INNOVATIVE STRATEGY FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF A VETERINARY ENTERPRISE

Abstract

This article develops an innovative digital transformation strategy for veterinary enterprises, enabling a logical, economically justified, and organizationally supported transition from CRM systems to AI-based diagnostics. Most veterinary enterprises implement individual digital tools without a coherent strategy, resulting in chaotic investments, staff resistance, and poor economic returns. A gradual transition to AI diagnostics is critical because leaping directly to AI without an adequate digital foundation is risky and economically unwise. The research combines general scientific and special methods. Theoretical analysis and synthesis generalize existing approaches to digital transformation. A case study of two veterinary clinics examines real-world CRM and pilot AI implementation. Business process modeling formalizes current and desired workflows. An expert survey of ten specialists validates the readiness criteria, and Kendall's coefficient of concordance confirms strong agreement among their opinions. Cost-benefit analysis assesses the strategy's economic feasibility. The resulting three-stage model includes a CRM core, an analytical platform, and AI diagnostics. Quantitative readiness criteria for stage transitions cover structured data volume, staff digital literacy, and technical prerequisites. The proposed organizational and economic mechanism has three interrelated blocks: organizational (a working group of five key roles), economic (a 1:1:3 cost structure and priority financing sources), and control-evaluation (a KPI system for each stage). Empirical findings show that CRM increases repeat visits, the analytical platform reduces doctor downtime, and AI diagnostics improves diagnostic accuracy and saves doctor time. Cost-benefit analysis confirms the strategy's economic viability: the payback period is acceptable, and both ROI and NPV are positive. Veterinary enterprise managers can directly use these results to develop digital transformation roadmaps, assess their readiness for AI diagnostics, and justify investment decisions. The proposed model and mechanism also offer a standard toolkit for management consultants auditing digital maturity in veterinary enterprises. Finally, this research lays the groundwork for further studies on digital transformation management in the veterinary industry.