creative assets, and collaborate on live exercises.
Then, our Level 2: Intermediate Workshop takes it further. Teams build custom GPTs tailored to business needs. Kind of like transforming a 50-page training manual into an interactive Q&A assistant for new hires.
When employees see how AI saves time and improves results, adoption happens naturally.
From Knowing AI to Doing AI
The biggest gap? Turning AI knowledge into execution. Even basic workflow integrations can save 20–60% of employee time.
One company we worked with, a financial services client, cut research time by 25% using AI to automate SQL query writing. That freed analysts to focus on strategy instead of repetitive tasks.
When you move from knowing AI’s potential to doing AI every day, measurable ROI follows.
Where to Begin: The AI Readiness Assessment
Not sure if you’re ready for a full roadmap? Start with a 45–60-minute AI Readiness Assessment.
It’s a practical first step to evaluate your organization’s AI maturity, identify quick wins, and estimate ROI potential.
Think of it as your digital health check; a diagnostic that reveals where you stand and what to do next.
Why Now Is the Time To Implement AI
AI is already generating 5–10x ROI for small and mid-size manufacturers—and it scales affordably.
With labor shortages, rising costs, and competitive pressure, now is the moment to act.
Waiting means leaving efficiency, savings, and growth opportunities on the table.
“Don’t be part of the 95%. Start small, document your wins, and scale from there.”
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