Emerging Trends in ERP Software Transformation

Still running your business on yesterday’s software? AI is shaking up the ERP game—whether you’re on legacy or new platforms. For years, “upgrading your ERP” meant another big project, more licenses, more training, but not much actual progress. That’s changing fast. AI is bringing real intelligence to digital operations, not just fancy dashboards. Here’s what’s new: Legacy leaders like SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft are starting to infuse AI across their existing products. And a fresh group of AI-native players— Campfire, Nominal, Rillet, Tailor —are building platforms around automation and simplicity. It’s not just about who built what, or when. The real shift is in how AI features are being rolled out: - Conversational interfaces that let you talk to your data - Autonomous agents that handle repetitive tasks, so your team focuses on high-impact work - Real-time analytics (not just lagging reports) - Faster implementations, shorter learning curves, much less friction The results are showing up in the numbers: - Financial close cycles cut down dramatically - Over 90% of routine transactions auto-matched - ROI in weeks, not quarters But the big takeaway? It’s not about “rip and replace.” It’s not about scrapping everything and starting over. Most companies are layering smart AI capabilities onto the stack they already use, step by step. Here’s what I see working: - Get your data house in order—AI is useless with fragmented, messy data - Pilot focused AI features with a clear business case - Use flexible, API-driven extensions that work with what you already have - Prioritize change management and training—adoption is everything - Focus on high-impact wins: automations, pricing, analytics, customer insights The future isn’t “one platform to rule them all.” It’s about unlocking value with AI, wherever you start. If your ERP feels old and clunky, you have options. The best move is to modernize with intent, not hype. Curious how companies are making legacy systems work smarter with AI? Let’s talk. 

Last week, I spent time in the room with SAP Americas leadership. Candid conversations. Hard data. Three things became very clear. 1. The cloud shift is real, and it’s accelerating. Across industries, including public services, organizations are moving from maintenance mindsets to cloud operating models. Not as an experiment. Not as a side initiative. As a structural shift. And structural shifts change how institutions operate for the next decade. 2. AI is collapsing the gap between “run” and “innovate.” For years, systems of record and systems of innovation lived in separate conversations. That separation is over. AI doesn’t sit at the edge of the enterprise. It lives inside the operational core. Which means the future belongs to platforms that can connect trusted business data, real workflows, and embedded intelligence - securely, compliantly, and at scale. This isn’t an upgrade cycle. It’s an enterprise redesign cycle. 3. Connected systems beat disconnected ambition. Customers don’t need more tools. They need coherence. Cloud ERP. Integrated business data. AI embedded inside mission-critical workflows. Security and compliance by design. When these operate as one business suite, something powerful happens: Governments deliver services faster. Defense and logistics systems operate with greater precision. Financial transparency strengthens public trust. Enterprises respond to disruption with confidence and clarity. Transformation stops being a project. It becomes a capability. That’s the real opportunity in front of us. Not incremental upgrades. Not isolated AI pilots. But modernizing the operational backbone of institutions that serve millions of people, and powering them with intelligence that drives measurable outcomes. The market doesn’t need more noise. It needs execution that connects mission, systems, and intelligence into one integrated foundation. That’s where we’re focused. That’s how institutions modernize with confidence. That’s how we help customers RISE Up! SAP David Kerri Michael Craig Chris Adriana Jan

In the rapidly evolving enterprise landscape, ERP is no longer just about automation — it’s about augmentation. As AI reshapes the fabric of operational intelligence, C-Level leaders must shift from legacy systems toward architectures that think, adapt, and learn. This article explores how modern ERP systems are transforming into intelligent engines that amplify human capability, not replace it. The transition from workflows to intelligence marks a fundamental shift. No longer do systems just route tasks — they contextualize them, learn from outcomes, and recommend the best next steps. For executive leaders, this means real-time decision frameworks that are data-rich, insight-driven, and predictive by design. We spotlight how Machine Learning becomes the nervous system of the enterprise, quietly tuning forecasts, optimizing supply chains, and exposing hidden risks. Unlike traditional reporting, these new systems can anticipate and act, creating a proactive rather than reactive operational culture. Yet, we draw a clear boundary: AI doesn’t replace human judgment — it augments it. Modern ERP must serve as executive copilot, not autocrat. Systems must be designed to amplify strategy, not override it, providing clarity while leaving ultimate control in the hands of leadership. The most forward-thinking organizations understand: The future of ERP isn’t humanless — it’s Human-Plus. A future where technology empowers human intent, accelerates time-to-insight, and unlocks a new standard of organizational agility. #ERP #AIIntegration #Leadership #DecisionMaking #EnterpriseArchitecture #DigitalTransformation #HumanPlus #CLevelThinking

