In an X(Twitter) post that has gotten over 900k views at the time of writing, CEO of Amazon, Andy Jassy , announced that their internal AI tool, Amazon Q, is saving them $260 million annually and reclaiming 4,500 developer-years.

That’s the dream, isn’t it?

A tool that can save millions, accelerate workflows, boost employee morale, create better customer experiences, etc, all while giving your business a competitive edge.

I don’t know about you, but to me, that’s groundbreaking for the business world. And as AI gets adopted more widely and infused more deeply into more organizations, we will hear more stories like this.

As a matter of fact, if you scroll down, we’ll look at a couple more real-world case studies and actionable insights we can all work on.

By the way, if you want the link to Andy Jassy’s post, here it is.

But of course, I’ve summarised it here for you, too. 👇🏻

Amazon: Automating Tedious Tasks and Saving Millions

According to Andy, Amazon Q is like having thousands of extra hands working tirelessly behind the scenes. Here’s how it transformed their operations:

1. Time Savings: Traditionally, upgrading applications such as transitioning to Java 17 would take an average of 50 developer days. With Amazon Q’s new code transformation capability, this time has been reduced to just a few hours. This has saved Amazon the equivalent of 4,500 developer-years of work.
2. Efficiency Gains: In under six months, Amazon upgraded more than 50% of its production Java systems to modernized versions, achieving this feat with a fraction of the usual time and effort. This initiative has resulted in estimated annualized efficiency gains of $260 million, primarily through enhanced security and reduced infrastructure costs.
3. Code Quality: The reliability of AI-generated code is evident from the fact that 79% of the auto-generated code reviews were shipped without any additional changes.

Now, you might say that Andy is biased because he’s talking about their own internal tool. But seriously, the stats are mindblowing even if you half it!

And frankly, Amazon is not the only company that has enjoyed the benefits of adopting AI into their processes. Here are a couple more.

Photo Credit: BMW.in

BMW North America: Speeding Up Decisions

BMW Group, partnering with Accenture, developed the EKHO (Enterprise Knowledge Harmonizer and Orchestrator) platform—a Generative AI solution that uses large language models to drive smarter, faster decisions across the business.

🎯 Impact

1. Time Reduction: The platform reduced the time for cross-checking car configurations from hours to minutes.
2. Real-Time Insights: Enabled real-time insights, significantly shortening the time frame from data to knowledge.

💡 Idea

Imagine you’re looking to train and upskill your existing workforce, and how this technology could speed up training content creation or streamline compliance checks across your organization.

Photo Credit: Belk & Channel Engine

Belk eCommerce: Creating Better Product Descriptions

Belk, an eCommerce retailer, used AI to craft product descriptions that were not only engaging but also consistent.

🎯🎯 Impact

Time Savings: Sped up the time-consuming task of writing descriptions, freeing up the team for strategic initiatives.

💡 Idea

A blessing for content teams, AI can handle repetitive content creation, allowing teams to focus on creative, strategic projects that add more value. This brings us back to something we previously covered in detail – Primary Tasks and Secondary Tasks.

Photo Credit: Ferrari

Ferrari: Enhancing Customer Personalization and Production Efficiency

Ferrari used Generative AI on AWS to enhance customer and vehicle journeys, increasing sales, experimentation, and productivity.

🎯 Impact

1. Customer Personalization: Developed a car configurator using Amazon Bedrock, allowing customers to personalize their vehicles with millions of possible configurations. This personalized experience increased sales leads and reduced configuration times by 20%.
2. Production Efficiency: Improved vehicle simulations by 60%, enabling the company to test more designs and reduce the time to market for new vehicles.
3. After-Sales Experience: Enhanced its after-sales experience with a generative AI chatbot, fine-tuned on its documentation to classify and summarize customer care tickets, reducing human error and improving productivity.

💡 Idea

Sometimes, one AI adoption initiative can hit multiple KPIs at a go. It pays to think of the bigger picture, as long as it doesn’t slow the implementation.

Photo Credit: Nvidia

NVIDIA: Accelerating Graphics Design

NVIDIA leveraged Generative AI to accelerate graphics design processes, particularly in the creation of realistic 3D models and textures.

🎯 Impact

1. Time Savings: Reduced the time required for creating detailed 3D models and textures by up to 90%. This allowed designers to focus on higher-level creative tasks, improving overall efficiency.
2. Quality Improvement: Enhanced the realism and detail of generated graphics, improving overall visual quality. This is crucial in industries where visual fidelity is paramount, such as gaming and film production.

💡 Idea

By improving the quality of the products and services, not only will customers be happier, but it might also be the leverage the business needs to elevate itself from serving just mass markets, to premium, or even luxury, markets

AI-enabled workforce = AI-empowered results

What This Means for Your Organization

So, as you can see, Amazon is not the only company that has reaped the rewards of sowing its seeds in AI.

The way I look at it, there are 5 key benefits we can all enjoy when we partner with AI.

And of course, I thought of using examples of how it would look like in your organization.

1. Boost Productivity: Automate routine tasks and free your team for higher-level work.

Imagine your finance team, often buried under a mountain of invoices and manual data entry. With AI-driven automation, routine tasks like invoice processing can be handled in seconds, not hours.

Take Hamidah, for example. Instead of spending her day cross-checking payment records, she now focuses on financial analysis and forecasting. This shift not only improves her job satisfaction but also allows the company to make more informed financial decisions faster.

