Tips for Automating with AI Agents: Building Digital Capability in the Dutch Market

At Subduxion, we see the Dutch market as a hotbed of innovation - leading Europe with 95% of larger organizations with embedded IT teams running AI programs. Yet, many companies struggle to keep pace with fast-moving tech, hampered by legacy systems, scaling challenges, and SME-dominant structures (65% of the workforce). Drawing from our insights on resolving the gen AI paradox through agentic AI and strategies for sustainable cost advantages, here are practical tips to automate more effectively, transform conventional processes into efficient productivity engines, and build resilient digital capabilities.

Why Dutch Companies Should Automate More with AI Agents

The Netherlands excels in AI adoption, bolstered by initiatives like the AI Continent Action Plan and EU AI Act compliance starting 2025. However, challenges like privacy concerns, legacy integration, and slow SME uptake mean many firms see minimal P&L impact despite deployment. AI agents - autonomous systems with planning, memory, and tool access - resolve this by embedding deeply into workflows, not just bolting on.

• Drive Cost Savings and Efficiency: As per BCG, target patterns like codified knowledge (20-30% savings in content creation) or customer interactions (20% FTE reduction via chatbots). Agents automate end-to-end, cutting preventive maintenance spend by 40% in field forces.

• Overcome the Gen AI Paradox: McKinsey notes widespread pilots yield little ROI; agents scale by handling ambiguity, enabling 80% faster cycles in processes like credit rating.

• Future-Proof Amid Labor Shifts: With WEF predicting AI/robotics handling two-thirds of work by 2030, automation boosts productivity without mass displacement - focusing on augmentation in sectors like healthcare and agriculture.

How to Build Digital Capability for Agentic Automation

Transforming processes requires strategic capability-building. We at Subduxion recommend a data-driven approach, leveraging ML models for risk assessment and graph databases for workflow mapping.

1. Assess and Prioritize High-Impact Areas: Start with a maturity audit - use NLP to analyze internal data for bottlenecks. Focus on vertical use cases (e.g., supply chain negotiations for 50% efficiency gains) over horizontal copilots.

2. Implement Human-in-the-Loop Agents: Deploy modular agents with reinforcement learning for adaptation. Ensure explainability (e.g., SHAP) and escalate to humans for compliance, mitigating EU AI Act risks like prohibited practices effective February 2025.

3. Address Dutch-Specific Challenges: For SMEs, adopt low-code platforms to bypass expertise gaps. Tackle legacy integration by piloting in non-core areas, then scale with vendor-agnostic meshes.

4. Upskill and Govern for Scale: Invest in AI academies/training program for workforce reskilling - aim for 20-30% capacity improvement. Embed governance: track value rigorously, monitor tech costs, and build budgets around AI-enabled reductions to "cash the check."

5. Start Small, Iterate Fast: Launch lighthouses - e.g., agentic workflows in contact centers for 10x lower costs. Use feedback loops to refine, ensuring ethical deployment with bias audits and data privacy.

By automating proactively, our beautiful Dutch organizations can turn innovation into competitive edge, reducing adoption hesitancy noted in reports like AWVN's (40% of companies cite knowledge/privacy barriers).

Ready to Accelerate Your Automation Journey?

We at Subduxion help Dutch businesses build agentic AI ecosystems tailored to your sector. Contact us for a capability assessment - let's resolve the paradox and drive sustainable productivity.