🚨 Is Big ERP Going the Way of Blockbuster and Blackberry? 🚨 I recently had the honor of sitting down with Jan Baan – a true legend in enterprise software. Jan founded Baan Software back in the 1970s, helping shape the very ERP category that so many organizations still rely on today. Now, decades later, he’s at the forefront of disrupting that very same category with his new company, Rappit. In our conversation, we explored why the traditional, monolithic ERP model is slowly becoming obsolete. Just as Blockbuster ignored Netflix, and Blackberry underestimated the iPhone, today’s ERP giants like SAP and Oracle risk being left behind as the world moves toward more agile, customer-centric solutions. Some of the key takeaways from our discussion: 🔹 Big ERP systems often lock customers in, while delivering less and less true innovation. 🔹 The real future lies in microservices, no-code, and collaborative workflows – not massive, inflexible platforms. 🔹 ERP can remain a transactional backbone, but the real innovation is happening outside of it, where businesses need speed, flexibility, and customer intimacy. 🔹 Companies don’t need an army of consultants or massive budgets to innovate – small, nimble teams (and the right tools) can drive transformation faster and more affordably. Hearing Jan share why he believes ERP is becoming obsolete – and how he’s working on alternatives – is one of the most thought-provoking conversations I’ve had on this topic. ▶️ Watch the video to hear directly from Jan and I: https://lnkd.in/gDYXQT4T I’d love to hear from you: 👉 Do you think ERP is dying? Or is it simply evolving? 👉 What alternatives do you see emerging in your organization or industry? #ERP #DigitalTransformation #Rappit #Innovation #AI #Microservices #NoCode #Leadership

The COO Council has hit its stride. Last week we held our winter meeting at Owens Corning. We heard grounded, experience-based perspectives from C-suite leaders at Pella Corporation, Trinity Industries, Inc., and Titan International, Inc.. What stood out was not enthusiasm. It was measurable progress. Three insights are worth highlighting. 1) Industrial AI leaders have moved from experimentation to scaled impact in a remarkably short window. Six to nine months ago, many of these organizations were just beginning. Today, they are operating with hundreds of users across dozens of projects, delivering savings measured in the tens of millions of dollars. In multiple cases, ROI is being measured in months, not years... 2x-4x returns are common. This progress is not tied to a single flagship use case. It is coming from portfolios of applications spanning asset reliability, process optimization, planning, quality, and frontline decision support. The velocity is real. 2) Industrial AI is reshaping the build versus buy equation. Multiple COOs shared that their teams are actively testing AI-assisted development environments such as Claude Code to build or extend MES and ERP capabilities. These are structured experiments designed to determine whether legacy systems can be replaced, wrapped, or materially extended. Some of the platforms being evaluated for replacement include the largest, most broadly adopted MES and ERP vendors. This does not signal imminent wholesale replacement. It does signal that the economics of software creation have changed. The core question is evolving. Not simply, “Which vendor do we select?” But, “What should remain foundational, and what can we now build, extend, or re-architect ourselves?” 3) Industrial AI upskilling remains uncertain, but patterns are emerging. No one I spoke with believes they have “training” solved at scale. Formal programs help, but they are not sufficient on their own. What appears to be working best is empowerment. Identify those with interest. Give them tools. Let them build. Let them prove value. Then create forums for sharing. ~Communities of practice. ~Collaborative hackathons. ~Peer-to-peer demonstrations. The initial intimidation can be significant for some. The learning curve isn't steep, but changing ways of working to better incorporate AI is.

