AI Helping SMEs Compete with Larger Companies

Artificial intelligence (AI) is providing small and medium-sized businesses with opportunities to enhance the quality and efficiency of their operations, while strengthening their capacity to compete with larger international companies.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Amber Group, Ambassador Dushyant Savadia, highlighted this during the National Certification Body of Jamaica’s (NCBJ) virtual Next Generation Innovator Forum panel discussion, held on Tuesday (November 10), in observance of World Quality Week, under the theme ‘Quality: Powering Performance’.

Ambassador Savadia said AI is levelling the playing field in quality management, enabling small startups to achieve what was once possible only for large businesses, without requiring the same level of financial resources.

He noted that businesses in Jamaica can now utilise these technologies to enhance the speed, accuracy and consistency of their operations.
“AI in [terms of] quality has now allowed a small company in Kingston to be as fast, accurate and better as any other big company out of Dubai or South Africa or UK (United Kingdom) or anywhere else,” the CEO added.

Ambassador Savadia explained that quality management is essential for building customer confidence and enhancing organisational performance, noting that “quality is also what lets a customer trust you the second time”.

He pointed out that businesses can now use sensors, connected equipment and machine learning to detect warning signs before failures occur, enabling them to take corrective action at an earlier stage.

The CEO explained that this represents a shift from reactive quality management to a more predictive approach, one that can enhance business performance and improve customer satisfaction.

Ambassador Savadia also noted that, whereas quality assurance previously involved inspecting only a sample of products, computer vision and AI now make it possible to inspect every item on a production line.

He said AI is also improving root-cause analysis by examining thousands of records and identifying patterns that would otherwise take employees significant time to detect.

Additionally, Ambassador Savadia said technology is helping organisations enhance document management, maintain accurate records and standardise quality processes across multiple locations.

“The audit stops being an event and becomes a habit for every single person engaged,” the CEO stated.

Regarding opportunities for entrepreneurship, Ambassador Savadia said AI is changing how businesses can be established and developed, particularly through tools that assist with generating ideas, designing prototypes and creating products.

He noted that, while AI presents significant opportunities for businesses in the Caribbean, the region needs to rethink its approach to the technology.

Ambassador Savadia also emphasised that AI adoption must be balanced with human involvement, noting that the technology should complement human expertise rather than replace it.

“AI and humanity will have to go hand in hand for the next decade… one cannot live without the other,” he declared.

Ambassador Savadia maintained that organisations and professionals must embrace technological advancements while recognising the importance of human judgement in guiding their implementation, emphasising that “ignoring AI is not an option”.