Sources of resistance
Where adoption stalls: skills gaps, trust issues or change fatigue. See how peers across BENELUX diagnose each barrier.
BENELUX · Companies 200-5.000 FTE
The COO's AI Challenge
Technology doesn't create AI ROI.
Operational adoption does.
The COO is becoming the most important role in AI transformation. We're mapping how COOs across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are turning AI from pilots into operational impact.
COO AI Transformation Benchmark
Join to receive the COO AI benchmark
5 minutes of your time to unlock unique insighs. Particpate in the COO benchmark for AI transformation across industries in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, focused on organizations with 200 to 5.000 employees.
- Receive the benchmark. Every participant gets the aggregated results and insights by industry and company size.
- Your data stays yours. Responses are not shared with third parties.
- About 5 minutes. A focused survey on how you approach AI transformation as COO.
- 100% for and by COOs. We only invite real COOs. We want the survey to reflect the real challenges and opportunities COOs face.
Start the survey
About 5 minutes · confidential
Led by
Stefan Seghers
Partner, ENIN
Years of experience in digital transformation, data and AI.
CDO
CMO
CIO
Amazon
Alpro
Roularta
What you'll receive
Insights from the benchmark
The survey asks practical questions COOs face every day. Every participant receives aggregated findings across these themes, benchmarked by industry and company size.
KPIs that matter
How leading COOs measure AI success across three domains and which metrics separate pilots from operational impact.
Biggest implementation mistakes
Patterns from failed and stalled rollouts. What COOs wish they had done differently, so you can avoid the same traps.
Questions before you start
The checklist experienced COOs use before committing to AI in a process, covering every angle that determines success or failure.
The COO role long-term
How the role is shifting as AI moves from experiment to operational infrastructure and what that means for your mandate.
How to evaluate vendors
What separates tools that deliver ROI from shelfware. Criteria COOs use to assess fit, integration and long-term value.
Is the COO the AI change agent?
In conversations with COOs, the same theme keeps coming back: the COO has become the company's change agent. AI is about process redesign.
You serve as the centerpoint for cross-functional AI initiatives. The CTO/CIO focuses on technology. The CEO focuses on strategic direction. But you must balance operational performance while implementing change.
Tech deployment is IT's job. Tech adoption is an operations problem.
3 key challenges
What we hear from COOs
Process redesign
AI that doesn't integrate into robust workflows creates more work. It adds friction and reduces adoption. Without integration, you won't see the efficiency gains.
Change management
Skill gaps and employee resistance are major barriers. 53% of employees worry that AI makes them replaceable. The COO must communicate with teams and drive adoption. (Deloitte Research)
Measure results
Only 4% of companies achieve significant financial benefit and ROI from AI. The gap is not technology. It is operational execution. (PwC AI in Operations)
Where COOs should start
Sequence for early wins
The order matters. COOs who pick the right first targets build credibility and momentum. Those who don't often stall before they prove value.
Start here
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1
High-volume, low-complexity processes
Deliver quickly. No risk.
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2
Pain points employees complain about
Goodwill for broader change.
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3
Clear before-and-after measurements
You need proof.
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4
Areas that won't disrupt critical operations
Quick wins without putting the core at risk.
Avoid for now
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1
Complex, cross-functional processes
A lot of coordination.
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2
Areas without clear success metrics
You can't prove value.
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3
Processes central to revenue generation
Risk of disruption.
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4
Changes requiring significant behavioural change
Build trust first.
When COOs lead AI adoption, organizations move beyond deploying technology.
They achieve real operational impact and ROI.
Join the benchmark