AI: The Catalyst for Creativity and Smart Business at Grano

Grano partnered with DAIN Studios to develop an AI strategy tailored to the company’s needs, focusing on a use case-driven methodology. DAIN worked together with Grano, capturing and detailing over  50 AI opportunities to contribute to company’s growth and efficiency objectives. The collaboration also assessed the data and AI readiness required to implement these use cases, along with the mechanisms for generating value.

Grano is a leading Finnish print / surface solutions provider with annual turnover of 105 M€ for the last reported period. Offered solutions include versatile and innovative printed materials as well as digital signage and digital asset management systems. With over 90 years of successful business behind, over the past years industry has seen a significant change in the type of communication surfaces requested, as well as in the expected speed of getting the desired content into the surfaces. In addition, customer expectations for ever faster response times and cost-effectiveness are on the rise. The challenging market has coincided with rapid technological advances, highlighting the question if AI could be used more at Grano for increasingly efficient business and innovation.

The leadership team had already started the company’s data and AI journey, with IoT connectivity for the printing equipment, data foundation at place and first AI experiments and trainings already organized. On their minds now were the next steps: How can AI and automation support in innovating even more versatile surfaces for client needs and generate both revenue growth and great customer experience as well as help Grano improve operational efficiency and raise productivity?

”Partnering with DAIN Studios has been important in shaping our AI journey further. They provided useful expertise for identifying and structuring prominent  AI opportunities and additional perspectives on how to ensure needed enabling capabilities for the use cases. With DAIN collaboration in the project, we’re confident in achieving our vision of smarter, more creative business through AI.”

Jooel Friman – Director, Data Analytics and PMO at Grano

 Grano selected DAIN Studios to co-create an AI strategy for the company with a strong use case-driven approach. Together with Grano’s stakeholders, DAIN identified and elaborated on over 50 AI opportunities aimed at driving growth and improving efficiency. Data and AI readiness needed for the use cases’ implementation as well as the value generation mechanisms were also addressed.

AI Vision as a North Star

Central in the AI strategy work was understanding the AI ambitions of Grano and to that aim, DAIN facilitated an AI vision workshop. As its outcome, the team formulated a vision with supporting mission statements:

Vision: AI is the tool for creativity and smart business.

Tightly coupled with Grano’s business mission to maximize its clients’ communication effectiveness on the right surfaces, the AI vision highlights Grano’s creative capabilities, enabling a sharper focus on strategic and innovative solutions while increased use of AI and automation capabilities take care of the routine tasks. This vision also serves as a common call to action for whole Grano’s organization to innovate with AI.

Actionable roadmap creation

Finishing the joint project, an actionable roadmap encompassing both data, technology, people and process perspectives was created to enable Grano to achieve its AI vision, implement the prioritized AI use cases and capture the overall business potential of AI.

Next steps

Going forward, Grano now has an overview of the sequence of steps needed for the smart and creative use of AI and increased automation. First investments are already made, and the next exciting leg of the journey has started.