Operational Excellence (OPEX) Daily Briefing – Monday, November 17, 2025: AI-Driven Operational Transformation Doesn’t Start with AI.
Điểm Tin Operational Excellence (OPEX) Mỗi Ngày – Thứ Hai, Ngày 17/11/2025: Chuyển đổi vận hành bằng AI không bắt đầu từ AI.
Welcome to my unique weekday article for the paid subscriber-only edition.
Operational Excellence (OPEX) Daily Briefing – issued on weekdays (Monday to Friday).
Điểm tin Operational Excellence (OPEX) hằng ngày (phát hành các ngày thứ Hai đến thứ Sáu).
This is the bilingual post in English and Vietnamese. Vietnamese is below.
Đây là bài viết song ngữ Anh-Việt. Tiếng Việt ở bên dưới.
English
Part 1: Official Statement
On November 17, 2025, in Kawasaki, Japan, Fujitsu Limited announced a collaboration with AWS Japan G.K. to promote business value innovation through an initiative tentatively referred to as the Business Creation Lab. This information was stated in Fujitsu’s official press release. The stated objective is to support enterprises in creating new business opportunities by combining cloud computing with Fujitsu’s solution capabilities.
The press release does not disclose full operational details inside the lab. However, from the perspective of Operational Excellence (OPEX), this event reflects an important shift in thinking: the value of AI in business operations is not determined solely by technology, but by the level of integration between technology – processes – data – people.
In other words, in many cases, AI-driven operational transformation may not start with AI, but with redesigning the operational foundation of the enterprise.
Why are retail and services prioritized?
Operational conditions in Japan and many similar markets are showing notable challenges:
• Enterprises operate with legacy technology systems that are difficult to integrate with AI and cloud computing.
• Data is fragmented across departments, lacking data standardization, creating risks when deploying AI.
• Customer expectations are shifting toward higher speed, convenience, and personalization.
• Labor and operational costs are increasing amid a shortage of service workers.
• Retail and service business models are moving strongly toward omnichannel and real-time service delivery.
Under the OPEX lens, these factors lead to an important conclusion: AI only creates value when deployed on an operating system that is structured, disciplined, and measurable.
This aligns with a core OPEX principle:
If processes are unclear, AI only accelerates disorder.
If data is inaccurate, AI only amplifies errors.
Strategic significance for the business operations community
From an operational interpretation perspective, the Fujitsu–AWS event sends three reference signals for organizations preparing to implement AI into their business model:
1. Operations is no longer a support function, but a pillar of enterprise value.
2. Effective AI deployment requires a Process First – Technology Second mindset.
3. Digital transformation has entered a new phase, moving beyond digitizing processes toward optimizing operating models based on predictive and adaptive capabilities.
Viewed with appropriate caution:
Applying AI in operations may not begin with selecting an AI model or technology platform, but with correctly understanding workflow, standardizing data, and strengthening operational capability.
And that is why:
AI-driven operational transformation cannot start with AI.
It must start with operations.