As noted by the Harvard Business School, digital transformation is no longer optional—it’s essential.
As customer expectations evolve, businesses face mounting pressure to leverage emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) to innovate and avoid falling behind. Thriving in today’s fast-changing market requires evaluating operational approaches, decision-making, and customer engagement. Only then can you adapt to seize on digital transformation opportunities.
A Digital CxO article also notes how businesses have evolved into a new era of disruptive technologies—
with an increased focus on Al use cases to enhance productivity. Digitally savvy companies implement efficient processes and provide employees with unique experiences.
However, hopping on the AI bandwagon may seem a bit dangerous. With the technology advancing at accelerated speeds, the train seems to be moving so fast!
In a way, this is true. What the world can do with AI a year from now may dwarf what we can do today.
But it’s also true that operations managers face increasing pressures that must be addressed right now. These include the need to increase production, reduce costs, and bring teams together to collaborate efficiently.
One of the key challenges to achieving these objectives is to fully leverage AI and its digital transformation potential. As the numbers show, there’s a lot of opportunity to leverage AI. That’s why so many businesses are jumping in:
- 42% of business activities can be fully automated with current technology like AI. (McKinsey & Company)
- 95% of organizations plan to expand their use of AI. (Microsoft – The State of AI Infrastructure)
- $3.50 is the average return for every $1 a company invests in AI. (IDC)
Businesses can apply AI to core business functions across multiple processes. Experts suggest that about 40-60% of accounting and finance functions could be automated with advanced AI and enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration.
Increasing Workflow Efficiencies with AI
As operations teams strive to increase efficiencies, they often face major challenges like resource constraints and process bottlenecks. AI applications address these concerns by automating routine workflows.
This allows teams to focus on high-value tasks that drive innovation. AI also improves predictive analytics—so you can accurately forecast operational needs and identify potential risks while enhancing accuracy and speed.
When combined with modern tools like ERP and business intelligence platforms running in the cloud, AI provides a comprehensive view of operations. This enables quicker decision-making by automating critical processes, minimizing errors, and cutting operational costs.
4 Ways AI Benefits Operations
- Accelerates Production and Decision-Making: AI can identify process inefficiencies, optimize resource allocation, and improve productivity through predictive analytics and real-time data insights.
- Reduces Costs and Risk: Automating routine operational tasks with AI reduces labor costs and improves overall efficiency, freeing your team to focus on strategic initiatives.
- Elevates Efficiency and Productivity: AI simplifies workflows, eliminates bottlenecks, and enhances the efficiency of daily operations by automating time-consuming, repetitive tasks.
- Improves Accuracy, Compliance, and Security: AI systems process operational data with precision to reduce the risk of human error while also supporting compliance and security by ensuring adherence to industry regulations and standards.
The Journey to Digital Transformation
To increase your use of AI and “safely” start your journey on the train to digital transformation, consider your current state of AI adoption:
- Are you where you want to be, and what is your vision for the future?
- Do you have the tools to transform your business?
- What are the core areas of the business where you want to implement AI?
The systems you use can make or break your company. Outdated systems negatively impact financial data and accuracy as well as employee morale. And with the always looming cyber security risks your business needs to be 100% sure your data is protected.
As a first step, evaluate your current ERP solution:
- Does it meet the needs and requirements of your organization?
- Is the solution cloud-based so your teams can safely and securely access the information they need from anywhere?
- Is it a modern solution that will grow with your business in the face of potential disruption while keeping your data private and secure?
Also look at the AI and business intelligence offered by your ERP provider. For example, if you use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance to manage your financials, then your additional tools would include Microsoft Power BI for dashboards and reports and Microsoft Copilot for AI. These are user-friendly, intuitive tools that do not require technical skills to utilize.
3 Technology Essentials for Modern Operations
- Cloud ERP: Cloud ERP solutions, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Business Central, provide flexibility to scale and update systems as needed and integrate financial management with enterprise resource planning to offer a comprehensive toolset for digital transformation.
- Transformative AI Tools: Transformative AI tools, like Microsoft Copilot, accelerate team productivity, create content, and spark ideas by integrating with business productivity tools like Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and Teams, as well as your ERP system.
- Advanced BI Tools: Microsoft Power BI transforms data management their with easy-to-use dashboards and improved reporting to monitor KPIs and keep teams on track. These tools help your team better analyze big data for deeper insights and more accurate forecasting.
Forging Your Digital Transformation Path
By leveraging AI to drive your digital transformation initiatives, you can eliminate repetitive tasks while unleashing creative content. You can also unlock data-driven decisions.
All this can take place within your Microsoft workspace and Dynamics 365 solutions. As you boost productivity and spark ideas, you will transform your business and unlock the full potential of your internal teams.
To get there, effective change management is mandatory, playing a pivotal role in successful AI implementations. Remaining agile and adaptable is also essential. By promoting a culture of innovation and continuous learning, your organization can emerge stronger and more competitive in an environment of rapid change and transformation.
To ensure a successful digital transformation journey, consider the following key factors as you plan how to leverage AI:
- Business Objectives: Prioritize objectives such as customer experience, productivity, revenue growth, and employee satisfaction. Also define how you’ll measure the value of these goals.
- Use-Cases: Identify and prioritize AI use cases that align with your business objectives.
- Responsible Usage: Review resources on responsible AI usage. Choose models and approaches that suit your organization.
- Security: Consider principles for secure AI implementations. Ensure end-to-end data protection from platform to applications and users.
- Governance and Privacy: Address processes, controls, and accountability mechanisms for AI usage. Understand how AI impacts data privacy and security policies.
By considering these factors, you can revolutionize the way you work by streamlining everyday tasks, crafting compelling content, fueling creativity, and unlocking valuable insights from your data.