The concept of artificial intelligence (AI) has inspired some of the most outlandish sci-fi movies. We may not be close to developing a sentient AI that will take over the world, but we are integrating more and more AI solutions into our everyday lives.

AI essentially boils down to creating computers that can perform tasks that historically have required a human to do. It’s due to major advancements in the field of data science, and specifically, in machine learning, that has unlocked the explosion of AI technologies we have seen in recent history. Some examples of modern-day AI usages include things such as self-driving cars, automated financial investing, and smart thermostats.

One intriguing example of AI is AlphaGo. Go is an ancient Chinese strategy game and the AlphaGo AI became the first computer program to defeat a professional Go player. Even though the game is over 3,000 years old AlphaGo revealed new strategies that had never been considered before.

AI is also becoming more prevalent in ERP systems. Let’s take a closer look at how ERP systems are currently using AI technology.

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One thing that most AI models require is a lot of data. ERP systems with automatic data gathering capabilities and database integration provide just that.

With adequate data, machine learning models can tell you a lot about what is currently happening with your business and give reasonable estimates of where things are heading.

These models pick up on trends that a human may never notice or think of checking for, no matter how long they stare at the same data. Models such as this may predict how your target market demographics are shifting, or how much product you will need to produce next fall.

Customer Service

Chatbots and AI are most likely not the end solution to all customer service problems. Sometimes, dealing with a complex customer issue requires a human touch. On the other hand, many customers come with questions that have easy or generic answers. Having an AI as the entry point into your customer service can drastically improve response time and free up humans for the less mundane customer service tasks. If you have recently dealt with a large company’s customer service process you have most likely experienced the use of artificial intelligence.

Warehouse Management

This section ties in with the first point of advanced analytics and forecasting. Machine learning models are great for picking out trends and predicting where things are headed. This process is perfect for warehouse management. Ordering and keeping the right amount of product in stock is difficult, and mismanagement of this process may result in unnecessary expenses. With the right data available, machine learning models analyze trends and predict exactly how much stock a business should order. These models consider things such as company growth, current market trends, economic health, and basically any other variable you want to throw at them.

Marketing and Leads

AI has become hugely popular in the field of marketing. The goal is to place the right ad in front of the right person at the perfect time, and AI models help make this happen. AI can even analyze the past sales records of a company and figure out which demographic they perform best in. That allows them to hone in on specific groups that are more likely to purchase their product.

Business Automation

Business automation is becoming more prevalent to help reduce costs while simultaneously improving efficacy. As it stands, a lot of business automation is fairly simple and still requires a level of human intervention and oversight. As AI technologies get better so will automated processes.

AI doesn’t have a limited set of responses to a situation. Instead, they analyze the available data and make a dynamic decision that is appropriate for the situation. Self-driving cars are a great example of this. Through the use of cameras and sensors, self-driving cars analyze a situation and take appropriate action. It would be impossible to program a self-driving car for all possible scenarios and that is why AI technology is necessary in this case.

Why ERP and AI go together

AI technology has been around for a long time and improvements in computer hardware and statistical methods have accelerated its use in recent years. The use of these technologies is becoming more prevalent daily and cloud ERP systems provide a perfect environment for them. ERP systems have a unique and comprehensive insight into the inner workings of a company and provide the perfect information for AI models to be effective.

Premier Computing is always at the forefront of business technologies. For over 60 years, we’ve implemented cutting-edge business solutions for a wide range of company types. Contact us if you would like to learn more about cloud ERP solutions and business automation.