Generative AI – A SME Booster?!
Each breakthrough achieved by Generative AI intensifies the debate surrounding the opportunities and risks that come with the use of this technology. At the end of last year, a camera manufacturer made headlines when releasing a product with a built-in photo content authenticator. During the months prior to the release, social media were awash with the latest advances in AI-based image generation, resulting in pictures that are hard to tell apart from real snaps. Examples like this illustrate why technology companies have to keep up at any cost and gain competitive advantages quickly. This also applies to SMEs. You need to be aware of the latest developments, respond to customer needs and provide efficient order fulfilment to survive. Recently, OpenAI, the company who invented ChatGPT, introduced a LLM called “Sora”, a text-to-video algorithm generating unbelievably realistic clips. Another milestone in the still very short history of Generative AI.
This puts many businesses in a difficult situation. What path to choose? Establish in-house AI teams and develop your own AI? Avoid financial drain and excessively complex setups by interfacing to existing tools and knowledge? Fact is that AI and machine learning affect all areas of a business, and does so first and foremost in the form of Large Language Models such as ChatGPT. Everyone and their grandmother are aware of this. However, it’s still mainly large corporations that use this technology as a driver for growth. Means, watch out, SMEs, don’t fall behind and grab the opportunity!
Why not make the most of the strongpoints of SMEs right away, namely your innovativeness, being movers and shakers, always looking ahead? Look into AI and find tech partners to help come up with solutions.
A study carried out by IBM back in 2020 already shows that AI does affect both sales numbers and business operating costs in a positive way. To achieve that, AI needs to be implemented by working closely with the people who are to benefit from it.
Our ongoing transformation as a company means we here at Conrad are looking into the opportunities provided by AI every single day. We are aware of the challenges that come with it, such as additional investment needs and maintenance costs for tools and systems. However, it’s predominantly in procurement where AI can take care of a variety of tasks. Here at Conrad, we provide a wide range of automated or machine-assisted services that use chatbots to optimise communication with customers, AI-managed databases to improve the accuracy of data analysis, and AI to help us put together staff rosters at our warehousing facilities in line with demand. However, all this will never replace the face-to-face interaction between people. Quite the opposite, actually. It helps us free up time to enable it.
Customers know that we are a partner they can trust when it comes to technology trends. The most recent example is a white paper called “First Steps into Generative AI and Large Language Models” that we’ve written in collaboration with appliedAI Intiative GmbH. This paper answers fundamental questions about the ongoing fast-paced advances in AI and provides practical user advice aimed at SMEs. Learn more about how SMEs can make the most of Generative AI, the legal implications, how to implement these solutions in line with existing business strategies and many other aspects
Yours sincerely
Ralf Bühler