- Digitalization evolves from cost tool to revenue engine
- Data asset accounting opens new financing channels
- AI prioritizes marketing and customer value creation
1. Policy Signal: Digitalization Is No Longer Just About Saving Money
On May 20, 2025, China's Law on Promoting the Private Economy officially took effect. The law makes systematic arrangements for fair competition, investment and financing support, and technological innovation, explicitly endorsing the digital transformation of private economic organizations. This means digitalization is no longer merely a reactive choice to cost pressure—it has been elevated into the institutional framework for high-quality private sector development.
In recent years, the primary driver of digitalization for many private enterprises has been cost reduction: implementing ERP, OA, and cloud systems to cut headcount, reduce inventory, and control overhead. But cost reduction has a ceiling. Once management efficiency reaches a certain level, marginal returns diminish. Forward-looking entrepreneurs are now asking: can digitalization directly generate revenue?
This question aligns with the policy direction. As digitalization rises from an individual corporate behavior to a broader private economy strategy, its evaluation criteria must inevitably shift from "how much was saved" to "how much was earned."
2. Data Asset Accounting: From Invisible to Priceable
The Ministry of Finance's push for data asset accounting is reshaping the balance sheet logic of private enterprises. In the past, customer data, transaction data, and operational data accumulated by enterprises were nearly invisible on financial statements. Today, qualifying data resources can be recognized as intangible assets or inventory, opening a new channel for financing and valuation for private enterprises.
For private enterprises, this brings several changes. First, digitalization investments are no longer just expenses—they can form measurable, amortizable, and tradable assets. Second, data governance quality directly affects asset quality, forcing enterprises to move from "having data" to "using data well." Third, in bank credit, equity financing, and supply chain finance scenarios, data assets can serve as credit enhancement tools, helping asset-light private enterprises obtain better financing terms.
Of course, data asset accounting is still in an exploratory stage, with ownership confirmation, pricing, and auditing requiring practical validation. But the direction is clear: data is moving from cost center to value center, and digitalization from back-office support to front-line revenue generation.
3. AI Implementation: The Main Battlefield for Revenue Is Marketing and Service
If data assetization addresses "how digitalization outcomes are priced," then AI application addresses "how digitalization directly generates revenue." Currently, the most active areas of AI implementation for private enterprises are not machine substitution on production lines, but marketing acquisition, customer service, and product innovation.
On the marketing side, AI can use behavioral data for precise recommendations and dynamic pricing, helping private enterprises improve conversion rates amid high traffic costs. On the service side, intelligent customer service combined with knowledge bases can extend service hours, reduce response costs, and feed conversation data back into product improvement. On the innovation side, AI-assisted design and formulation optimization are shortening the cycle from demand to product for private enterprises.
The common thread across these scenarios: digitalization is no longer just replacing labor—it is creating new revenue streams. Private enterprises, with their flexible scale and short decision chains, actually enjoy an advantage in AI adoption: they can adapt quickly. The key question is whether enterprises are willing to shift their digitalization budgets from "saving people" to "gaining customers."
Conclusion
From cost reduction to revenue generation—a fundamental shift in the logic of private enterprise digitalization. The Law on Promoting the Private Economy provides institutional safeguards, data asset accounting provides a value channel, and AI applications provide growth tools. Together, these three forces are opening a window from "efficiency dividends" to "growth dividends" for private enterprises. Those who complete this mindset shift first will gain the upper hand in the next round of competition.