The Polish economy is losing due to the lack of automation. Companies lagging behind Europe
As a result, the economy loses one of the key drivers of productivity growth – when rising labor costs and employee shortages no longer allow for development based on simply increasing employment.
Data analyzed by SAIO from the ING group shows that today people use solutions based on artificial intelligence only 8.4 percent Polish enterpriseswhile the EU average reaches 20 percent. Poland is therefore almost at the bottom of the European ranking.
Although companies are increasingly implementing document circulation systems, cloud solutions and data analysis tools, these investments do not yet translate into widespread automation of business processes or a dramatic increase in efficiency.
“We are no longer at the stage of asking “whether to implement AI”, but “how to move from pilot to scale” – emphasizes Przemysław Lewicki, CEO of SAIO. — Companies know that technology is needed, but the problem is implementing it in a way that actually changes the business.
Poland at the end of Europe also in robotization
The distance to more advanced economies is even more visible in the data on industrial robotization. In Poland it falls approximately 78 robots per 10 thousand employeeswhile the EU average is 231.
For comparison, in countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Belgium, the level of AI use in companies is reaching 24-28 percent The difference is not only about technology, but above all work efficiency and the ability to maintain competitiveness in conditions of rising costs.
— Poland is participating in technological transformation, but it still adapts solutions more often than it actually sets their pace, notes Lewicki.
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The end of the advantage of cheap labor
According to SAIO analysts, the foundation of the competitiveness of Polish companies is also changing. The model based on relatively low labor costs is no longer effective.
Rising wages, an aging population and difficulties in recruiting employees mean that companies are less and less able to expand the scale of their operations by increasing employment. In practice this means that the only sustainable path to development is productivity growth.
According to McKinsey analyses, quick implementation of AI and appropriate work redesign can increase productivity by up to 3.1 percent annually.
— Without automation, companies will not be able to maintain the pace of development. This is no longer a choice, but a condition for further growth, says Lewicki.
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Multi-speed economy
The analysis also shows that Poland's technological transformation is uneven. In addition to companies that use AI on a daily basis in production, logistics, planning and data analysis, there is a wide group of enterprises still at the stage of testing and point implementations.
In industries such as construction or short-series production, technology is often limited to single applications, without translating into a comprehensive change in the operating model.
— We do not have one technological economy, but several parallel worlds — from very advanced companies to organizations just starting their transformation, says Lewicki.
The biggest barrier: scale, not technology
Eurostat data shows that the main barriers to implementing AI today are organizational and competence-related. Companies most often point to:
- lack of appropriate competences (70.9%),
- unclear legal consequences (52.5%),
- concerns about data protection and privacy (48.8%).
In addition, there are problems with data quality, integration of new tools with existing processes and pressure for a quick return on investment.
— AI is not another IT project, but a test of the organization's maturity – sums up Lewicki. “It shows whether the company can redesign the way it operates, and not just implement a new tool,” he adds.
