Source: Fortune
Summary
Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical giant, has developed its own generative AI companion called Concierge, which is used by 60,000 employees globally. The company’s chief digital officer, Emmanuel Frenehard, is focusing on deploying agentic AI to change workflows across IT, procurement, and sales. Sanofi is resisting the agentic capabilities pitched by vendors, instead opting to run workflows directly on its centralized data lake. The company aims to save 10 million euros in annual savings by automating IT support and tens of millions in bottom-line savings by automating procurement purchasing decisions.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story.
Sanofi’s Concierge AI companion is a bespoke solution that has been adopted by 80% of the company’s workforce. Frenehard’s vision is to run workflows directly on Sanofi’s centralized data lake, rather than relying on vendors like Salesforce and SAP. The company is also partnering with Snowflake and Elementum AI to automate IT support and procurement purchasing decisions. Frenehard estimates that AI can save one day a week for each sales representative who uses AI. The company’s strategy to remake IT, procurement, and sales is to no longer rely on what software-as-a-service vendors are pitching.
Sanofi’s approach to AI is a deliberate departure from the standard per-user fee structure of SaaS vendors, which could threaten their business model.
Author: Evan Null
