The convergence of cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and artificial intelligence (AI) is as expected as it is transformative. For some years now, cloud ERPs have been shifting well beyond their traditional role of managing core business processes, and it’s the quietly integrated powerful AI capabilities that are really blasting these systems out of their metaphorical corners. Because, while cloud ERPs have long been celebrated for their efficiency, accessibility, and scalability, it’s the hidden AI within these systems that promises to push businesses to new heights of productivity, innovation, and strategic decision-making.
In this blog, we explore these covert AI capabilities and how they are upturning decision-making, automating operations, enhancing customer experiences, and so much more.
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Let’s start with a quick overview of cloud ERP and AI
Cloud ERP is a centralised platform that unifies essential business functions. From tracking financial transactions and inventory levels to coordinating projects and customer interactions, cloud ERPs act as an organisation’s digital nerve centre to enhance collaboration, data accuracy, and decision-making across departments.
AI simulates human intelligence via machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and algorithms to completely upend how businesses collect, analyse, and interpret data. In the tech-driven corporate landscape, today AI is being put to work uncovering valuable insights, predicting trends, and automating routine tasks with unhuman-like precision.
When integrated with cloud ERPs, AI enables these platforms to become more than just tools for data storage and retrieval. They become intelligent engines able to analyse vast datasets in real-time, generate accurate forecasts, and offer predictive insights.
Greater intelligence and insight
Decision-making has traditionally relied on either historical data and manual analysis or gut instinct. Both of which can lead to delayed responses and missed opportunities. AI-powered analytics, however, turns the vast amount of data generated by various business functions – even third-party sources – into a valuable asset.
With access to real-time, data-driven insights, business leaders can uncover patterns, trends, and correlations, and make decisions grounded in concrete evidence rather than assumptions. In fact, embedded AI capabilities can take on many analytics tasks that had previously required human intelligence to complete, such as analysing and informing business processes, resourcing, supply chain, inventory, forecasting, and production strategies to better streamline operations and introduce greater efficiencies.
A great example of AI helping organisations get the most value possible out of their data is NetSuite Analytics Warehouse (NSAW) – a prebuilt data warehouse and analytics solution for NetSuite customers. It’s powered by the Oracle Analytics Cloud, a machine learning-powered analytical tool, and Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse, a data warehouse that automatically tunes, scales, provisions, and patches itself. Leveraging these AI-driven innovations, NSAW consolidates and centralises access to NetSuite data – and data from other cloud or on-premise applications – crunches the numbers and delivers accurate answers to all those pressing business questions.
So NSAW could, for example, allow retailers to enhance prediction accuracy by using NSAW to analyse historical customer trends and patterns to gain insights and a deeper understanding of future growth possibilities.
Another notable cloud ERP example is found in NetSuite’s Advanced Order Management module. This fulfilment automation feature enables the automation of multi-location fulfilment, which is determined by factors such as warehouse proximity, ranking, or other user-defined rules. By bringing together data from order, manufacturing, and warehouse systems, this module uses those learnings to optimise warehouse usage and adapt configurations based on demand.
Automating routine tasks
Robotic process automation (RPA) is a must for efficient business operations, and cloud ERPs have it in bucketloads allowing the efficient automation of mundane, repetitive, and low-value tasks. Let’s look at some of the big (and often quick) wins offered by cloud ERP automation.
Automated data entry and validation
Traditional manual data entry is prone to errors, consuming valuable time and resources. AI-driven automation employs machine learning algorithms to extract and validate data from various sources accurately.
Invoice processing and approval workflows
Invoice approval processes tend to involve multiple stakeholders, manual routing, and potential delays. With AI, invoices are automatically matched to purchase orders and contracts, minimising discrepancies and ensuring timely transactions.
For example, NetSuite AP Automation – part of NetSuite SuiteBanking – automates the entire invoice-to-pay process across data capture and reconciliation, to increase efficiencies and reduce fraud and accounts payable (AP) processing costs.
Error reductions
A standout of RPA is its ability to stamp out errors. Manual entries often cause inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and oversights, leading to discrepancies and inefficiencies. AI-driven automation executes tasks consistently and accurately, mitigating the risks of human error.
Personalised customer experiences
Traditional CRM systems store customer data, interactions, and history, but AI-enhanced cloud ERPs take things a step further. By analysing and understanding customer behaviour, preferences, and needs, businesses can tailor their interactions, products, and services to create the type of experiences that keep customers coming back.
Tailored marketing campaigns and customer service
AI algorithms can be put to work examining purchasing behaviour, browsing patterns, and demographic information to segment customers into relevant groups. From there, businesses can create personalised marketing content, recommendations, and offers that resonate better with individual customers. AI can also anticipate potential issues and proactively address them.
For example, AI can detect patterns indicating a potential service disruption and alert customer service teams to take preventive action. Or an AI-powered chatbot can assist customers by providing them with relevant, real-time information about their orders, invoices, and shipments.
AI, ML and automation are now embedded throughout cloud ERP platforms, elevating their powers beyond mere accounting solutions. As time goes by, these capabilities will grow and further cement cloud ERP’s role as a dynamic and intelligent partner ready to support decision-makers with valuable insights, automate all and any repetitive tasks, and offer personalised experiences that forge stronger connections with customers.
Experts in Cloud ERP
As leading NetSuite providers in ANZ, Annexa are experts in business systems and integrations. To chat about your own business requirements, please reach out to sales@annexa.com.au.
Annexa is a leading NetSuite partner with extensive experience designing and implementing comprehensive and customised business systems, including payroll solutions, financial management, warehouse management and ecommerce solutions.