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Unlocking the power of AI to optimize manufacturing

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software helps companies become more efficient by centralizing information, reducing duplication and repetitive tasks and providing useful insights. But according to Arturo Buzzalino, vice-president, products and innovation for Epicor, artificial intelligence (AI) is the new frontier.

When integrated with an effective ERP system, Buzzalino says, people-centric AI has the power to optimize key business flows, enable real time decision-making, enhance employee training and upskilling and fuel even greater gains in efficiency, giving manufacturing businesses a major competitive advantage. “What we’re going through right now with AI,” he says, “is as fundamental a change as the personal computer.”

As Kerrie Jordan, group vice-president, product management for Epicor points out, an effective ERP system already has the ability to collect data from multiple areas of a business. “By adding AI to the equation, you’re able to convert your ERP from a system of record to a system of action,” she says. “We call that cognitive ERP.”

Here are five things AI can help manufacturers do to optimize their operations and position them for success.

1. Automate repetitive processes

Employees at many manufacturing companies devote far too much time to repetitive day to day tasks that only exist to ensure continuity of operations – things like sending emails to suppliers, tracking down shipments, invoicing, ordering, responding to customers and scheduling. “These things are important,” Buzzalino says. “But they’re also time-consuming and the return, in terms of value, isn’t great.”

AI-based modules can streamline processes within ERP systems. Photo courtesy of Epicor.

AI, he contends, has the potential to free manufacturing employees from many of those repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on high-value activities that can help their organizations not only survive but thrive.

User-friendly AI-based modules can revolutionize processes within ERP systems by automating invoice processing and quote creation, writing targeted responses to emails, accelerating indexing, reducing manual entry and improving accuracy overall. When employees are freed from such mundane tasks, they can focus on high-value activities, such as engaging customers and driving sales.

“I actually think we’re going to see an explosion of human creativity because AI holds the promise of being able to remove that big weight from our shoulders,” Buzzalino says.

2. Make proactive decisions

AI takes an ERP system’s capability to track and analyze data across the entire organization to extraordinary new levels. Because it is capable of learning from the past and accessing real-time information, it’s able to make deeper and more accurate insights and predictions regarding a business’s customers and their buying patterns, as well as inventory levels, markets, logistics and purchasing.

If inventory supply is disrupted, an AI-infused ERP system will pick up on the change instantly, send an alert, and provide a list of potential replacement suppliers, along with all the pertinent facts about them and even a rating “score card.” And by quickly picking up on macroeconomic fluctuations in the economy, AI-infused ERP enables businesses to optimize pricing.

What’s more, AI-infused tools allow businesses to present complicated material in a way that is immediate, targeted, interactive and easy for employees to understand. For instance, a sales team can instantly access information shared by customers about their preferences and interests, allowing them to recommend more relevant products.

As Jordan points out, it still takes human beings to carefully assess the subject matter generated by AI. “This isn’t a replacement for human beings,” she says. “But it can help companies make data-driven decisions quickly, enabling a business to grow and scale.”

3. Give workers “superpowers”

Human-machine interfaces in industrial settings have traditionally not been user-friendly. “Up until now, we’ve been limited on how we interact with ERP systems,” says Buzzalino. “If that dashboard isn’t pre-built, you’ve got to know where to search for the appropriate data.” That can make troubleshooting frustrating.

Cognitive AI, he says, changes the game by allowing people to interact with their ERP system in a human way. “Now you can actually have human conversations with the computer – you don’t have to be an IT expert,” Buzzalino explains.

By asking questions in their natural language, an industrial engineer can find out where a specific item was shipped from, and a factory worker can easily determine what is responsible for a quality control issue. AI-infused ERP wades through reams of data, delivering the most relevant answer within seconds.

Even better, by analyzing user behavior and historical data, AI algorithms can begin to recognize an individual user’s preferences and intentions. AI learns from past interactions, allowing it to predict users’ needs and provide more personalized help – for instance, by presenting information as a diagram rather than words. Ultimately, says Buzzalino, this drives efficiency and “gives workers the kind of superpowers they never had before.”

4. Improve training efficiency

Training new users on industrial equipment takes a great deal of time and resources in the traditional organization. And in today’s era of scarce talent and high labour churn, that can be a problem.

But a growing number of manufacturers are using automation and digital solutions to expedite training, efficiency, and productivity. When job training interfaces are powered by AI technologies, they gain the capability to provide actionable feedback, guidance and assistance in real-time. In a nutshell, they’re capable of monitoring a user’s mastery of the task at hand, pointing them to areas where they need more practice.

Moreover, virtual assistants equipped with AI can offer interactive support and tutorials, improving user productivity and learning outcomes during the training phase. In today’s increasingly complex manufacturing facilities, that translates to greater accuracy, fewer defects and faster training.

5. Give everyone their time back

Many people fear AI, believing it will eliminate jobs and lead to economic meltdown. But Buzzalino disagrees wholeheartedly.

The greatest gift that AI-infused ERP confers on manufacturers is the gift of time, says Buzzalino. “When you gain efficiency in your organization, you free up time that can be spent on creativity and strategy – the things that humans are really good at,” he says. And the insights generated by AI empower employees to make well-informed, data-driven decisions extremely rapidly, contributing to your organization’s agility in a fast-moving world.

For these reasons, says Jordan, the days of transactional ERP are numbered, giving way to a world of automated and increasingly cognitive, people-centered solutions. “AI-infused ERP software is the dynamic tool that can propel industries into a new era of technological empowerment,” she sums up. “And the competitive landscape is such that those organizations that don’t incorporate AI will find themselves left behind.”

Learn more about AI-infused ERP solutions for manufacturers from Epicor.