Better technology = Happier employees

2. Enhance Customer Experience: Deliver faster, more personalised service.

Consider Emily, a customer support agent who used to spend most of her time answering repetitive questions like “Where’s my order?” or “How do I reset my password?”

With AI chatbots handling these routine inquiries, she can now concentrate on complex customer issues that require a human touch. She’s able to spend more time solving problems, resulting in quicker resolutions and happier customers. This enhanced service boosts customer loyalty and frees Emily to focus on upselling and providing more personalized recommendations.

3. Cut Costs: Reduce operational expenses by automating time-consuming processes.

Think about Selvam, who manages inventory for a mid-sized retail chain. Before AI, he would spend days manually counting stock and placing orders, often leading to overstock or stockouts.

Now, with AI-powered inventory management, the system automatically tracks sales patterns, predicts demand, and places orders just in time. Selvam no longer worries about excess stock or lost sales due to stockouts. The cost savings from reduced inventory holding and minimized waste are substantial, allowing the company to reinvest those savings into marketing and growth initiatives.

Leveraging on technology enabled you to staying ahead in the market

4. Stay Competitive: Gain a competitive edge by enabling quicker, data-driven decisions.

Imagine Kah Mun, a marketing director at a fast-growing tech startup. In the past, she would wait weeks for campaign performance reports before making adjustments.

Now, with AI-powered analytics, Kah Mun receives real-time data on how her campaigns are performing. She notices that one particular social media ad is outperforming others and immediately shifts more of the budget towards it. This agility allows her to maximize ROI and stay ahead of competitors who might still be relying on outdated, slow-moving data reports.

5. Scalability: Apply AI tools across functions to scale efficiently without overburdening your team.

Meet Zamri, the operations manager at a booming online retail company. During peak seasons like Hari Raya, the surge in orders would typically overwhelm his team, leading to delayed shipments and customer complaints.

With AI-driven logistics and order fulfillment systems, Zamri’s team can now handle the increased volume effortlessly. The AI system dynamically adjusts shipping routes and schedules in real-time, ensuring that orders are processed and delivered on time. This scalability means that Ryan’s team can maintain high service levels without the stress or need for additional temporary staff.

I hope these examples can help paint a picture of how the future might look like for an AI-enabled workforce producing AI-empowered results.

Six things you can do to get started with AI

How to Get Started on Your Partnership with AI

Ready to take the leap?

Embarking on your AI journey can be a game-changer for your business.

I’ve listed a few strategic recommendations here, along with the reasoning as well, so you’d have better context.

#1 Identify Key Challenges

Recommendation: Conduct a workflow audit to identify repetitive and time-consuming tasks across your departments.

Reasoning: Understanding where your bottlenecks lie helps pinpoint the most impactful areas for AI integration, ensuring that your AI investments deliver tangible improvements in efficiency and employee satisfaction.

#2 Choose the Right Tools

Recommendation: Select AI solutions that integrate seamlessly with your existing systems and have strong user support.

Reasoning: Compatibility with current technology minimizes disruption during implementation, and strong support ensures you can resolve issues quickly, maximizing the productivity gains from your new tools.

#3 Create a Strategic Plan

Recommendation: Clearly define your AI goals, timeline, and metrics for success at the outset.

Reasoning: A well-defined plan acts as a roadmap, guiding your implementation and helping align your team’s efforts with your business objectives. This makes it easier to track progress and measure the impact of AI on your operations.

Upskilling your team with AI capabilities is a long term investment

#4 Train Your Team

Recommendation: Invest in comprehensive training that covers both the technical aspects of the AI tools and their strategic application in your business.

Reasoning: Well-trained employees are better equipped to leverage AI capabilities effectively, reducing resistance to new technologies and enhancing your team’s ability to drive innovations.

#5 Monitor and Refine

Recommendation: Set up continuous monitoring with clear performance indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of AI applications in real-time.

Reasoning: Ongoing evaluation allows you to fine-tune your AI systems promptly based on performance data, ensuring that the technology adapts to changing business needs and continuously delivers value.

#6 Ensure Responsible AI Use

Recommendation: Develop a framework for ethical AI use, emphasizing transparency, data privacy, and bias mitigation.

Reasoning: Building trust in AI systems is crucial for widespread adoption and compliance with regulatory standards. An ethical framework helps prevent misuse and potential harm, protecting your company’s reputation and customer relationships.

By methodically addressing each of these steps, you’ll not only simplify the process of integrating AI into your business but also ensure that the deployment is effective, ethical, and aligned with your strategic goals. This approach allows you to harness the full potential of Generative AI to innovate and grow in today’s digital economy.

Meeting Tom Kelley, founding team member at IDEO

Wrapping Up: Time to Act

Generative AI is not just a buzzword; it’s a tool that can transform how you do business. As we’ve seen with Amazon, BMW, and others, the benefits are substantial—ranging from enhanced productivity to improved customer experiences and significant cost savings.

Don’t Wait—the sooner you start exploring AI, the sooner you’ll see these benefits. And the key word there is “exploring”, or perhaps even “experimentations”.

That reminded me of a personal piece of advice I got from Tom Kelley, Partner and founding Team Member at the multi-award-winning innovation firm IDEO , when I met him in early 2020.

“Treat Life As an Experiment. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn’t. Just ask Thomas Edison, the makers of WD-40, and vacuum guru James Dyson – who collectively tested thousands of ideas before finding a handful that stuck. Take risks frequently, and be prepared in case the resulting action fails to meet your expectations. Fail forward, and there will be learning from your mistakes along the way.”