IRVINS links AI adoption to efficiency and workforce gains

The Singapore snack brand is targeting repetitive workflows and measurable efficiency gains before expanding automation across its operations.

IRVINS is taking a problem-led approach to artificial intelligence, prioritising operational bottlenecks over broad automation as it tests where the technology can deliver measurable returns.

Reno Chow, Senior Vice President for Commercial at IRVINS, said the Singapore SME first focused on organising its data and establishing a centralised database before determining which processes to automate.

“Our first question shouldn't be asking what to automate first. We should be asking what is the problem that we need to solve,” Chow said.

IRVINS created a single source of truth for sales data and product information before identifying high-friction manual tasks. These included purchase order processing for its business-to-business and modern trade operations and reconciliation with finance.

AI and other technology have improved order processing and supported real-time decision-making, but Chow acknowledged that implementation initially adds complexity. Integrating front-end and back-end data and deploying AI agents can require substantial work.

Rather than pursuing a fixed transformation roadmap, IRVINS starts with smaller workflows and establishes measurable key performance indicators before refining and expanding automation.

The company also assesses returns beyond direct revenue growth or cost reductions. Chow said IRVINS measures efficiency, time savings and investment in employees when evaluating AI initiatives.

Staff are involved in designing automated workflows because individual departments hold the operational knowledge needed to determine where AI can be applied effectively.

“We are actually using our people to become AI architects. The architect of their own workflows,” Chow said.

Chow cautioned SMEs against treating agentic AI primarily as a revenue generator. Instead, IRVINS is using automation to reduce repetitive work whilst upskilling employees to redesign processes.

Chow will also speak at the Retail Asia Summit in Singapore on 29 September 2026.