How AI is used in cloud ERPs - now and in the future

What if your business systems could intuitively understand your needs, anticipate challenges, and provide hyper-personalised insights - all through natural, everyday language? 

This is where the marriage of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) with cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is taking us. In fact, we are already well down this road, with leading cloud ERP vendors already starting to stack their platforms with AI and ML to offer entirely new levels of personalisation, predictive analytics, and user-friendly functionality.

In this article, we explore what new innovations we can expect to come in these platforms, how AI and ML is already being put to work in NetSuite cloud ERP, and what it all means for businesses using - or soon to be deploying - cloud ERP.

Hyper-personalised user experiences
Hyper-personalisation is a strategy that uses AI and ML to create personalised experiences unique to each user in real-time and at scale. Used in ERPs, AI-driven personalisation will radically alter how users interact with the system. Using a mix of natural language processing, user data, process knowledge, predictive analytics, and comprehensive documentation, cloud ERP systems of the future will be able to draw data from across the tech ecosystem to deliver highly relevant insights tailored to individual roles and preferences. In practice, the system will speak to users in a relatable, human way, providing intelligent responses and suggestions based on their past behaviour and current needs.

NetSuite's AI approach to user experiences: 
NetSuite's Customer 360 leverages AI to deliver hyper-personalised insights directly within the ERP system. By using AI to analyse customer data, past behaviours, and preferences, Customer 360 generates headlines and a summary of key insights on the shopper's behaviour right on the customer record. This gives users immediate insight into the customer, allowing them to have more personalised interactions that cultivate stronger relationships.

Everyday language interaction
Gone are the days of complex keyboard shortcuts and cryptic commands. Cloud ERPs of the future will enable users to interact directly with the system, asking it to filter reports or retrieve detailed information with simple, conversational queries. This shift will not only enhance user experience but also democratise access to ERP functionalities, making them more intuitive and accessible to all.

NetSuite's AI approach to communication:
NetSuite Text Enhance is an integrated AI-led feature that generates context-sensitive content and responses-based company-specific and relevant data. For example, it can draft item descriptions, sales communication, purchase orders, job listings, employee goals, notes, and other long-form text fields throughout the suite.

Sophisticated predictive analytics
Being able to predict future trends is a worthy talent. Fortunately, generative AI is already being used to analyse vast datasets and identify patterns and trends that humans might overlook. In the future, these systems will provide even more nuanced, accurate predictions, aiding in sales forecasting, inventory management, pricing strategies, and more. Crucially, AI-powered predictive analytics like this will be accessible to business users with minimal training, which will mean less reliance on data scientists.

NetSuite's AI approach to analytics: 
NetSuite Analytics Warehouse (NSAW) exemplifies how AI is already enhancing predictive analytics within the ERP. Powered by Oracle Analytics Cloud and Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse, NSAW consolidates data from multiple third-party sources. This helps businesses, for example, forecast trends, manage inventory even more effectively, and set optimal pricing strategies. 

Real-time, explainable insights
ERP systems already have the capabilities for real-time data analysis and insights, enabling users to make informed decisions quickly. But augmented AI will not only be able to present insights but also provide background information and root cause analysis. This means users will be able to intuitively generate comprehensive reports and executive summaries on demand, turning all that info-rich raw data into actionable intelligence.

NetSuite's AI approach top predictive analytics:
NetSuite Planning and Budgeting (NPBS) uses predictive algorithms to monitor and analyse financial plans, forecasts, and variances in real-time. This module provides users with real-time insights and detailed explanations, allowing for quick adjustments and informed decision-making. Additionally, a narrative reporting feature in NetSuite EPM offers contextual insights into financial data, making complex information more accessible and actionable for decision-makers.

Smarter automation
Automation has been making deep in-roads into ERP. In fact, it's one of its major superpowers. But we can expect advances in AI-driven automation to further streamline business processes. ERP systems will learn from user interactions, refining their capabilities to prefill forms, map data accurately, and recommend next steps. This continual learning will make cloud ERPs even more efficient, preventing employees from getting bogged down in repetitive data entry.

NetSuite's Approach to AI-supported automation: 
NetSuite Bill Capture and NetSuite AP Automation are two of many, examples of AI-driven automation within NetSuite. Bill Capture uses machine learning to extract and validate data from documents, automatically categorising expenses. Similarly, AP Automation streamlines the invoice-to-pay process by matching invoices to purchase orders and contracts, reducing discrepancies and ensuring timely transactions. 

The hype around AI is not going anywhere anytime soon. As cloud ERP vendors like NetSuite continue to look ahead, you can expect their AI capabilities to evolve business operations in exciting and surprising ways and create new, value-driven opportunities for their business users along the way.