HKAIIA at FITMI 2026 Spring Gathering: Beyond Cost Reduction with AI-Driven Innovation

HKAIIA's Innovation & Transformation Sub-Committee Chair Edward Lau was invited to speak at the Hong Kong Federation of Innovative Technologies and Manufacturing Industries (FITMI) 2026 Spring Gathering and Thematic Sharing Session in Shenzhen.

In his keynote, "Beyond Cost Reduction — Using AI-Driven Innovation to Unlock the Next Growth Curve," Edward challenged manufacturers to move beyond viewing AI purely as an efficiency tool and instead consider how it can reshape business models and long-term value creation.

Using a three-stage AI growth curve framework, he explained S1 (Efficiency: cost reduction, productivity gains and error reduction), S2 (Operational Transformation: process re-engineering, predictive modelling and faster decision-making) and S3 (Business Model Innovation: new revenue streams, customer stickiness and data monetisation).

Edward illustrated how manufacturers can transition from product selling to intelligent services, including equipment-as-a-service, subscription-based operational intelligence reports and data services that generate industry benchmarks and parameter recommendations for the supply chain.

The session sparked strong discussion among Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area manufacturing leaders on how to use AI not just to survive, but to pioneer the next growth curve in an increasingly competitive landscape.

HKAIIA will continue working with FITMI and GBA partners on forums and programmes that support AI-enabled manufacturing transformation; members can contact info@aiiahk.com for future opportunities.