The software giant SAP SE is embedding new artificial intelligence capabilities across its entire portfolio of enterprise resource planning applications in yet another sign that AI is sweeping enterprise software and services firms along with the rest of the world.

By combining AI with extensive, industry-specific data and deep process knowledge, SAP said, it will enable customers to automate many critical business functions and solve many pressing challenges more rapidly than was possible before. SAP’s new AI capabilities were announced today at its annual user conference, Sapphire 2023, in Orlando, Florida.

They couldn’t be more timely, with interest in AI reaching fever pitch this year thanks to the rise of OpenAI LP’s ChatGPT and various other kinds of generative AI applications taking off. SAP, Europe’s largest software company, has been keen to jump on the bandwagon, recently announcing key AI-focused partnerships with IBM Corp. and Google Cloud.

Now SAP is bringing its own AI capabilities into the mix with its ERP software suite. At Sapphire, the company announced a host of new AI-enabled features within its Cloud ERP software, SAP S/4HANA Cloud. SAP Business AI is designed to perform multiple roles, helping finance teams to control costs and reduce risk by identifying and reacting quickly to changes in customer sentiment. Meanwhile, sales teams will be able to automate various sales order functions, eliminating the need to enter data manually to enable faster order processing.

SAP announced a long list of ways in which SAP Business AI will make life easier for multiple business departments. For instance, AI will be infused into SAP’s spend management software and the SAP Business Network to help procurement professionals navigate changing market dynamics more effectively, engage with suppliers, select goods and services and enforce compliance. An Intelligent Invoice Conversion feature will make it easier for teams to onboard new suppliers, while a new AI-powered guided buying 360 capability in SAP Ariba Buying promises to simplify operational procurement processes.

AI will also help teams using SAP Central Invoice Management determine the most relevant line items in a general ledger, thereby increasing the rate of automated invoice processing and saving accountant’s valuable time.

SAP’s Customer Experience software portfolio is gaining an AI-powered companion app that promises to help increase conversion rates and operational efficiency for sales, commerce and services teams. Meanwhile, SAP S/4HANA Cloud will benefit from “built-in support” arriving next month, with users able to report problems without leaving the page they’re working on, and AI that makes it simple to flag problems before they occur. Users will be able to access tailored and proactive support content in real-time, while receiving alerts for critical product issues.

SAP Signavio Process Manager will leverage generative AI to identify the best-suited and ready-to-use process models and key performance indicators in order to accelerate business process management. At the same time, SAP will embed AI into various industry-specific solutions. SAP Predictive Replenishment, for instance, will use AI to automatically calculate and order products to optimize inventory management. Sales teams will be able to leverage SAP Intelligent Product Recommendations, which uses AI trained on sales data to recommend optimal product configurations that best meet their customer’s needs.

Elsewhere, SAP’s Human Experience Management software portfolio will benefit from AI that helps to streamline human resources management and adds value for employees. SAP SuccessFactors will leverage AI to better understand the skills of their workforce, so HR teams can provide employees with continuous development opportunities while aligning people to better support the company.

Available later this year, SAP SuccessFactor’s talent intelligence hub will provide a new foundation for employees to build and maintain their skills portfolio, SAP said. AI will help employees to showcase their skills, strengths, work styles and preferences, and discover personalized recommendations for career paths, training projects and mentors.

HR teams will gain access to AI-powered workforce management tools that provide them with a consolidated view of the skills, cost and availability of their complete workforce, including both employees and contract workers. This new capability, planned for the second half of the year, will give resource managers greater visibility into who is available to participate in the various projects they’re tasked with overseeing.

Announcing the new capabilities, SAP Chief Communications Officer Oliver Roll stressed the key role AI will play in future-proofing businesses across a range of industries.

“We’re at the beginning of a profound wave of technological change,” Roll said. “At SAP we focus on embedding AI into our solutions, combining cutting-edge technology with our unique industry and process expertise to ensure our solutions help customers solve their most pressing problems right out of the box.”

Photo: SAP