Thailand’s Manufacturing AI Crisis: New TDRI-SAP Whitepaper Warns of Missed Thailand 4.0 Go
BANGKOK, May 27, 2025 — Set to bring forth a brilliant change in the paradigm, the whitepaper, jointly published by the TDRI, ETDA, and SAP, places AI as a major engine for Thailand’s national innovation vision, Thailand 4.0. The paper finds that while AI deployment in Thailand’s manufacturing sector could stretch for 300-plus use cases-from smart factory to predictive maintenance-only 2% of manufacturers in the country have fully embraced Industry 4.0 standards.
Dr. Chaichana Mitrpant, Executive Director, at ETDA noted, “The insights contained in this whitepaper will contribute to greater adoption of AI in the manufacturing sector, which we believe is pivotal to advancing Thailand’s national objectives under the Thailand 4.0 strategy. Collaboration across private and public sectors will be essential to achieve these goals, especially to improve areas including AI governance. Working alongside companies like SAP, we are committed to helping businesses across Thailand benefit from the innovation that AI promises.”
Dr. Saliltorn Thongmeensuk, Senior Research Fellow, at TDRI noted, “AI technologies can drive this transformation by enhancing productivity, fostering innovation, and enabling the development of smart factories – as well as helping to boost Thailand’s carbon neutrality goals. Through widespread AI adoption, the manufacturing sector can position itself as a cornerstone for sustainable industrial development, aligning with Thailand’s vision for a resilient and competitive global economy.”
AI stands to refashion Thai manufacturing by aiding productivity, reducing machine downtime, improving forecasting accuracy, and advancing worker safety almost by leaps and bounds. These include a forecasted 20% growth in productivity and a 90% reduction in unsafe behavior in manual operations due to AI-supported automation.
These opportunities come along with some impediments as well. The whitepaper enumerated that 65% of manufacturers across Thailand are confronted with a challenge of bad data quality and poor infrastructure.
“The only way to get the best Business AI is with the best data,” said Kulwipa Piyawattanametha, Managing Director of SAP Thailand. “Today, more than 34,000 customers use SAP Business AI, including thousands across Asia. They benefit from embedding advanced AI capabilities to optimize business operations through real-time data analysis, automated decision-making, improved forecasting, and enhanced productivity. With relevant, reliable, and responsible Business AI, connected with a full understanding of the business and the most comprehensive data, Thai manufacturers can trust their data privacy, security, and compliance while realizing the enormous benefits of the Thailand 4.0 strategy – for their businesses, and for the country.”
To avert these hurdles to adoption, the report calls on the Thai government and industry leaders to accelerate the establishment of solid AI governance frameworks, clarify regulatory uncertainties, and create stronger public-private partnerships.
With global competition rising, the message is clear: embracing AI is not just about keeping up, it’s about leading. The whitepaper offers a timely roadmap to ensure Thailand’s manufacturing sector drives the next era of digital innovation.
Dr. Saliltorn Thongmeensuk, Senior Research Fellow, at TDRI, noted, “Thailand’s journey to foster a more robust AI ecosystem will require focus to establish AI governance strategies, review government incentives, enhance partnerships between government agencies and private enterprises, and encourage international collaboration. Businesses need consultation to identify which AI solutions are most suitable for them to ensure a strong return on investment (ROI). By prioritizing these initiatives, Thailand can create a more supportive environment for businesses to embrace AI, ultimately driving growth and competitiveness in the manufacturing sector.”
“Through greater collaboration and investment, the public sector and enterprises like SAP can achieve our joint mission of ensuring AI moves Thailand towards Industry 4.0,” concluded Piyawattanametha. “Using AI-powered innovation, we foresee great growth and prosperity not only for the manufacturing sector, but for the economy as a whole.”
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