Businesses today are becoming self-sufficient with the rise in competition in the market. Also, computer science is helping companies to achieve their goal with ease. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that has reached every industry globally with its advantages.
AI is a program or solution that provides businesses with efficient and more innovative moves to handle different operations.
With the power of business management solutions like ERPs (such as NetSuite Integration Services) and AI, businesses are shifting towards a future where sustainability will play a key role.
ERPs provide visibility to the supply chain system as well as inventory management. When combined with AI, it becomes more streamlined and thus results in more productivity.
AI also helps in better decision-making, which can streamline business operations on the go. A discussion of how AI can help your business will be presented in this article.
What is Sustainability in Business?
In general, when we talk about sustainability, we plan our current needs so that they don’t hamper the requirements of future generations.
Similarly, in the business context, sustainability has an approach that can be suitable for future organizations.
Sustainability in the industry revolves around managing resources such that prospective companies come to have functional essentials for their own.
The balance between believing in the needs of the natural world and our requirements defines sustainability. When considering growth and development, we sacrifice some proportion of natural resources in any business.
Also, if a company is based on human intellect, software, or any other virtual element, we consume resources similarly.
Ultimately, this brings us to a point where we should be thinking about the proper use and management of resources that can bring higher efficiency.
Therefore, sustainability comes in a bigger picture. When businesses progress toward sustainable business management, new opportunities will be opened for them. This can further help achieve more profits at the expense of fewer resources.
ERP in Business Sustainability
Using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) allows businesses to make better decisions and change policies. Also, these software solutions play a crucial role in building any sustainable business.
ERP systems provide all the industry stakeholders visibility and give robust control over the company. In return, this mitigates resource mismanagement or scarcity issues; thus, the business attains sustainability with ERP.
These software solutions also have features with which business organizations can keep track of their use of electricity, water, and other resources. Along with these statistics, the company will also have an analysis of the emissions from the industry.
This can help them mitigate the risk of pollutant exposure to the environment. ERP solutions can also help manage the supply chains, ensuring that only sustainable developers are allowed to supply raw materials.
The waste generated from industries is also managed and considered a perfect disposal option when ERP is integrated.
Task automation is another front where ERP takes the lead in reducing the carbon footprint of the companies. All these factors essentially lead to the sustainable development of the business with the help of ERP solutions.
7 Ways how AI helps ERP Businesses achieve Sustainability
AI is a newly added technology with ERP solutions that rapidly change industries. Since ERP itself is a smart solution to manage resources, it feeds the AI with relevant resource data.
Then the AI integrates all these data to provide a single dashboard for the best solutions to different business operations.
As a policy maker or management head, the user will have access to many tools that can help sustainable business management.
Below are some of the best ways in which AI can help any business achieve sustainability on the go:
1. Efficient production
An efficient production provides timely completion of the manufacturing process and ensures that none of the products are defective.
Studies show that most businesses producing many faulty products dispose of them. This contributes to the emission levels from the company and increases the carbon footprint.
AI-based ERP solutions like NetSuite intelligent cloud suite help solve this issue by providing accuracy in design and manufacturing.
Thus, the industry will get a perfect product every time the production process continues. This way, raw materials and product waste are reduced, and sustainable development occurs.
2. Work safety
When we talk about sustainability, we consider environmental, government, and social development. Also, the business that focuses on all these three sustainability factors gets to grow in the market. Under these factors, work safety is crucial in helping business development.
AI-enabled ERP systems ensure that a proper work environment is always available to the workers. It also helps maintain safety protocols that safeguard workers’ health and security.
Features like smart cameras and infrared detection help mitigate work hazards when integrated with AI-based ERP solutions.
3. Improving visibility in the supply chain
The supply chain is another resource planning and management area that can contribute to AI’s sustainability.
The supply chain ensures that the business has suitable raw materials for the required period. Also, by integrating AI with ERP, companies will have a holistic view of the supply chain.
Thus, the top-level management teams will have a keen eye on how things are running in the supply chain as well as the challenges involved.
AI can also sense the deficiency in inventory and alert the ERP system to ensure that the stock level is always maintained. On the other hand, this helps reduce overstocking of resources, which ultimately boosts the sustainability of the business.
4. Optimization in logistics
Logistics optimization is another area where AI-based ERP systems help businesses achieve sustainability. The distribution system is made faster and more reliable when AI is involved. AI allows the ERP to locate the nearest warehouse to the customer and plan an optimized route.
This helps in reducing transportation costs as well as the carbon footprint from the delivery system. This optimization further helps the business with reduced financial needs for logistics.
5. Less time and efforts
Many businesses suffer from inefficient management of different operations. The lack of visibility creates complex processes for other management teams.
As a result, transportation expenses increase the time and effort required. With the help of AI and ERP systems, all the functions can be integrated into one system where a single dashboard is available.
With the power of artificial intelligence, management teams can automate operations in finance, HR, supply chain, and many more.
Also, since most of the work is on cloud servers with ERPs, they can be accessed at any time at any place. This will save precious time and thus help get more focused on sustainable development.
6. Reduction in the energy consumption
Renewable energy is the best thing when considering investments in the development of different industries.
Though their use has been increasing rapidly in the past years, a significant portion of energy demand is met by non-renewable sources. Therefore, a reduction in the consumption of energy and optimizing the industrial processes are substantial.
One of the main ways AI can help ERPs in this sector is by analyzing the business’s energy needs. They can help the manager access insights for energy consumption in different processes and optimize those areas.
Also, since AI efficiently analyses and reduces the energy consumption rate, there are no issues in the business’s productivity. In this way, the company can contribute toward a more carbon-free development.
7. Detecting leaks in manufacturing/production
This is a neglected yet significant area that contributes to environmental hazards. Most businesses that are material based rely on water for their day-to-day operation.
Also, from this large amount of water, a lot of the volume is wasted due to the presence of leaks in the delivery system.
AI systems in ERP can mitigate such issues as water leaks and detect other harmful contaminants coming from any unit.
Also, with an alert-based system, the authorities can take action in such areas. This helps in managing the environmental impact of the industry.
Artificial Intelligence In ERP Software: Risks
Research and know-how
Businesses are incorporating artificial intelligence with ERP systems without fully comprehending AI’s true potential.
AI should not be implemented until adequate research and preparation have been completed. Because AI is still in its early stages, businesses require data scientists and developers who can conduct analysis and create algorithms that produce the desired results.
This requires significant time and financial investment. However, most companies focusing on embracing AI without comprehensive research find automated tasks yielding unforeseen consequences.
Escalation of minor mishaps
Tasks carried out by individuals require control and training procedures that help prevent mistakes and mishaps. The error frequency may be reduced by using AI to automate specific tasks.
However, if an error occurs, the scale and consequences will be much larger and more difficult to deal with.
Conclusion
A sustainable future lies in sustainability; there is no denying that. And businesses also need to accept these new ERPs and operation management methods.
ERP solutions like NetSuite intelligent cloud suite can provide organizations with efficient alternatives and strategies for business management.
The inclusion of AI in ERP businesses helps in reducing the time as well as effort placed by the management teams.
It should be noted that sustainability is a concept that includes both environmental as well as social impact. Moreover, with the integration of AI, these impacts can be optimized.
About the Author!
Mrudul Modh is the chief NetSuite Consultant of VNMT Solutions, A NetSuite Alliance Partner with years in providing NetSuite Integration Services by VNMT Solutions across diverse industry niches. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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