Digital assistants — that is, software programs with integrated artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities enabling them to answer questions and perform or automate certain tasks — have quickly become important components of how organizations interact with both internal and external audiences.
In 2018, Drift found that roughly 1 in 6 consumers had already interacted with a business via chatbot (a type of digital assistant that delivers textual answers), with rapid growth expected in subsequent years. Two years later, the same firm revealed some of the trends fueling the demand for broader implementation of digital assistant/chatbot technology, including:
- Inability to get answers to even simple questions (cited by 36.4% of respondents to a 2020 Drift survey)
- Difficulty navigating a website and getting useful results from search queries (32.9%)
- Trouble receiving support outside of normal business hours (25.3%)
In the context of these challenges, digital assistants have thrived as straightforward solutions for accessing timely, relevant information from almost any location — and not just in the consumer-facing world, but within the more complex domain of cloud ERP and SCM systems.
A 2020 ESG report, “Emerging Technologies Driving Financial and Operational Efficiency,” chronicled the rapid rise of digital assistants as key enablers of modern finance applications, like those within Oracle ERP/SCM. Per ESG, almost two-thirds of organizations believe that digital assistant technology has been instrumental to increasing employee adoption of such programs.
The benefit of digital assistants in ERP and SCM
A digital assistant is, in its ideal form, a better way to get help than having to play phone tag or wait on an emailed response from a human. Well-designed assistants can provide:
Centralized real-time updates
The Inspirage Supply Chain Intelligent Application, or INSIA, shows what’s possible when an enterprise-grade digital assistant is directly connected to key ERP and SCM systems. INSIA is an in-house digital assistant developed by Inspirage specifically designed to work with Oracle Cloud. INSIA can help look up shipment status, SKUs that have low inventory levels, purchase order estimates and much more — all without users needing to navigate to a separate application or apply complicated search filters. Everything happens within the chatbot’s conversational interface, which saves time and prevents multitasking fatigue. Users on-the-go can access INSIA via Teams or via a mobile app so they never lose access. Plus, all transactions happen via a real-time connection to Oracle Cloud, meaning information is always current.
Instant and understandable answers
Digital assistants use natural language processing, a technology that allows machines to interpret real-world human syntax, to deliver quick and often highly accurate answers to questions. With a solution like INSIA, someone can simply launch the application and then begin a conversation to start receiving answers as they are working. INSIA even uses real-time translation services to interact in the users’ local language. The speed and efficiency of modern digital assistants saves significant time and effort in getting solutions to common problems while on the job. Accordingly, there is less of a burden on helpdesks, which might otherwise be inundated with tickets related to routine issues.
Accelerated training and compliance
Because digital assistants are software-based and connected to the internet, they can be continuously updated in tandem with other company systems, policies and objectives. For example, they can be modified to ensure employees find the most recently available human resources materials. Workers can use a digital assistant to see if there are any applicable videos to watch, policy documents to read or on-demand trainings to complete. This way, they’re always up to date with the latest company practices, with as few compliance-related risks as possible. The self-service possible through digital assistants also increases ERP application adoption.
Will a digital assistant take your job?
Like other forms of automation, digital assistants may inspire anxiety about how they will eliminate certain types of jobs, in this case, positions related to technical support or even to supply chain management. However, digital assistants are just that — assistants, not full-fledged replacements for the work done by humans.
A digital assistant can help people find answers more quickly and use ERP and SCM systems in more efficient ways. Going forward, these implementations will become more common in supply chains and should be broadly beneficial to workforces. To learn more about setting up a digital assistant within your Oracle ERP/SCM, download the Inspirage INSIA datasheet or contact our team directly.
