Enterprise resource planning software is not known for its nimbleness. After all, ERP has its roots in the material resource planning software used for manufacturing, a relatively slow-moving industry. Then there’s the fact that ERP is business software meant to power all aspects of a company. Disruption and evolutionary speed are not necessarily hallmarks of foundational business software.
The evolution of ERP is getting faster, however. The move to the cloud, which is finally nearing completion both for vendors and the businesses that use their software, is quickening innovation. ERP stalwarts such as Oracle and SAP now can more easily roll out updates and new features that previously would have taken awhile to filter down and interconnect with the versions of their software that businesses actually were using.
The cloud has made ERP more nimble.
So with that in mind, here are five ERP features in the works that you should be seeing soon.
1. Robust Usage-Based Model Support
Businesses are finally getting on the services bandwagon long championed by Silicon Valley startups.
“Companies across industries are increasingly looking to develop long-tail subscription revenues by supplementing their main product or service with ongoing services,†notes Jonathan Gross, managing director of ERP consultancy, Pemeco ConsultingOpens a new window .
Much of this subscription revenue will rely on IoT data from products in the field, so ERP systems are making it easier for businesses to meter and analyze IoT data in real-time for these service models.
“IoT and AI enable businesses to drive new revenue streams by feeding IoT data through usage meters to improve product insight and bring usage-based monetization models to market,†says Ash Bajpai, senior director of product management for ERP and SCM analytics at OracleOpens a new window .
2. Automation Driven by AI
ERP has long stressed automation, and that’s one of the original selling points of these systems. The problem always has been that setting up these automations takes time and a little process know-how.
ERP system-makers think they have just the trick for improving the utilization of ERP automation, however: artificial intelligence-assisted automation help.
The idea is simple: If employees aren’t using automation fully enough, AI will help suggest automations that are worthwhile given system usage. With AI, businesses can automate a much higher degree of their processes because discovery and setup largely are handled by the system.
“Look for more intelligence and automation, including a reduction of repetitive manual tasks via robot process automation and machine learning technologies to provide more time for strategic activities,†says Sven Denecken, senior vice president of S/4HANA product management and co-innovation at SAPOpens a new window .
3. AI-driven Bots that Understand Natural Language
Voice is a big trend right now, and many experts predict the revolutionary power of being able to talk to business systems and have them carry out tasks or reply with actionable data. Think Siri or Alexa for industry.
We’re not just talking about quarterly sales numbers, too; in the near future, voice will be a primary interface with ERP systems, entering data, controlling IoT devices and giving data based on user role within the system.
“Chatbots and AI are enabling finance teams to delight employees with simple conversational user interfaces for expense reporting to reduce manual effort and improve accuracy,†notes Bajpai.
4. Easier Direct-to-Digital Interfaces
Not every business is fully digital, but we’re getting close. With the rise of smartphones and the central role that digital technology now plays for nearly every business, there’s a growing competitive need for fully digital processes. Businesses that aren’t fully digital are already at a disadvantage, and that disadvantage will only get worse.
A fully digital business also benefits ERP makers, since that raises the utility of the ERP systems that serve as the digital nerve-center for a business.
To that end, expect ERP systems to roll out increasingly more ways to bypass manual data entry and directly capture company data. This includes things like more integrations and better electronic data interchange connections, of course, but it also means better mobile interfaces for field technicians and better integration with IoT data.
“Coming is digitalization of the core processes, such as automated AP invoice clearance using scanning and matching tools rather than manual key entry,†says Jim Errington, executive vice president of sales and service for Fujitsu GloviaOpens a new window .
5. Natural Inclusion of Experience Data in Business Processes
The feedback loop is getting stronger for businesses because most firms are awash in both customer and operational data. There also is the opportunity for real-time feedback from products and equipment in the field as a result of IoT, and collecting all this data in real-time through cloud-based ERP solutions.
ERP systems are therefore beefing up the connection between real-time experience data and business processes. In the near future, business processes within ERP systems will be informed by and highlight this real-time data more fully.
“You’ll see more experience data integrated into business processes,†says Denecken. “The combination of experience data and operational data closes the loop on knowing not only what happened, but why it happened.â€
The newfound nimbleness of ERP systems is all about enabling greater nimbleness for the businesses that use them, in other words. And that’s something to celebrate about.