Market conditions for ERP providers
The ERP market is very large, extremely diverse and global. The turnover generated in 2023 was around 45 billion euros. With an expected annual growth rate of 4.55 percent, this corresponds to a forecast market volume of around 57 billion euros in 2028. However, a large proportion of this is accounted for by the five key players, who together make up over 2/3 of the market. 55 percent of the ERP market consists of smaller software providers and lesser-known brands. This shows the great diversity, which also leads to high competition. Due to the digital transformation and continuous technological development, ERP providers have to evolve and tap into new business potential. ERP providers are therefore under pressure at all levels and are required to set up their software in an agile manner and integrate technological innovations. In these challenging economic times, they must open up new fields of application and new opportunities for their customers and at the same time differentiate themselves from the competition on the ERP market. Both can only be achieved by integrating new technologies.
Technological trends for ERP software
- Integration of AI and IoT tools as a low-code/no-code platform, for example
- Mobile, multi-device ERP solutions with the option of mobile data capture
- Cloud ERP for improved security, scalability and flexibility
- Integration of business intelligence tools for data visualization, data analytics and predictive analytics, for example
- Blockchain technology for improved security, transparency and traceability
- Integration of applications such as predictive maintenance, RPA, ML or IDP that drive automation and hyperautomation
- Development of modular, compostable ERP systems for individualization and personalization
- Focus on cooperative ERP systems that interact seamlessly with other systems.
endless possibilities.
ExB is an Intelligent Document Processing platform that transforms unstructured data from any type of document into structured results. Our AI-based software can not only extract all relevant information from your documents, but also understand them. This allows you to automate your processes and save both time & money, while improving your customer experience and employee satisfaction. Win-win.
AI - growth driver in ERP systems
Of all the trends, AI will play a key role in the coming years. AI is already supporting work with ERP systems in various ways, for example through context-dependent visualization of data and key figures, voice control, forecasts and proactive optimization suggestions for company processes such as warehouse movements or customer approaches.
However, the potential of AI is far from exhausted. AI can fundamentally and comprehensively improve ERP software: from the user experience and data integration and analysis to automation and new business models. To date, ERP software providers have used AI as an add-on and through the integration of AI-based tools. In the future, AI will increasingly merge with software and become an integral part of the tech stack. This will open up unimagined business benefits – such as data that can be obtained faster, in better quality and in greater quantity. However, the availability, quality and quantity of the required data must be guaranteed. After all, AI only works as well as the data it is trained with. However, many ERP software providers still tend to focus on managing data rather than collecting it.
Data as fuel for AI
The quality of AI algorithms, especially in the field of machine learning, stands and falls with the quality and quantity of the training data. Documents are one of the most important sources of data for companies. However, this data is “hidden” in unstructured and semi-structured documents. In order to extract usable data from this information, these documents must therefore be processed. In many companies, this is still done manually. Employees sift through documents day after day – delivery bills, letters, invoices, emails with PDF attachments, manual notes, etc. Such manual processes are no longer up to date because they are extremely resource-intensive and error-prone. In view of the fact that the volume of data will increase exponentially, manual processing is no longer possible. By 2027, the volume of data created and replicated worldwide is expected to amount to around 284 zettabytes. In 2023, it was still around 103 zettabytes. At the same time, business data is at the heart of a successful digital transformation. ERP providers must therefore focus on developing and implementing intelligent data management concepts, as only data that is error-free, up-to-date, accessible and optimally usable in real time can contribute to a company’s success. ERP system providers and their customers therefore both need a solution for an automated document processing process to ensure the quality and quantity of data from documents. This is where IDP comes into play, an intelligent, AI-based process for automatically processing documents.
IDP as a driver of innovation for ERP systems
In principle, intelligent document processing involves capturing, categorizing and extracting data from various types of unstructured and semi-structured documents. This data is then seamlessly transferred to downstream systems. The aim is to process, store and analyze the data directly from incoming documents in the ERP system, for example, and thus make it usable for business success.
Intelligent document processing goes beyond mere automation, as modern AI technologies such as deep learning and machine learning (ML), intelligent character recognition (ICR) and natural language processing (NLP) are used to classify, categorize and extract relevant data and validate the extracted data. For software providers, IDP is therefore not only an essential building block on the path to intelligent automation, but also the key to obtaining data of the required quality and quantity with which AI can work optimally and thus offer customers real added value. In view of the fact that poor data quality costs companies an average of €12.9 million every year, a solution such as IDP is crucial for the economic success and future development of ERP providers. This is because ERP systems will have to take on a new role in Industry 4.0. This goes beyond the central instance for data management. This is why intelligent technologies – such as IDP – are needed.
