How AI Empowers Enterprise Resource Planning
Companies with an intelligent, connected ERP system will be able to take full advantage of artificial intelligence capabilities.
By Chanakya Arora, Oracle Insight

November 2018

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have already transformed homes, with devices such as Google Home enabling voice control of many functions such as entertainment and home security. At the same time, AI is altering the enterprise, as autonomous databases and digital voice assistants change the way people work. In fact, 51% of AI leaders surveyed by the Harvard Business Review predicted that by 2020 AI in the enterprise will have its biggest impact on their back-office functions of IT and finance/accounting.

Oracle Executive Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison showcased some of these new back-office innovations at this year’s Oracle OpenWorld conference. In his keynote address, he illustrated how intelligent, cloud-based ERP is able to close financial books and compare financial results faster than conventional human effort. “We’re able to automate these enormously complex business processes, thereby taking the labor out of closing the books,” he said, “and when you eliminate human labor, you eliminate human error.”
As AI-powered ERP goes mainstream, companies with integrated ERP systems will be able to move quickly and deploy AI solutions customized for their needs. These include

Chatbots and virtual assistants to record and share data involving operational processes such as order delivery, shipment status, expense reporting, and time and attendance – Significantly useful for supply chain operations, these bots can provide real-time insight and enable users to take preemptive action to prevent breakdowns in the supply chain.
AI-driven analytics embedded across ERP modules to run real-time diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics – Such analytical insights can have company wide applications, enabling users—from machine operators to strategic planners—to assess the current state of operations, analyze the information, and decide the next course of action.
Smart objects and appliances integrated with IoT sensors to provide a constant data feed to the AI solution, enabling it to make real-time predictions about operations, maintenance, and so on – Aided by AI methodologies, companies can turn data provided by IoT devices into valuable customer insights and use them in processes such as product development and delivery.
AI-powered digital procurement, where AI helps automate processes such as invoice processing, spend analysis, and contract analysis and constantly runs analytics to forecast trends and drive process improvement – A procurement department with AI capabilities would be proactively alerted about ongoing processes, and users would be able to take informed actions on product delivery, pricing, and process improvement.
Given the constantly developing capabilities and unexplored potential of AI, an integrated ERP system can add valuable intelligence to back-end systems. Companies that have upgraded to an intelligent, connected ERP system will be able to take full advantage of AI capabilities and stay ahead of the competition.

Promero is an Oracle Gold Partner. Promero can assist any enterprise with Oracle ChatBOTS and Digital Assistant integrations.

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