Artificial Intelligence (AI) has stirred a sea change in our lives over the last couple of years. From Google Home to Siri, we are living lives on a whole different level than ever. AI works on machine learning algorithm, which is the reason social media sites can pick you out from a group of photo or say you can even dial a contact from your smartphone even without touching the device.
Modern business organizations greatly rely on technology and often find themselves stuck amidst gigantic data sets to deal with. On the other hand, machine learning and AI have been significantly transforming critical business functions and areas right from marketing to cybersecurity and customer relationship management to manufacturing.
What it means for ERP?
ERP, as we know, has long been serving as a superglue connecting and streamlining key business processes.ERP solutions have been known to simplify accounting, inventory and finances whilst driving effective communication and data transparency across an organization. Nevertheless, very few are aware of the fact that the nexus of ERP and machine learning is proving out to be a game changer for the business ecosystem.
Here’s how machine learning is changing the ERP landscape as we see it:
- Improved forecasting
ERP, when integrated with machine learning algorithms, would furnish intuitive and predictive analytics. In fact, this is one of the top reasons to why an increasing number of businesses are resorting to machine learning when it comes to reaping the optimum benefit of an ERP system. It goes a lot beyond simply notifying you that you ought to increase your manufacturing cycles to meet the seasonal demands at a particular time of the year. Further, by leveraging past data, an ERP software integrated with machine learning would notify you the exact months in a year that require the highest volume along with suggesting products that are likely to be best-sellers. This would greatly help a manufacturing business to stock up their inventory well in advance to avoid last minute rush.
- More power to you
Most importantly, integrating the potent of machine learning with an ERP system would help a business get the most out of its data. It would allow one to analyze both unstructured as well as structured data to help come up with actionable insights.
- Workflow automation
Here comes the most exciting part about the application of machine learning in the ERP ecosystem. By having a preformatted framework wherein an individual can make decisions that would further automatically trigger a series of several actions. Now, the next time when a decision needs to be taken, the ERP system would automatically suggest a series of actions basis of past data and experience. With that being said, machine learning is certainly the next big thing in the enterprise technology landscape.
A fine example would be that of a pricing team expert, who often ends up spending hours on complex and tiring price analysis along with taking care of mundane chores involved with pricing. With smart workflow automation brought about by machine learning, pricing team expert would come up with price analysis in a much faster and efficient manner, whereas the time saved can be channelized towards the company’s bottom line and other value-added tasks.
- Consistent process improvements
Armed with spot-on predictive analytics and other critical business data, a company puts itself in a much better position whilst gaining competitive edge. Reason being machine learning offers a business with the opportunity to harvest insights based on end goals. For instance, it might help identify various purchase patterns and behaviors helping you ditch the traditional cumbersome methods to achieving the same. Eureka! Your sales team can easily identify and track new opportunities lying in your sales pipeline, whereas marketing folks can devise their campaigns effectively.
Takeaway
Machine learning is all about the consistent improvement that only gets better with time and the more we use it. It would learn from a company’s burgeoning datasets in order to provide accurate and intuitive insights into key business functions, departments and so on. Bid farewell to data human errors. Regardless of the presence of legacy tech tools and cultural barriers, machine learning is projected to take over the ERP ecosystem by leaps and bounds.
Author bio:
Anwar Shaikh writes about AI, machine learning, business intelligence and enterprise technology tools such as CRM and ERP software. A self-made writer and Digital Marketing Manager, Anwar writes for Sage Software Pvt. Ltd., a leading provider of cost-effective and user-friendly enterprise management systems such as CRM and ERP systems to small and mid-sized businesses in India.
