AI-powered tools can enhance outcomes and improve accuracy in manufacturing, healthcare, and more, photo Le Toan

Sharing about how AI adoption has brought significant changes to business operations, Pham Van Viet, CEO of Viet Thang Jeans, told media that the company has been applying AI for more than two years.

The company uses AI in clothing design, production, product introduction, e-commerce sales, customer interaction, planning, reporting, and consumer trend forecasting. Since then, thanks to AI applications, performance has improved markedly, cutting down 90 per cent of the time and cost from production to sales, planning, and reporting.

“Adopting AI is not too expensive to use small-scale AI applications for specific functions. The key is maximising their capacity,” Viet said.

Initially, the company invested in three AI tools for some functions at $50 per tool per year. Later, an additional 13 AI tools have been installed to cover most processes, reducing the cost to only $17 per tool per year.

“The performance of AI application is superb. Previously, without AI, production cost 10 units and took 10 days, but now it costs only 1 unit, a 90 per cent reduction,” Viet added. “In the past, the company had to hold many meetings to make decisions, but now AI quickly aggregates and provides information. AI works like an assistant, taking over 70-80 per cent of the tasks we used to do.”

At a workshop on AI transformation in Southeast Asian businesses in Ho Chi Minh City on August 27, Fabian Singer, general manager of Siemens Healthineers Vietnam, reflected on the healthcare sector’s growing use of AI-powered tools to enhance patient outcomes, improve diagnostic accuracy, and create personalised treatment plans.

He highlighted how AI can substantially enhance doctors productivity and decision-making capabilities. “Though AI can never replace the doctor, it can assist them with a second pair of eyes, reduce the burden of growing workload, and improve their ability to see what might otherwise be missed,” he said.

Singer emphasised that successful AI transformation in healthcare depends on the broader ecosystem. “Medical professionals must be equipped with the skills and confidence to use AI tools effectively. Without targeted education and support, even using the most sophisticated systems cannot guarantee the most effective outcome,” Singer said.

Hoang Tri Mai, managing director of Airbus Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, said that from predictive maintenance to satellite imagery analysis, AI is helping Airbus anticipate issues and optimise operations, as well as design smarter products and services to address climate change challenges.

Her key takeaway focused on what makes these applications possible: robust data infrastructure. “AI gives us the predictive power to foresee and mitigate issues before they arise, but that power is dependent on a foundation of reliable, integrated data,” Mai said.

She explained that without a strong data foundation, organisations struggle to scale solutions or generate meaningful insights. For Airbus, this means investing in sensor networks, real-time monitoring systems, open-data platforms, and collaborations with industry partners. Mai encouraged other businesses to prioritise data readiness early in their AI journey. “A robust data infrastructure gives AI the stability and scale it needs to deliver real business value,” she said.

Vo Trong Thu, head of AI Lab at GreenNode, said that AI can extract valuable insights, convert unstructured data (such as invoices and contracts) into structured data, enhance flexibility, and reduce risks. “In port management, AI can process container entries in just two seconds instead of 1-2 minutes manually, with nearly 100 per cent accuracy. An intelligent document processing system can save a large enterprise up to $600,000 per year by cutting two-thirds of paperwork handling time,” he said.

Warrick Cleine, chairman and CEO of KPMG in Vietnam and Cambodia, highlighted AI’s deep impact on its business model, from hourly rates to the rise of the digital headcount, where AI agents and software perform tasks traditionally handled by human employees. “The challenge isn’t just implementing new tools; it’s about redesigning the entire engine of our business, from how we price our value to how we develop our people,” Cleine said. “The digital headcount is real, and the career paths of tomorrow are being written today. The most important skill will be the ability to adapt.”