At the end of my bachelor’s degree, I completed an internship at KPMG, in the Enterprise Platform office in Milan, Italy. During this time, KPMG was embarking on an exciting journey: integrating generative AI capabilities into their solutions through SAP, which offered the promise of faster implementation compared to the standalone AI tools. I had the unique opportunity to contribute to this transformation by working on a pilot project for one of KPMG’s clients, a luxury fashion group, focusing on using generative AI to elevate their customer support experience.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have always been central to business operations, and SAP is a major player in this domain. Over the years, SAP has evolved from an on-premises solution to a cloud-based system which enables real-time analytics and efficient data processing. Integrating AI into ERP systems takes this evolution a step further, opening new opportunities for businesses to enhance efficiency and personalization in their operations.
SAP has taken significant strides to make generative AI accessible and easy to integrate into existing workflows. Through the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), companies are given the tools they need to develop and integrate AI applications efficiently. BTP, which functions as a Platform as a Service (PaaS), provides a secure environment to create new applications or extend existing ones.
SAP’s AI integration strategy includes several levels, from embedding AI natively in SAP’s ERP software to offering AI Business Services for enhancing existing applications. Additionally, SAP provides tools like AI Core and AI Launchpad for companies to build their own AI models, manage them, and deploy them at scale. This infrastructure allows for the smooth and scalable integration of AI without the need for businesses to handle complex IT logistics. The SAP AI Business Services include Service Ticket Intelligence, which helps classify service requests and provide agents with recommended responses, and Personalized Recommendation services.
The objective of the project has been to integrate SAP’s generative AI into the company’s customer support systems. The primary objective was to improve customer service efficiency while maintaining the high level of personalization that luxury customers expect.
Using SAP’s Service Ticket Intelligence, we automated the classification and routing of incoming service requests, which allowed customer service agents to focus on more complex issues that required a human touch. The implementation of conversational AI tools also enabled faster and more interactive responses to customer queries. Additionally, sentiment analysis tools were employed to identify dissatisfied customers early, enabling the team to proactively address concerns.
The early results of this project were impressive: response times decreased significantly, agent workloads were streamlined, and overall customer satisfaction improved. The generative AI capabilities not only automated routine tasks but also added a layer of personalization, helping the luxury brand provide the exclusive and responsive experience their customers desired.
This experience highlighted the powerful potential of integrating generative AI into ERP systems, transforming both efficiency and the quality of customer interactions.
References
https://www.sap.com/products/artificial-intelligence.html
https://www.sap.com/products/artificial-intelligence/sales.html
Chui, M., Roberts, R., & Yee, L., 2022. Generative AI is here: How tools like ChatGPT could change your business. McKinsey & Company.
Mah, P.M., Skalna, I., & Muzam, J., 2022. Natural language processing and artificial intelligence for enterprise management in the era of Industry 4.0. Applied Sciences, 12(18), p.9207.
oundar, S., Nayyar, A., Maharaj, M., Ratnam, K. & Prasad, S., 2021. How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming the ERP Systems.
