Business operations software company SAP SE is updating its S/4HANA Cloud database product with new artificial intelligence-powered capabilities for customers in the manufacturing and professional services industries.

The new features in the SAP S/4HANA Cloud 1808 release are aimed at reducing the total cost of ownership of its customer’s information technology infrastructure, enabling faster decision-making and reducing IT hassles, the company said.

SAP S/4HANA Cloud is the cloud-based version of SAP’s HANA in-memory database, which in turn is the successor to the company’s Business Suite enterprise resource planning software. SAP HANA is able to process large volumes of operational and transactional business data in real time and also provide insights on that data.

For manufacturing customers, some of the new features are focused on supply chain management and automation, the company said. SAP is using its AI capabilities to better manage customers’ inventories by automatically monitoring how supplies are being used. There is also more integration for subsidiaries, with automation of intercompany processes and greater transparency of subsidiaries’ production activities being reported to the parent company’s headquarters. Other improvements include simplified and automated compliance processes to help reduce the costs of adhering to these activities, SAP said.

SAP said the new supply automation capabilities would have an immediate and noticeable impact on customer’s operations by providing “rapid synchronization” to manage inventories and fulfill demand, without the risk of overstocking or expensive expediting. They could also realize inventory reductions of 30 to 45 percent, the company said.

“Stock, time and capacity buffers create a predictable and agile system that promotes and protects optimal flow,” SAP officials said. “The complex networks of internal and external partners can be synchronized, and demand-driven planning with real-time information across the network can be effectively implemented.”

For professional services customers the new capabilities include a new staffing analysis feature designed to allow companies to better monitor human resources to meet the demands of various projects. The new version of SAP S/4HANA Cloud also allows project managers to place a cap on time and expense billings, so spending does not cross agreed thresholds.

The new capabilities are aimed at fast-growing professional services companies that need to hire more qualified contractors to handle additional business without impacting profitability, SAP said. They give project managers a complete view of resource requests for each project under their control, combined with the utilization rate of each consultant across multiple projects. This provides more transparency into the availability of resources across projects and better control over product delivery, the company said.

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