When People and ERP Work Together with AI

About this issue

When People and ERP Work Together with AI explores how intelligent systems can support the people who run finance, government services, manufacturing and enterprise operations. Issue 61 looks beyond the promise of AI in isolation: useful results depend on connected data, dependable processes, clear controls and people who understand the decisions being made.

Executive Perspectives on ERP Transformation

Jon Stevens, Senior Vice President at Basware, discusses the approaching SAP ECC support deadline and the pressure it places on finance teams. His interview treats accounts payable as more than an invoice processing function: interruptions can affect supplier trust, payment control and cash visibility. Stevens explains why a clean SAP core, governed invoice data and continuity during migration matter for both finance operations and future AI use. He also cautions against carrying old process complexity into a new cloud environment.

Rob Townsend, Founder and CEO of WorkStream Technology, examines the years in which an organisation may need to run PeopleSoft and Workday in parallel. During that period, experienced legacy staff may be reassigned to the new programme even though PeopleSoft still needs updates, support and specialist knowledge. Townsend discusses difficult data mappings, undocumented workarounds, expanding project scope and the risk of losing people who understand how existing reports and processes actually work. His interview makes the case for planning the transition as an operational change, not simply a go-live date.

Adam Rykowski, Chief Product Officer at OpenGov, considers how government ERP can become more useful in the work of delivering public services. He describes the limitations of disconnected systems and data that staff struggle to use in daily decisions. His interview explores how shared information, connected workflows and AI could link finance, workforce management, permitting, infrastructure and asset management. Human judgement, transparency and accountability remain central when these systems support decisions affecting residents.

Expert Analysis: Context, Control and Execution

Dinesh Kumar of 22nd Century Technologies examines the gap between recording financial transactions in ERP and executing payments and treasury work. When approvals, banking portals and liquidity information sit outside the core system, finance teams can lose timely visibility and rely on manual reconciliation. His article considers bringing payment execution, treasury policy and controls closer to ERP workflows.

Ken Fischer, CEO of Atigro, argues that an AI model’s general capabilities are insufficient for an ERP task if the agent lacks current business data and the rules governing its use. He sets out the importance of data, persistent context, operating practices and transparency. An agent working across procurement or finance needs to explain which records and policies informed a recommendation, especially when its actions are subject to audit.

Two articles examine how enterprise technology choices can be misread. James Harvey, EMEA CTO at Rimini Street, addresses misconceptions about SAP S/4HANA 2602, including the distinction between a Public Cloud ERP update and the roadmaps available to other SAP customers. Dmitry Borisov, Oracle Solution Architect and Oracle ACE, explores hybrid vector search for procurement. He describes how conversational AI can interpret a buyer’s request while structured search and ERP rules check product attributes, availability and access permissions.

In manufacturing, Dusty Alexander of Global Shop Solutions explains how ERP scheduling can help teams assess work orders, machine capacity and competing priorities without relying on scattered information and manual checks. Nancy Majure, Head of Product for Adaptive ERP at QAD, examines the risks of unsanctioned AI tools around ERP, including the exposure of sensitive operational information and the difficulty of tracing an AI-driven decision. Her article calls for governed, auditable AI within manufacturing workflows.

Helena Jochberger of CGI asks what an organisation’s AI agents are being directed to optimise. An agent pursuing cost, speed, safety or customer experience may make different trade-offs using the same data. Her article connects agent design to leadership priorities, governance, user trust and human oversight. Kenny Ingram of IFS turns to construction, engineering and facilities management, where project, asset, supplier and emissions data often sit in separate systems. He discusses how connecting operational information can help organisations measure and act on progress toward net zero.

ERP Industry News

The news section covers Rootstock Ready, Aptean’s appointment of Yama Habibzai as Chief Marketing Officer, Salesforce’s agreement to acquire m3ter, and Oracle’s selection by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for workforce modernisation. It also follows the HubiFi–Rillet partnership on daily revenue close, recognition for IFS, Ericsson and SAP’s enterprise data fabric work, Acumatica’s customer satisfaction results, and grants awarded by Sage and Village Capital.

Customer Stories: Changes in Everyday Operations

Würth Elektronik uses QAD FTZ to manage Foreign-Trade Zone activity alongside its existing proprietary ERP. The story describes structured data transfers, bulk admissions processing, automated tariff classification checks and clearer visibility of FTZ and domestic inventory. These changes are presented as ways to reduce manual compliance work and strengthen shipment traceability; the case does not state a quantified financial saving.

proWirtschaft GT, an economic development agency in Germany, moved more than 40,000 contacts to Odoo Online and connected its CRM, marketing and events work. The published story reports a 60% increase in CRM productivity, a 40% improvement in sales efficiency and a doubling of monthly newsletter output. It also explains how the team addressed consent management and used Odoo Studio to adapt its data fields and communications.

TASi Measurement is deploying Epicor Kinetic to establish more consistent processes across its 16 businesses. The case examines a shared chart of accounts, cloud deployment, purchasing information and the reduction of paper-based work. Some benefits in its summary are described as outcomes expected after implementation. In particular, reducing one business’s manual invoicing process from roughly 19–25 working days to under two days is presented in the story as a future result, not a completed achievement.

Andover Fabrics replaced an ageing ERP environment with Acumatica Distribution Edition and connected its operations to BigCommerce for online B2B purchasing. The integrated approach improved inventory information and removed days of manual catalogue updates. The case reports an 86% increase in booked revenue over the first four months after the integrated website launch and 99.6% year-over-year growth in UK fabric design sales. Its account also shows the work involved in adapting online ordering to the units of measure and buying habits of fabric customers.

Across these interviews, articles and customer stories, Issue 61 shows what the human–algorithm alliance requires in practice. AI may help teams find information, coordinate work and act faster, but its value depends on the quality of the records it uses, the controls around its actions and the people responsible for the outcome.