ZEISS turns to Gen AI for revenue forecasts, with India GCC at the core

Dhaval Radia, Chief Financial Officer, ZEISS India

Optics and optoelectronics firm ZEISS has started piloting generative AI (Gen AI)-based revenue forecasting across its global operations, with early results showing machine learning models outpacing human-led forecasts in accuracy and speed.

The project is part of a global roadmap where ZEISS India’s finance team is playing a central role in adoption and implementation.

Dhaval Radia, CFO of ZEISS India, said back-testing of three years of data revealed striking improvements.

“The accuracy level is phenomenal. The models predict much better than any human intervention, and consolidation that took months can now be done overnight,” Radia told Moneycontrol. “The way revenue forecasting has been done for the last 30 years will be completely disrupted in the next one year.”

Zeiss inaugurated its Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Bengaluru on November 11, 2024, to tap into the tech talent pool and further expand its research and development (R&D) capabilities.

The Germany-based firm plans to hire more than 600 employees at its 43,000 sq ft facility and double the workforce by 2028.

From cost-cutting to efficiency gains

Radia added that the business case for Gen AI in finance extends beyond cost savings.

Unlike other corporate functions where automation reduces headcount, finance’s 1 percent share of revenue limits the cost optimisation impact. Instead, the value lies in efficiency and real-time access to insights.

“Tomorrow morning, if you want to see how much revenue you did as of last night, you can simply ask an AI chatbot. That efficiency is a game-changer for finance,” Radia said.

This shift allows sales and leadership teams to act on up-to-date data rather than rely on reports published weeks later. For finance teams, it means less time spent compiling numbers and more time dedicated to analysis, forecasting, and advising the business.

India central to ZEISS’s global AI push

While R&D and operations teams worldwide are at the forefront in adopting AI, finance has traditionally lagged.

Radia said the Indian team is part of a global Centre of Excellence dedicated to Gen AI, charting use cases such as revenue forecasting, automating reporting processes, and even conversational cash collection tools.

The India office has also driven company-wide training on Gen AI. ZEISS has rolled out global learning modules and collaborations with institutions such as IIM Bangalore to upskill finance professionals.

“India is no longer just a support function, it is part of the global roadmap to embed GenAI into finance,” Radia said.

New roles, new skills

As Gen AI takes hold, finance roles themselves are evolving. Radia estimates that half of today’s roles will either vanish or transform in the next five years.

Traditional bookkeeping and reporting will give way to jobs such as data scientists, analysts, and even “financial storytellers” who can interpret large datasets and present them simply to operational teams.

“The next generation finance hire will know as much about language learning models as about debits and credits,” Radia said. “It’s no longer just about hiring CAs or MBAs in finance, data science and storytelling are becoming integral skills.”