HOW TO BOOST YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN EFFICIENCY WITH SAP AND GOOGLE CLOUD

The business landscape, like the rest of the world, is evolving at a blistering pace. Global markets shift without warning, customer behaviors and preferences evolve at an accelerated rate, and the advent of technology continues to disrupt traditional industries. Now, more than ever, companies are feeling the urgency to keep pace with these changes.

Data sits at the core of this digital revolution. From enabling personalized customer experiences to streamlining operational efficiencies, data has become a critical part of business strategy. Yet, businesses are wrestling with a dilemma similar to a Shakespearean tragedy. In this modern-day Hamlet, enterprises struggle with siloed data, unable to act with precision and speed. Decisions are delayed, insights are hidden, and the entire value chain becomes convoluted.

Traditional ERPs, once hailed as the ultimate solution for business management, are quickly becoming outdated, struggling to adapt to this fast-paced, data-driven environment. It’s time to break free from these confines and rethink the way we utilize and interact with data.

Emerging ERP Trends Shaping the Supply Chain Industry

Several trends are shaping the?supply chain industry , redefining the way businesses operate and compete.

Trend #1:?Real-time supply chain visibility

Real-time supply chain visibility has become essential in the digital era. As global supply chains become more complex and interconnected, businesses need to monitor products, orders, and inventory levels across the supply chain continuum in real-time. This allows them to respond swiftly to disruptions, ensuring continuity and resilience in their operations.

Imagine an automotive manufacturer grappling with component shortages due to unforeseen supply chain disruptions. With real-time visibility, the manufacturer can promptly identify bottlenecks, understand the ripple effects on the production line, and take immediate action. This could mean activating alternative suppliers, adjusting production schedules, or communicating effectively with customers about potential delays.

Pluto7’s solutions leverage Google Cloud and SAP for real-time visibility across the supply chain.?

For example, a?large manufacturer ?used our solutions to harmonize data from disparate SAP systems and other sources in Google Cloud. This unified data view enabled them to identify disruptions immediately and adjust their operations accordingly, enhancing their agility and resilience.

Trend #2: Predictive Analytics?

The introduction of advanced analytics and machine learning has altered how businesses understand demand and supply trends. Traditional ERP systems often struggle with data silos and complex data integrations, making predictive analytics a challenge.

Google Cloud, however, with its advanced analytics capabilities, paves the way for new possibilities. A standout feature is its Federated Learning system, which allows machine learning models to be trained across multiple decentralized servers without sharing data. This feature is particularly valuable for businesses dealing with sensitive data.

Pluto7’s?Demand ML solution ?leverages Google Cloud’s capabilities, allowing businesses to integrate over 250 external demand signals directly into their decision-making process. This seamless integration can then feed into SAP Analytics Cloud, Looker, or spreadsheets as per preference.

The outcome is an agile, precise decision-making process for SAP IBP users. They can respond quickly to market fluctuations, make better-informed decisions, and manage inventories more efficiently. The result is a well-balanced supply chain with reduced costs and improved customer satisfaction.

Trend #3: Integrating ERPs with IOT

IoT devices and sensors are everywhere – from mobile scanners in warehouses to smart shelves in retail stores, collecting a wealth of data in real time. This surge of data from multiple sources can offer a wide range of business benefits, such as real-time tracking of goods or proactive problem-solving. However, extracting meaningful insights from this vast ocean of data poses a significant challenge.

Traditional ERP systems alone may fall short in efficiently integrating and managing this diverse and enormous data. But when?ERP systems like SAP are intertwined with IoT, ?it opens up new possibilities, enabling businesses to elevate their decision-making process and actions. The data collected by IoT devices, once fed into an ERP system, gains a structure and a purpose, turning into meaningful insights.

Pluto7’s data platform is designed to support this integration, making the data collected by IoT devices easily accessible for ERP systems. Available on?Google Cloud Marketplace and SAP BTP , these solution accelerators blend data from various sources, creating an enriched data foundation ready for advanced analytics. The result is a seamless integration that helps businesses to make the most of their IoT capabilities, ensuring reliable, actionable insights that drive informed decisions and strategic actions.

Trend #4: Integration of external datasets

Modern ERP analytics are no longer confined to the internal data stored within the systems. They are now reaching out, harnessing external insights, and utilizing advanced analytics to deliver deeper, more comprehensive insights.

The?integration of external data into ERP systems ?has opened the door to more contextual and relevant insights. Questions like, “What is the status of my inventory?” or “What impact will the port strike have on my shipments in Baltimore?” can now be answered with higher accuracy and in real-time.

These developments have brought along a significant shift towards?interactive, conversational analytics . It has become easier to command ERP analytics with statements like, “Considering the web traffic on my e-commerce store, optimize my demand forecast.”

But how do businesses harness the power of external insights? This is where Pluto7’s advanced solutions come into play. By leveraging Google Cloud’s cutting-edge analytics tools like BigQuery and Vertex AI, Pluto7 allows businesses to expand the boundaries of their SAP ERP systems. The solutions enable companies to blend their internal data with a wealth of external data, running sophisticated analytics on this unified dataset to extract unprecedented insights.

Trend #5: The Rise of Personalization

As consumer expectations evolve, personalization has emerged as a critical trend. Modern consumers gravitate towards brands that anticipate their needs, resonate with their values, and offer tailor-made solutions. This shift demands a deep understanding of the consumer’s journey, which spans multiple touchpoints, both digital and non-digital.

Traditional ERP systems struggle to connect these dots, given the siloed nature of data sources. However, with Pluto7’s data platform solutions on Google Cloud and SAP BTP, businesses can overcome these hurdles.?

By leveraging Google Cloud’s BigQuery and integrating Google Search and Trends data, as well as consumer insights from Google AdTech, brands can unlock a comprehensive view of their customer journey. This unified data landscape empowers businesses to make targeted offerings, optimize ad spend, and deliver a truly personalized customer experience.

Trend #6: Generative AI

Generative AI, with its ability to generate new, actionable insights, is revolutionizing the way businesses operate. Google Cloud’s?PaLM 2 , powered by this technology, brings a search-like feature to enterprise data, empowering virtually anyone to find answers to their business questions.

Pluto7’s data platform leverages the Google Cloud Cortex Framework to create canonical views of both SAP and non-SAP data sources. Then, using?Language Language Models, ?the platform reads the integrated data and provides insights.

These insights can come in the form of answering intricate questions, offering recommendations, or even predicting future trends.

The above image is a representation of how Pluto7’s Data Platform uses LLM to provide planning insights based on real-time data?

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