Transforming B2B with AI: Innovations and Future Strategies in Engineered Industries

The expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) is ubiquitous nowadays. When applied to the business context, artificial intelligence offers significant transformational prospects for enterprises and their production processes.

In the B2B world, this technology presents enormous transformative potential: from streamlining workflow processes to managing unstructured data, to increasing productivity and consequent competitive advantage.

I. The key role of Artificial Intelligence in B2B sectors

The impact of artificial intelligence is expanding across a wide range of sectors, from industrial production to logistics, fintech, and life sciences. Few sectors are expected to be exempt from its transformative sway in the years to come.

As an incredibly disruptive asset, artificial intelligence is playing a key role, especially in the production processes within highly engineered sectors characterized by high technical complexity and the traditional use of advanced technologies.

But more specifically, in which areas has production seen the highest coefficients of innovativeness due to the introduction of artificial intelligence? Let's delve into the details.

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Automation activities

The introduction of artificial intelligence enables the automation of repetitive tasks and a significant portion of manual tasks. Thanks to its operation, human labor can be freed from repetitive tasks and focus on more strategic and creative activities. For example, it can be implemented to automate production processes, maintenance, and customer service, enabling B2B companies to achieve faster and safer results, while simultaneously reducing errors and operational costs.

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Enhancement of customer experience (CX)

Today's artificial intelligence has the potential to significantly improve customer experience by optimizing the delivery of personalized and proactive services. A concrete example of how artificial intelligence can be employed is in providing specific product and service recommendations based on customer needs, offering real-time support as well. Through accurate data analysis, artificial intelligence can gather valuable information to create detailed customer profiles, thus allowing total service personalization.

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Development of new products and services

Artificial intelligence offers new possibilities in developing innovative products and services, enabling the identification of untapped market opportunities and the design of solutions more consistent with their needs. The ability to make decisions based on a larger amount of data allows artificial intelligence to accurately predict customer demand and optimize production processes.

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Predictive maintenance

A fundamental aspect in which artificial intelligence is influencing especially the manufacturing sector is predictive maintenance. Professionals can equip factory machines with "pre-trained" artificial intelligence models that incorporate cumulative knowledge about the devices. Based on data from the machinery, these models can learn new cause-and-effect mechanisms identified in the workplace, thus preventing future problems.

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Quality control

Another area where artificial intelligence can play a key role is quality control. Thanks to the massive generation of data in the production process, machine learning can be applied to analyze and extract useful information. This is particularly relevant for additive manufacturing, which generates large volumes of data. Artificial intelligence algorithms can efficiently process such data, surpassing the capabilities of human analysis. This approach can be applied to various production processes, such as casting or injection molding, for example.

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Generative design

Artificial intelligence plays a crucial role in optimizing design. Through the use of machine learning algorithms, it is possible to create optimal models that meet specific requirements such as performance, efficiency, cost, safety, and aesthetics.

The acceleration of the production process is among the most obvious advantages of the technology. A speed that allows industry players to explore a broader design space, enabling them to consider a multitude of solutions, thus unlocking levels of creativity and efficiency previously unreached. Additionally, the application of generative design allows for the generation of optimal models and specifications in software, promoting a more efficient production process for a wide range of components. An approach that increases flexibility in production and reduces distribution costs.

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II. Artificial Intelligence and human-connections in B2B

What about sales and marketing processes? An important consideration revolves around the relationship between artificial intelligence and human connections, especially when it comes to promoting products and services in the B2B sphere.

Despite the efficiency gained through production-side automation, B2B sales and marketing still require the human component in operations, even in highly engineered sectors. Relationships and communication with customers remain fundamental elements for the success of B2B enterprises. In support of this, three recent studies demonstrate the importance of maintaining a balance between artificial intelligence and a human-centered approach.

In a survey conducted by Ipsos on LinkedIn in May 2023, 60% of global B2B marketing leaders anticipate using live events as the primary marketing technique for the following year.

According to data from August 2023 by the Sagefrog Marketing Group, 25% of B2B marketing professionals in the United States indicate that trade shows and live events are the primary areas of expenditure.

And finally, according to April 2023 data from Wpromote and Ascend2, over a third (34%) of B2B marketing professionals in the United States believe that live events contribute most to achieving the initial goals of the lead generation process.

These data demonstrate that live events and personal relationships continue to be crucial for business success, setting the ideal goal as a balance between artificial intelligence and human connections.

The era of artificial intelligence applied to highly engineered businesses has just begun. The year 2024 will likely mark a crucial moment in the evolution of B2B sectors and beyond, where artificial intelligence plays a central role in reshaping strategies, automating processes, and improving customer experience. But the full realization of the benefits of technology takes time, and market leaders still have significant challenges to face.

These include managing the risks associated with artificial intelligence, determining what new skills and capabilities the workforce will need, and rethinking fundamental business processes such as reskilling and developing new competencies.

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SOURCES

• McKinsey & Company, 2023 Gen AI: A guide for CFOs
• McKinsey & Company, 2023 The state of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s breakout year | McKinsey
• McKinsey & Company, 2023 What is ChatGPT, DALL-E, and generative AI? | McKinsey
• Autodesk 2023 AI in Manufacturing: How It Could Change Future Factories
• Imaginary Cloud 2024 Artificial Intelligence in business: a guide for industries
• Linkedin 2023 A global look at the state of B2B marketing June 2023
• Sagefrog Marketing Group 2023 2023 B2B marketing mix report
• Wpromote 2023 STATE of B2B DIGITAL MARKETING