Why Manufacturers Can’t Afford to Ignore AI

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept. For manufacturers, it is a practical tool already delivering measurable results in efficiency, quality, and risk management. That was the central message in our recent webinar, “Demystifying AI: What It Is, What It Does, and Why It Matters for Your Business,” hosted by our Manufacturing Practice.

AI in Action: Real Manufacturing Examples

Rather than focusing on theory, the session highlighted real-world projects already transforming operations:

• Data Classification and Validation: One manufacturer struggling to organize massive volumes of machine sensor data used AI agents to automatically classify and validate information. This reduced manual intervention and improved data reliability.
• Document Processing: A company handling more than 1,500 PDFs every few months cut review time from a year-long process to three days by pairing AI with optical character recognition.
• Faster, More Accurate Quoting: Another manufacturer reduced quoting time from three weeks to four days, doubling annual quote capacity and helping nearly double revenue.

Each project started small, with a narrowly focused application of AI, and grew from there.

Practical Applications for Manufacturers

AI is already proving value in key areas such as:

• Predictive maintenance: Using sensor data to anticipate equipment failures and plan downtime strategically.
• Defect detection: Catching quality issues earlier, with accuracy rates above 95%.
• Production scheduling: Optimizing shifts and capacity planning for greater efficiency.
• Risk management: Supporting OSHA and ISO compliance, modeling exposures, and even assisting with contract review.

These applications are not about replacing people. Instead, they reduce repetitive work so teams can focus on higher-value decisions.

Getting Started the Right Way

With so many possibilities, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The there are three best practices to de-risk AI adoption:

• Start small with a pilot project that solves one measurable business problem.
• Keep people in the loop. AI should augment human judgment, not replace it.
• Create an AI policy. Decide how your organization will use the technology, where data can be shared, and how best practices will be documented across teams.

Even simple steps, such as using AI to draft better emails, research prospects, or summarize compliance documents, can give teams immediate productivity gains.

The Competitive Advantage

If you aren’t using AI, your competitors likely are. For manufacturers, the risk of standing still is greater than the risk of starting small. Those who experiment now will be better positioned to compete, protect their businesses, and seize new opportunities.

Our Manufacturing Practice will continue this AI series. Our next session, “AI on the Factory Floor: Streamlining Operations and Driving Efficiency,” will showcase practical AI use cases that reduce downtime, optimize resources, and improve output quality. In the meantime, consider where repetitive, time-consuming tasks are slowing your team down. That’s where AI can make the quickest impact