With Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration improving the forecasting capabilities of ERP software, AI-run ERP systems can unlock the hidden potential of your business data. Ali Hyder, Group CEO of Focus Softnet, explains how AI is shaping the future of ERP software and how this can lead to greater business efficiency.
Is AI Shaping the Future of ERP Software? Undoubtedly, yes! In the foreseeable future, AI will have a profound impact on almost every piece of software available in the market, including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, in some form or fashion. AI in ERP is going to affect the very essence of the system-controlled business operations.
While AI technology is still in relative infancy, the new Machine Learning is making serious waves in the software market and making inroads into business management applications, endowing them with the power of superior governance structure.
According to Gartner, by 2020, 30% of all companies will employ AI to augment at least one of their primary sales processes.
Impact of AI on industries
AI has the potential to bring change on a wide scale to companies, where the customer and operational data is primary to the business. Naturally, it’s unfair to single out any one industry vertical.
While that being said, and every industry has its share in the benefits, the impact of the new technology is most prominent in process-heavy and data-intensive sectors that have the highest dependency on future predictions done on the basis of historic information.
AI can help the companies organise a large volume of data and turn a limitation into an opportunity. AI has tremendous opportunities to augment human capabilities across industries. The technology is transforming systems through creativity and agility.
AI in manufacturing
The manufacturing industry is already using Augmented Reality and predictive analysis tools. With the introduction of AI and Machine Learning, these companies can take a leap into a digital future to achieve improved process optimisation.
AI technology augments manufacturing efficiency to ensure faster production in less time. Right from planned preventative maintenance to every other operation performed in any manufacturing plant, AI would revolutionise them and make them more efficient and less prone to errors.
AI in retail
AI will bring change in the way retail businesses function today. It would enable retailers to use augmented and virtual reality functionalities in advertising. Introduce immersive product catalogue visualisation to dramatically improve shoppers’ experience with the products even before they buy.
In the near future, chatbots in retail will have improved conversation capabilities. They will be able to capture the emotions and mood of the customers, the basis of which provide emotional responses. In short, AI will empower you to offer immaculately personalised responses to your customers’ queries and significantly improve customer loyalty.
What would an AI-enabled ERP System be like?
AI is bound to transform the future of ERP solutions. The new Machine Learning technology that appears to emulate human actions would influence businesses, regardless of size or industry.
AI as a part of your ERP system will affect the very essence of daily operations. The smart technology recognises the users’ behaviour pattern and automatically performs the routine tasks they do in the blink of an eye while maintaining an unprecedented level of accuracy.
In order to experience this advancement, you need to revise the current technology strategies of your business and be prepared to embrace the change and adapt to the developments.
AI is transforming the way ERP functions
Inclusion of AI in ERP systems make them more powerful business management tools. Here are the three primary benefits of the new technology:
Identify the problems even before they occur
AI integration improves forecasting capabilities of ERP software. It includes advanced algorithms that can search through and analyse the massive data sets collected in the ERP system, identify the trends and make predictions about the upcoming periods.
This way, an AI-based system is able to pinpoint or detect the possible problems, enabling users to prepare in advance and even prevent them.
AI-run ERP systems enable you to unlock the hidden potential of your business data and use it to manage functionalities with optimal efficiency.
Automates routine tasks with system intelligence
You need to follow a defined methodology while performing any given task within your ERP system. AI tools can function in a similar fashion.
For this, an AI system needs to be programmed with a set of governing rules against each action. The technology is intelligent enough to apply these assigned rules to make decisions that are accurate and at the same time much faster compared to any human.
Consequently, AI-enabled ERP systems automate routine responsibilities and makes them as effortless as possible; freeing up your employees’ valuable time to focus on tasks that would add to the profitability of your business.
Improves user experience through interaction
One of the main functions of AI technology is to provide intelligent outputs based on human inputs.
AI systems can read historic data and learn from earlier behavioural patterns of the users. This makes AI-enabled ERP applications provide an extensively personalised experience to the user as well as function faster and in a more useful way.
Although AI has not fully arrived. It is going to be a part of the ERP systems in no time! So, you must be ready for this adaptation if you want your business to sustain and remain competitive in the years to come.
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