The 'Then' Vs 'Now' - From Systems of Record to Systems of Intelligence: The Oracle/NetSuite ERP Evolution We used to celebrate "going live" on an ERP. Today, that’s just the starting line. Having spent years architecting solutions across Oracle EBS, Oracle Fusion, and NetSuite, I’ve seen the "ERP Burden" firsthand. For decades, we built "Systems of Record"—massive, reliable vaults that were great at storing data but required a small army to extract any meaning from it. The "THEN" (The Manual Era): EBS Workflows: Heavy customizations, rigid approval chains, and the dreaded "data silo" problem. Closing the Books: A 10-day marathon of spreadsheets, manual reconciliations, and "detective work" to find variances. Forecasting: Mostly hindsight. We were looking in the rearview mirror to drive the car forward. The "NOW" (The AI & Transformation Era): Agentic Workflows: In 2026, we aren't just automating—we’re delegating. AI Agents in Fusion and NetSuite now proactively identify supply chain risks and draft purchase orders before a stockout even happens. The Continuous Close: AI-driven anomaly detection and "Bill Capture" turn the monthly close from a crisis into a non-event. Predictive EPM: Moving from hindsight to foresight. We’re leveraging Generative AI to simulate 100+ "what-if" scenarios in seconds, not weeks. The Reality Check: AI isn’t a "bolt-on" feature you turn on. It requires a clean data foundation and a fundamental shift in organizational mindset. If your ERP still feels like a digital filing cabinet, you aren't just behind on tech—you’re losing competitive speed. I’m helping organizations bridge this gap—taking the reliability of their Oracle/NetSuite core and supercharging it with an AI-first strategy. Are you still running your business on hindsight, or are you ready for the Autonomous ERP? 👇 Let’s discuss in the comments: What is the #1 manual process in your ERP that you wish an AI Agent could take over today? #OracleFusion #NetSuite #AI #DigitalTransformation #ERP #EPM #OracleEBS #GenerativeAI #FutureOfWork #AppSys #AppSysGlobal

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 20 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 20 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐀𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐄𝐑𝐏 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. The transformation ahead will be monumental for ERP software providers, developers, consultants, and users. With AI advancing rapidly, traditional ERP systems, which rely on rigid, predefined processes, will evolve into adaptive, real-time decision engines. Instead of static workflows, ERP platforms of the future will make the next best decision dynamically for every order, resource, and demand scenario. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧? - No more fixed processes. AI will determine the optimal next step for an order by analyzing material availability and production capacity in real time. - No more waiting for batch jobs or manual inputs. AI-powered ERP systems will continuously learn and respond instantly to changing conditions. - A shift from process management to outcome management, transforming how we manage supply chains, production, and financial planning. This won’t happen overnight. It’s a gradual evolution starting with today’s composable, cloud-based ERP systems, which already enable centralized updates and innovations. Over time, these platforms will progress into AI-centric frameworks where the traditional ERP core becomes a repository for orders, while execution is driven by outcome-focused AI. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 10–20 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬? Of course, there will still be those who claim that SAP ECC or early on-premises S/4HANA releases “get the job done.” But they will be much fewer since many will be out of business because of missing abilities to adapt to changing circumstances and paradigms. For consultants, the landscape will also shift: - Fewer roles for traditional SAP Basis or technical application specialists. - More opportunities for visionary consultants who can align a customer’s strategy with cutting-edge technology and guide them toward value-driven adoption of AI-powered ERP systems. This is my personal vision for the "Future of ERP". Probably it will happen even sooner. Prove me wrong.

From Transactions to Predictions: The Next Evolution of ERP For two decades, enterprise systems like Oracle EBS, SAP, and Dynamics have been exceptional at recording transactions. But the next era of ERP isn’t about what happened — it’s about what’s about to happen. Machine Learning is quietly redefining how enterprises make decisions inside ERP: - Predict which supplier will miss a delivery - Forecast which customer might delay payment - Recommend when to pay or when to hold - Spot anomalies before they turn into audit findings The result? → CFOs get predictive cash flow visibility → Procurement heads get risk-adjusted supplier intelligence → CIOs turn data volume into decision velocity. At Adtech, we see ERP systems evolving from systems of record to systems of reasoning — where every approval, transaction, or reconciliation is guided by AI-backed foresight. - The future ERP is not just automated — it’s intelligent. - The journey starts with a few focused ML pilots, built directly on your ERP data. If you’re a CIO reimagining your ERP roadmap, ask one question: “What would my ERP know if it could learn?” #AI #MachineLearning #ERP #OracleEBS #DigitalTransformation #CIO #PredictiveAnalytics #AdtechCorp #EnterpriseAI