All dimensions of innovative data management – data acquisition, data storage, data exchange and data use – are affected by this new role. In order to maximize the benefits for users, the future for ERP providers lies in personalized, customizable customer concepts. For example, it must be decided which data is required and where it is to be stored. This is where IDP supports software providers, as IDP adapts flexibly to individual workflows and is scalable and agile. The strength of IDP solutions also lies in their ability to learn continuously. ML algorithms decipher rules by tracking patterns in data. The more training data and the better the quality of this data, the better the system learns over time. By integrating ML, IDP software is able to adapt to changing situations, such as higher document volumes, allowing consistently optimal results to be achieved. Despite higher document volumes and increasing complexity, costs do not rise. For ERP providers, IDP is therefore a powerful, innovative tool for ensuring data quality and integrity in the ERP system.
In addition, IDP’s ability to automatically convert unstructured and semi-structured information into structured data makes it the door opener for the integration of other modern technologies, making it extremely helpful for future-proofing.
Advantages of combining IDP with ERP
ERP software manufacturers that integrate IDP into their core software offer their customers a solution for automated document processing. This creates efficiency potential, transparent document workflows and reduces operating costs. The elimination of error-prone manual processes for employees also increases data quality and integrity.
The software manufacturers themselves also benefit. This is because IDP opens up new USPs for providers:
- Acquiring new customers: IDP provides ERP software providers with an additional powerful tool in their core software, which enables numerous companies to automate processes and can therefore be used to acquire new customers.
- Innovation leadership through differentiation from the competition: With IDP as a white label solution, software providers can position themselves as technological pioneers on the market and set themselves apart from the competition.
- Brand uplift through the integration of cutting-edge, future-oriented technology: With IDP, software providers can market an AI-based innovative technology under their own brand. This enhances the brand and the company’s external perception.
- High cost efficiency: The integration of IDP as a white-label solution is more cost-efficient than developing comparable AI-based functions in-house.
- Expansion to include additional functions that solve customer pain points: ERP’s scope of services expands with a state-of-the-art, AI-based solution for intelligent document processing that solves numerous problems for end customers.
- Focus on core competencies and further development of own future-proof solutions: Software providers can concentrate their resources on the further development of their software, tap into new business models and thus position themselves more future-proof.
- Increased sales: By adding attractive additional features to the product portfolio, sales can be increased and new markets can be opened up.
- Future-proofing: As an AI-based tool, IDP plays an important role for ERP providers on the path to developing future ERP systems that improve human decision-making even more comprehensively and go beyond pure data management.
Not all IDPs are the same
If software providers decide to integrate IDP into their ERP system, then the solution should be truly “intelligent” and have the following features:
- Scalable to handle growing document volumes
- Flexibly adaptable to individual customer workflows
- Tailor-made integration and 100% compatibility
- High variance of integration options
- Intuitive user interface
- Extraction of data from any type of document – regardless of layout, complexity or degree of structuring
- Ability to contextualize and validate data
- Continuous improvement through AI technologies
- Compliance with data integrity and security
Concluison
The ERP market is in a state of flux and undergoing major changes. This is because technological progress brings new technologies with it. At the same time, the digital transformation and the current market situation are having an impact on end customers’ requirements for ERP software. When business processes and, in some cases, entire business models change, ERP software must change with them. The best way to do this is to integrate modern technologies – such as ExB’s IDP solution.
Durch die Integration von IDP in ERP-Systeme profitieren Unternehmen von automatisierten Dokumenten-Workflows, reduzierten Betriebskosten und einer gesteigerten Datenqualität. Die automatisierte Erfassung und Verarbeitung von Dokumenten spart Zeit und Ressourcen, minimiert Fehler und verbessert die Entscheidungsfindung durch genauere Daten. Darüber hinaus ermöglicht es Unternehmen, sich auf ihre Kernkompetenzen zu konzentrieren, indem administrative Aufgaben vereinfacht werden.
Im Gegensatz zu einfachen Automatisierungslösungen, die oft regelbasiert arbeiten, nutzt eine intelligente IDP-Lösung fortschrittliche KI-Technologien wie maschinelles Lernen, Deep Learning und Natural Language Processing (NLP). Diese Technologien ermöglichen es der IDP-Lösung, komplexe Dokumentstrukturen zu verstehen, relevante Informationen zu extrahieren und sich kontinuierlich durch den Einsatz von Machine Learning zu verbessern. Dadurch passt sich die Lösung dynamisch an neue Anforderungen und wachsende Datenmengen an.
Herausforderungen können in der Komplexität der Datenstruktur oder bei der Anpassung an spezifische Kundenanforderungen liegen. Diese lassen sich durch flexible, skalierbare Lösungen und eine enge Zusammenarbeit mit dem IDP-Anbieter wie ExB überwinden.
