Vaibhav Vohra, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Epicor
Line of sight is vital in business. Decision makers must be able to see everything around them if they are to make the right moves for their enterprise. Inside the organization is a complex interweave of hybrid IT systems combining physical, virtual, on-premises, and cloud-based assets. Outside, we find constantly changing markets, with demanding consumers and vigilant regulators. Every strategy adjustment relies on knowing as much about each of these elements as possible. The wrong move could mean that an investment is wasted. The right move however could mean a significant advantage over the competition.
Either way, there is a lot to play for. The GCC is a vibrant digital economy with many industries characterized by fierce competition. Tweaking processes, empowering employees, delighting customers, and building trust among markets and regulators calls for a high level of visibility of the supply chain. Indeed, the supply chain itself is now seen as a target of digital transformation. Analogue supply chains become obsolete, as they are replaced with automated, intelligent data ecosystems. And these ecosystems are powered by core business applications such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions.
Today’s ERP is AI-powered and extremely configurable. Industry-specific ERP systems tackle extant problems within sectors and allow innovative decision makers to take advantage of a digitally connected, data supply chain. We see this becoming a top priority for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers as these businesses pursue strategies of strengthening their resilience while standing out from the competition.
‘Real value’
Generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft 365 Copilot have changed the AI conversation almost overnight. While adoption rates across the GCC were heathy before, the emergence of tools that can compose poetry and tell jokes was bound to accelerate it. A McKinsey report from 2023 predicted the delivery of “real value” to GCC economies by AI of up to 9% of the region’s combined GDP, which amounts to around US$150 billion. But the report specifically cited the potential of generative AI to “quickly surpass” that figure.
What is being claimed by many analysts is that generative AI has a part to play in ongoing digital transformation. While this argument has merit, regional decision makers must remain committed to a business-centric approach to the integration of AI. For example, in a global study, IDC predicts that by 2026, 55% of G2000 Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) will introduce AI into their service supply chains in an attempt to ensure they never run out of spare parts, allowing them to increase the uptime of their equipment to something approaching 100%. Generative AI may be able to play a role in these solutions, but implementers must observe due diligence when it comes to privacy, security, and requirements fit. AI-powered ERP solutions are a powerful means to bridge gaps in supply chains. They remove information silos by uniting functions such as finance, design, testing, and manufacturing. The shop floor and top floor are then indivisible, and insights emerge more frequently.
AI is a fast path to faster decisions — ones that are more effective because they are data-driven — about supply and value chains. One of the main advantages of introducing AI through ERP systems is that it is easier to quickly take data from disparate sources and combine it to produce insights. It is a short step from there to effective action. And with low-code/no-code development platforms, organizations do not need to wait for technical talent to become available. Non-tech departments can take the initiative, allowing citizen developers, operating under appropriate governance standards, to use AI to boost a range of efficiencies — to automate manual processes and to digitalize workflows. Any routine task that is automated is an advantage to the business because it frees up humans to do the things they do best — strategize, improvise, and innovate.
Perfect partnerships
To gain this advantage, ERP systems and their AI elements must be unhampered by information gaps. They need always-on access to quality information sources within a standardized data supply-chain strategy. In days gone by, enterprises prioritized data collection at scale, but now the time has come to reap the value of data repositories and turn them into informed execution, thereby enhancing business analysis and information security.
But organizations are rarely going to have the resources and expertise on hand to build an effective data supply-chain. They must seek out a trusted partner versed in the specifics of the customer’s industry and in the challenges of software integration. A strong relationship with a vendor or its channel partner can make the difference between success or failure in the AI implementation journey. In our 2023 Epicor Industry Insights Report, we polled 1,350 technology decision-makers at enterprises in the nine-figure revenue range about what they looked for in ERP solutions. More than half (51%) said they could have benefitted from clearer communication and more consistent support during implementation (51%), and a similar proportion (47%) said the same of the go-live phase.
Our research also identified the biggest challenges businesses faced when adopting ERP solutions. Security and risk mitigation (26%) was top, but others included the time and costs of implementation and training (24%), the options for customization (24%), and integration of the ERP system with other business applications (24%). The right partner — one who understands the specifics of your industry as well as the challenges surrounding AI, data integration, cybersecurity, and adaptability — will be paramount. Partners, providers, and even competitors have a role to play in data-sharing. When we have access to information from the physical and digital supply chains of others, we gain the ability to futureproof our business and navigate uncertainties.
Digital transformation delivers efficiency, agility, and resilience to operations. The region’s businesses have an opportunity to engage in data supply-chain initiatives, supported by AI, to become part of a dizzying acceleration of industrywide transformation.
