Why You Should Care
Executives say their #1 fear is falling behind rivals on AI—a feeling shared by 88 % of companies in a recent survey.<sup><a href=”https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-companies-are-already-all-in-on-ai-after-arriving-late-to-everything-else-357ad090″>Wall Street Journal</a></sup>
At the same time, finance teams demand hard numbers before they sign the check. The good news: you can show clear payback with just three easy formulas.
Formula 1 – Cost-Cut Savings
Annual Savings $ = (Old Cost per Task – New Cost per Task) × Tasks per Year
Real example
A global logistics firm used routing agents to trim shipping expenses by 15 %.<sup><a href=”https://www.numberanalytics.com/blog/enhancing-agentic-ai-in-modern-logistics”>McKinsey via NumberAnalytics</a></sup>
- Old cost per shipment: $4.00
- New cost per shipment: $3.40
- Shipments per year: 5 million
Annual Savings = (4.00 – 3.40) × 5,000,000 = $3 million
Formula 2 – Revenue Lift
Revenue Gain $ = Old Conversion Rate × New Lift × Avg. Deal Size × Leads per Year
Real example
Consumer brands using agent-powered content saw conversion jump 20 % while cutting creation costs 60 %.<sup><a href=”https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/04/ai-transformation-consumer-industries-wef-report/”>World Economic Forum</a></sup>
- Old conversion rate: 2 %
- Lift from agents: 20 % (so new rate = 2.4 %)
- Average online order: $80
- Annual site visitors: 2 million
Revenue Gain = 0.02 × 0.20 × 80 × 2,000,000 = $640,000 added sales
Formula 3 – Working-Capital Release
Cash Freed $ = (Old Inventory Days – New Inventory Days) × Daily COGS
AI agents that predict demand more precisely can shrink inventory 10–15 %.<sup><a href=”https://www.numberanalytics.com/blog/enhancing-agentic-ai-in-modern-logistics”>McKinsey via NumberAnalytics</a></sup>
- Old inventory days: 45
- New inventory days: 38
- Daily cost of goods sold (COGS): $500,000
Cash Freed = (45 – 38) × 500,000 = $3.5 million released
Putting It All Together
| Impact Area | Typical Range (2025) | Key Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cost reduction in logistics | 15–20 % | McKinsey |
| Content-production cost cut | Up to 60 % | World Economic Forum |
| Online conversion lift | 10–20 % | World Economic Forum |
| Market CAGR for AI agents | 45 % through 2032 | <a href=”https://www.plivo.com/blog/ai-agents-top-statistics/”>Plivo stats</a> |
Even one of these wins can fund your whole program.
90-Day ROI Sprint
- Week 1 – Pick a KPI
Choose one number the CFO already tracks (cost per shipment, conversion rate, or inventory days). - Weeks 2-4 – Build a Mini Pilot
Feed clean data into a small-scope agent that tackles a slice of the workflow. - Weeks 5-8 – Run in Shadow Mode
Let the agent suggest actions while humans approve. Track accuracy daily. - Weeks 9-12 – Turn on Autonomy
Start with low-risk cases. Measure savings or revenue weekly and share quick wins in all-hands meetings.
Common Questions
“Will this replace staff?”
Agents usually free people from copy-paste chores so they can focus on higher-value work.
“Is my data good enough?”
Most firms start with a limited dataset (three to six months) and improve quality as they scale.
“What about compliance?”
Add simple guard-rails: log every action, cap spend per transaction, and require auto-escalation on outliers.
Ready to See Your Numbers?
Book a free 30-minute demo with our team. We’ll run your real data through these formulas and show exactly where agents can put money back on your balance sheet.