Discovering use cases and overcoming challenges with emerging technologies
Epicor has been named in 10 consecutive Gartner® Hype Cycles for ERP. Among the ten reports in which Epicor was named in 2024, two explore the emergence of generative AI (GenAI).*
With its roots in operational efficiency and process improvement, ERP is primed to derive value from GenAI in a variety of use cases. By employing a network of vertical AI agents, Epicor Prism saves time by bringing generative AI capabilities—including pretrained large language models (LLM) and retrieval-augmented generation that enables the LLM to safely generate responses with proprietary data—directly to you and your customers in ERP platforms and business applications.
Across the landscape of make, move, sell industries, businesses can apply GenAI to well-defined use cases so that they can improve productivity and grow their businesses. More than just automating tasks, companies can use AI to empower workers with the right intelligence to make key decisions quickly.
By leveraging the high-quality data that already exists within ERP systems, AI simplifies the process of extracting vital intelligence across the supply chain, from finance to operations to logistics:
Because business processes play such an essential role in daily operations, it is here that AI (including its subset, machine learning) can make a measurable difference in efficiency and in customer satisfaction. For example, Epicor Prism can serve as a code assistant to create automated business processes more quickly. Businesses can also turn to Epicor Prism to quickly query their ERP data using natural language. Epicor Prism empowers your employees to ask the ERP system questions in seconds that may have taken minutes in the past, efficiently delivering the information they need in the moment they need it.
“Epicor Prism helps users unlock the power of their data to make informed decisions and take action in ways that were previously unimaginable,” says Arturo Buzzalino, Chief Innovation Officer at Epicor. “Through simple, natural language queries, Epicor Prism’s vertical AI agents quickly source and provide the best answer or recommendation to a user’s need. This helps reduce the friction in how users have traditionally extracted intelligence from their enterprise data, empowering them with critical insights without the technical barriers.”
GenAI-based capabilities in ERP can be game-changers in worker productivity and job satisfaction. By automating time-consuming, repetitive, manual tasks, emerging technologies like GenAI help deliver productivity efficiencies and valuable data insights. In addition, they free up valued employees to focus on more strategic and revenue-generating tasks—a win-win across the business.
Example of scenarios where GenAI could help drive results and improve efficiency for businesses include:
Like many innovations, emerging technologies do not become standard overnight. ERP customers will still have some hurdles to overcome to help ensure successful integration:
Finding the right ERP solutions provider to help you explore the emerging world of GenAI can make all the difference in a successful implementation. In addition, making sure your workforce understands the potential of GenAI will help smooth the transition. Simple preparation is valuable throughout the process:
I'm excited for just having that Prism assistance to help our people take off the load for their mundane tasks, so they can focus on the stuff that's producing value. We have a meeting where we go through every single project that we have, and we're constantly updating those dates to stay in line. Being able to correlate that to our schedule for production is going to be so useful and it's going to save so much time. That’s really adding value to our business. There'll be no other business in our industry at our level that has something like this—and I think it's really going to give us an edge.
Tyler Madsen
Director │ Madsen’s Millwork & Custom Cabinets
At Epicor, we consistently seek to enhance daily operations while finding new avenues to increase productivity and boost profits for our hardworking customers.
By strategically deploying emerging technologies while maintaining oversight, helping ensure security, and continuing to evolve new use cases and opportunities, we strengthen our partnership with makers, movers, and sellers in this pivotal time of discovery and growth.
* Gartner, Hype Cycle for ERP, 2024, Neha Ralhan, Denis Torii, Greg Leiter, Dixie John, 17 June 2024.
* Gartner, Hype Cycle for Finance AI and Advanced Analytics, 2024, Mark D. McDonald, 1 August 2024.
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This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from Epicor.
