How Can Leaders Unlock AI Value in Core Processes Like R&D and Sales Per BCG Report?

Why Do Only Some Companies See Real Value from AI Investments According to BCG?

BCG’s Where’s the Value in AI? shows leaders achieve 50% higher revenue growth by focusing 70% of efforts on upskilling, high-impact core processes like biopharma R&D and telecom call centers, while most firms stall in experimentation.

Follow BCG’s playbook starting with executive commitment and scalable use case selection to transform your core operations and capture AI’s full revenue potential detailed throughout.

Recommendation

For leaders looking to unlock real value from AI investment, this report from Boston Consulting Group reveals why only a select group of companies achieves substantial returns — and the rest remain stuck in the experimentation phase. Insights and examples drawn from sectors like biopharma and telecommunications focus on how AI leaders have transformed core business processes by prioritizing people and streamlining workflows. Companies eager to learn strategies for accelerating growth and fully capitalizing on AI’s potential will appreciate the BCG’s clear, actionable playbook for success.

Take-Aways

• AI adoption remains challenging, but companies leveraging clear strategies and focusing on core processes are seeing substantial gains.
• Contrary to popular belief, AI’s greatest impact is in core business processes, not support functions.
• A successful AI strategy focuses on people, prioritizes high-impact use cases, and builds scalable solutions.

Summary

AI adoption remains challenging, but companies leveraging clear strategies and focusing on core processes are seeing substantial gains.

Companies seeing the most significant returns on AI investment today leverage this new technology to transform their core business operations and pursue forward-looking strategies. They set higher targets for AI-driven revenue growth and cost reduction than their peers, invest more in digital capabilities, and focus on scaling a few high-impact AI initiatives.

“Leading companies are dreaming big.”

AI leaders allocate resources not just to implementing the technology but also to people and processes, dedicating 70% of their efforts to upskilling, change management, and process innovation. This holistic approach has allowed these leaders to achieve 50% higher revenue growth and 60% greater shareholder returns than less mature adopters.

Contrary to popular belief, AI’s greatest impact is in core business processes, not support functions.

In the aggregate, companies are deriving 62% of AI value from core areas: operations, sales, marketing, and R&D. For instance, a telecommunications firm is applying AI to reduce call center interaction times by 20% and automate up to 30% of customer inquiries. One global biopharma company is leveraging AI in drug discovery, improving research and development efficiency by using machine learning to screen compounds at scale, which has accelerated time to market by 25%.

“Leading companies are well on their way to creating significant value and advantage from AI.”

By tailoring AI initiatives to sector-specific needs and focusing on the most promising use cases, leaders generate value in various functions and activities. For example, the insurance sector focuses on policy management, scoring, and fraud detection; meanwhile, biopharma companies reap the most value in R&D and sales optimization. However, identifying those high-impact use cases remains challenging, and companies frequently need a combination of predictive AI and generative AI to maximize value.

A successful AI strategy focuses on people, prioritizes high-impact use cases, and builds scalable solutions.

Paying attention to people and processes is vital to unlocking AI’s value. As with other forms of transformation, 70% of the challenges in AI adoption relate to organizational culture, skills, and change management. Companies often fail to realize AI’s potential because they prioritize technical aspects over human factors. Leaders, however, invest in building AI literacy, fostering a culture of innovation, and seamlessly reimagining workflows to incorporate AI-driven insights.

“As AI technologies continue to mature, and as adoption increases, time is of the essence for companies to make rapid progress.”

To effectively scale AI, companies should adopt a structured playbook that begins with securing top-level commitment, followed by selecting high-impact, scalable projects. For example, a European automaker reduced its product development cycle by 30% through AI-enhanced design processes. A global financial leader focused on automating and optimizing its data management and saw substantial productivity gains and a boost in the business value of its data assets. Start by establishing minimal infrastructure with a clear road map for building AI-related capabilities. Also, create a plan for compliance and risk management.

About the Author

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a leading global management consulting firm known for helping businesses tackle their most critical challenges and capitalize on growth opportunities.