Implementing NLP in ERP Systems: Will Your Business Be Different?
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Businesses in many different industries use Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to facilitate their workflows. The use of ERP has many advantages, and the experience of prominent companies like Nestlé and Coca-Cola confirms this. This active use of ERP and the ever-growing demand for it are driving the need for ERP automation with the help of Artificial Intelligence, specifically Natural Language Processing (NLP).
Our case study found that AI-driven ERP solutions are highly efficient, improve data accessibility and analysis, and also enable businesses to predict trends and make proactive decisions. Companies that have already enhanced their ERP systems with AI report faster response times, improved task accuracy, and a significant reduction in manual work. That’s why, in this article, we’ll look at how NLP integration is revolutionizing ERP systems.
NLP in ERP: How Does It Work?
The best way to think of NLP is as a translator from human language to a specific computer programming language, but it also offers the benefits of AI in business automation. For example, it offers real-time data access, which means NLP can be used to process information, search for relevant data points, and run or predict queries. Automating these actions, which usually require several employees, leads to process automation of the whole ERP system.Therefore, we can understand the general elements of how NLP improves ERP systems at this stage.
In addition, NLP can improve the user experience for non-technical staff interacting with complex ERP systems by entering commands using natural language instead of code, thus reducing lengthy training processes. Once NLP is implemented, the software can understand and respond to input data in human language. This process has the following steps:
- Data input. At this stage, users interact with the ERP. They can use text commands or enter voice queries.
- Language processing. NLP breaks down the sentence structure, identifies critical terms, as well as the context and purpose of the query. It uses machine learning algorithms and models to understand the meaning and context of words.
- Finding information and generating a response. Next, based on the information received and interpreted by NLP, the system searches for relevant data in its database and generates a response. This can be a report, a specific piece of data, or an action within the ERP system. This response, once processed by NLP, will be designed to be presented to the user in a natural, understandable way.
Another characteristic of NLP in ERP is continuous learning. NLP systems often include machine learning components that allow them to improve over time. This is an incredible advantage, because the more users interact with it, the better the system understands language patterns, user preferences, and context. This continuous analysis and improvement leads to more accurate and effective responses.
The Main Benefits of Implementing NLP in ERP Systems
Since the importance of intelligent automation in ERP is already apparent today, let’s look at the specific benefits of NLP in ERP software.
Enhanced Data Processing and Analysis
NLP acts as a translator with many additional functions. Let’s start with an example of how it can simplify the employees’ workflows. NLP can save a significant amount of time when searching for data because it understands the context of a query, not just a set of keywords, and finds and displays the most relevant data.
Intelligent retrieval also recognizes abbreviations or synonyms. As an illustration, to get the most recent changes in reports, you don’t need to enter the document’s date or name; you need to request “most recent sales report”, and NLP will be able to prioritize the latest documents by understanding the purpose of the request.
Another cutting-edge feature is information access in ERP. The NLP can combine information from different system modules in its responses. Therefore, the information provided will be more accurate.
Improved Reporting and Compliance
NLP is a master of data analytics. First of all, its intelligent tools can analyze and classify documents. Engineers can also program NLP software to check documents according to specific standards. ERP response time reduction is also the result of skilful handling of all existing data in the system.
Second of all, detailed risk analysis is possible, since NLP inspects all textual information for unusual patterns, ensuring consistency between documents and also preventing errors that can be made during manual work.
NLP implementation enables business process optimization at any level of complexity. NLP can enable ERP systems to generate reports of various types, from general reports to specific requests from your employees, sorting information based on any data query.
Better Decision-Making
AI-powered ERP also predicts trends in your customers’ requests, even those that are not readily apparent. These processes help your ERP system create different scenarios for your business development in the future so that the company can consider several strategies before making a decision based on enhanced business intelligence.
After conducting a detailed customer feedback study, NLP can help you understand the overall picture of consumer sentiment, enablings your team to improve the quality of customer service and focus more on customer needs. By the same token, you can also use it to keep an eye on employees’ sentiment and better understand their everyday concerns. These benefits make it clear that NLP applications in enterprise resource planning can play a crucial role.
Improved User Interface and Experience
Automating ERP processes with NLP is not limited to only these use cases. To start with, we are now able to communicate through chatbot interfaces using everyday language and without the need for pre-programmed commands, which has already radically changed the user experience in ERP systems.
Chatbots have evolved to become virtual assistants: AI-powered agents that can answer questions and go through all the stages of, for example, an online purchase. Nowadays, voice commands are becoming more widely used, for a couple of reasons:
- it is often more faster and convenient for users to pronounce a word than write it;
- voice commands make ERP services more accessible to people with disabilities, such as those with visual impairments or limited mobility.
An ERP system powered by NLP is able to study and provide up-to-date information, predict the development of a particular area of your business, analyze the needs of customers and employees, and make communication easier.
So, how do you start integrating NLP? We’ve covered the most important steps and a real-live case study in our original article. Follow the link to read more and contact our team!