AI is no longer an add‑on for SAP — it’s becoming the backbone of transformation. 🤖 Across ERP, planning, procurement, sustainability and low‑code, AI capabilities are being embedded into SAP’s stack to speed automation, improve data quality and cut time to value. Read the full weekly digest here: https://lnkd.in/gT8iatqM Key takeaways: - SAP is pushing “customer‑specific, data‑anchored” AI — prioritizing enterprise data, governance and tailored models over generic solutions. 📊 - SAP Build and low‑code tools are getting AI enhancements (UI, mobile, process automation), shortening dev cycles and reducing dependency on scarce specialists. - Practical ERP use cases are emerging: master‑data deduplication, AI‑assisted promotion creation, smarter IBP scenario planning — all addressing longstanding transformation pain points. Why this matters: - AI is shifting from experimental to integral — transformation programs must be AI‑ready in data architecture, governance and skill development. - SAP’s training and certification pushes (Build Academy, Generative AI certification) show they’re preparing the partner ecosystem to scale implementations responsibly. Want a concise walkthrough of the trends, product updates and enterprise implications? Read the digest above and share: how is your organization preparing data and teams for AI‑first ERP? #SAP #AI #ERP #LowCode #DigitalTransformation

Deloitte just released their 2026 Software Industry Outlook. Here are my bets for what this will mean for manufacturing. What are yours? Deloitte identifies that AI-native startups are disrupting incumbents with specialized solutions, while established players are racing to become "agentic platforms" through aggressive M&A Meanwhile, development teams are being rebuilt around AI-first workflows, and cybersecurity is evolving to defend against autonomous AI attacks For manufacturers, this isn't just tech industry drama...I'd happily bet that it will reshape every software vendor relationship you have My 6 Big Bets from the research: 1. MES gets absorbed into ERP 🔹 I'm betting standalone MES vendors either pivot to AI orchestration platforms or get acquired. The real action will be ERP systems subsuming MES functionality entirely (we've already seen incredible progress with SAP DM compared to MII). Cross-functional AI workflows don't respect the old ERP-MES boundary lines....so the ERP vendors can't either 2. Data infrastructure separates winners from losers 🔹 My bet: Companies that solved connectivity and data quality between 2019-2024 are about to accelerate away from the pack. While competitors fight basic integration issues, they'll be the only ones who can actually deploy AI agents at scale 3. Skills transformation accelerates 🔹 I'm betting the operator role fundamentally changes from machine troubleshooter to AI supervisor. Engineers will need to think in dynamic, cross-functional workflows instead of linear processes. The companies that get ahead of this training curve win 4. Vendor renewal shock incoming 🔹 My bet: Your current L0 - L3 vendors will acquire AI startups at premium prices, then justify 20-30% renewal increases with "AI-enhanced capabilities." Whether you wanted them or not 5. Pilot-to-scale becomes the make-or-break moment 🔹 I'm betting that every vendor will demo beautiful AI agents in perfect conditions, but only manufacturers with solid infrastructure foundations will successfully scale. The rest get stuck in pilot purgatory 6. Cybersecurity becomes AI-vs-AI warfare 🔹 My bet: Your OT/IT convergence just became your biggest vulnerability. Traditional security can't defend against machine-speed attacks. You'll need AI-powered security agents, but most manufacturers are still running legacy frameworks designed for human-speed threats Bottom line: - You need to own your data and have a plan to architect it across your business silos - The AI transformation isn't waiting for you to get ready - The winners will be those who control their data destiny instead of letting vendors do it for them Excellent reading from Steve Fineberg and team: ttps://https://lnkd.in/ghybEGEK #Manufacturing #AI #IndustrialTransformation #DataStrategy #Industry40