Leden Group's Journey to AI-Enhanced Growth
Learn how we helped Leden Group, a leading contract manufacturing company develop an AI Strategy which enabled both short term gains as well as long term plans.
The Challenge
Leden Group, a leading Nordic contract manufacturer, wanted to explore how artificial intelligence could be leveraged for business development and achieving significant growth objectives. The goal was to find solutions that immediately support business operations while building future capabilities. Operating across multiple factories and serving diverse industrial segments, they faced several common challenges.
Strategic Objectives
- Significant revenue growth targets (tripling revenue over 4 years)
- Transition towards higher value-added manufacturing services
- Maintaining quality and delivery reliability during rapid expansion
- Building future capabilities across multiple locations
Key Challenges
- Unclear pathway from AI potential to practical business applications
- Multiple systems across different locations creating integration complexities
- Limited internal AI expertise
- Ongoing organizational changes, including integration with parent company
- Need to balance immediate results with long-term capability building
Leden Group wanted to systematically explore AI opportunities across various functions of their business. A comprehensive approach was necessary, as the company's diverse operations encompass numerous processes and activities across multiple facilities.
Industry Context
- AI adoption in manufacturing has grown significantly in recent years
- World Economic Forum data shows successful implementations achieving 2-3x ROI within three years
- Most successful implementations typically focus on process-level adoption rather than company-wide transformation
Our Approach
We approached the project systematically and developed a comprehensive AI strategy that balanced quick experiments with long-term development projects and capability building. Our methodology included thorough business analysis covering all the company's key functions. This systematic mapping helped identify dozens of potential AI use cases, from which the most critical ones were selected for further development through prioritization.
Strategy development didn't happen solely at management level but incorporated practical expertise from different business areas. Discussions with representatives from various business functions were part of a systematic process where challenges and opportunities in selected business areas were analyzed together with experts working in those areas. This approach ensured that the strategy was not based solely on theoretical possibilities, but on real practical needs and workplace realities.
The core principle was to identify where AI could solve specific business bottlenecks while aligning with strategic objectives. This ensured that all proposed initiatives had clear business justification rather than implementing AI purely for technology's sake.
Solution
Strategic Value Creation
We identified several significant application areas where AI can produce immediate business value while supporting the company's longer-term strategy. During the deep-dive analysis, the number of ideas for the examined business areas even doubled, demonstrating the effectiveness of our systematic approach and the inclusion of subject matter experts.
Production Optimization
- •Solutions for improving production efficiency and flexibility
- •AI-based solutions for reducing manufacturing equipment programming time
- •Systems for optimizing resource utilization and production planning
Sales Process Enhancement
- •Leveraging natural language processing to extract technical details from complex documents
- •Systems for accelerating quotation processes
- •Quote analytics tools for improving quotation process quality
Supply Chain Intelligence
- •Purchase order analysis to consolidate thousands of annual transactions, reducing administrative burden
- •Predictive inventory management to optimize stock levels while ensuring production continuity
- •Supplier performance analytics for improving procurement
Microsoft Platform Utilization
- •Rapid testing leveraging existing Microsoft investments
- •Copilot implementation as low-risk entry point
- •PowerBI enhancements for advanced analytics
- •Azure infrastructure utilization for scalable AI development
Leveraging the existing Microsoft environment enabled the identification of several 'quick win' solutions that can realize AI benefits rapidly while building a foundation for more ambitious implementations.
Future Capability Development
We also identified operational areas and capabilities whose development enables effective AI utilization in the longer term.
Data as Strategic Asset
- Comprehensive data strategy identifying valuable proprietary data sources
- Plan for centralized databases to capture knowledge and enable AI learning
- Data architecture recommendations supporting both immediate needs and long-term AI development
- Implementation of "assetization" principles for efficient solution scaling across locations
Governance Framework
- Two-tier governance model separating strategic oversight from execution: Strategic level focuses on business alignment, investment decisions, and risk management, while operational level focuses on implementation, results evaluation, and knowledge transfer
- Metrics framework for evaluating business impact, implementation progress, and technical performance
Multi-Year AI Capability Development Plan
- Foundation building: targeted training, initial governance model, and prioritized use cases
- Capability scaling: implementation scaling across business functions and expanded learning programs
- Maturity and integration: organization-wide capabilities and advanced governance and continuous development models
Results in Numbers
We mapped 18 different business areas
We identified over 80 potential AI use cases
We selected 3 strategically critical business areas for deep analysis
In the deep analysis phase, the number of ideas grew from 25 to 50
We prioritized 4 high-impact strategic use cases and 12 "quick win" solutions leveraging Microsoft technologies for implementation
Future Outlook
These concrete results create a strong foundation for longer-term development. The AI strategy offers more than immediate operational improvements — it establishes a foundation for sustainable competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving environment. As contract manufacturing becomes increasingly digital, our client is now positioned to:
Lead Rather Than Follow
- Transition from reactive technology adoption to proactive innovation
- Develop proprietary AI solutions based on unique manufacturing expertise
- Create differentiation through data
Scale with Intelligence
- Support ambitious growth targets with AI-enhanced processes that improve with scale
- Enable knowledge transfer across expanding operations through AI-powered systems
- Maintain quality and consistency while tripling production volume
Transform Core Capabilities
- Progress from AI-enhanced existing processes to entirely new operating models
- Develop increasingly sophisticated human-AI collaboration models
- Build adaptive manufacturing systems that optimize according to changing market conditions
Create New Value Opportunities
- Enhance customer relationships through AI-powered understanding and responsive flexibility
- Identify new market trends through advanced analytics
- Develop new service offerings based on manufacturing intelligence
The journey from first AI pilots to a truly AI-powered enterprise is multi-year and non-linear. By implementing a flexible, modular strategy with clear governance, the company is prepared to navigate technological change at pace while focusing on core growth objectives. Most importantly, the strategy establishes AI not as a separate technology project but as an integral part of business transformation—creating lasting value that extends far beyond the initial implementation.
Want similar results?
Book a free 30 min consultation
Would you like to learn how a similar systematic approach could deliver concrete AI solutions for your organization? Contact us or book a 30-minute complimentary consultation.