Who is applying AI in ERP: Over 20,000 enterprises globally utilise SAP AI for financial management – best practices for CFOs expanding overseas

In recent years, the industry transformation driven by generative AI has been accelerating its penetration into every facet of enterprise management. From finance to supply chain, from manufacturing to customer service, AI is no longer a conceptual “future” but a tangible productivity tool embedded within ERP systems. According to data released by SAP, over 24,000 enterprise customers globally are now deeply integrating AI capabilities into their ERP systems, covering end-to-end processes across finance, supply chain, manufacturing, and customer service.

As a CFO or finance director of an international enterprise, you may be contemplating: What tangible value can AI deliver in finance and corporate management? How can implementation costs be minimised? And how can you align with global best practices to identify an application pathway suited to your organisation?

Building upon the perspectives from ‘Fully Unlocking ERP System Value with AI Technology and Generative AI’, this article explores practical applications and emerging trends through the lens of management and growth scenarios relevant to CFOs.

I. Why Must CFOs Prioritise the ERP+AI Trend?

The CFO’s core responsibilities extend beyond financial accounting to encompass strategic implementation and risk governance. Against the backdrop of international expansion and scaled growth, financial management complexity has significantly increased:

① Multi-currency and multi-taxation environments: Financial teams must simultaneously navigate exchange rate volatility, cross-border tax compliance, and transfer pricing complexities within global markets.

② Capital efficiency and risk control: How can centralised global treasury management enhance capital utilisation while mitigating financial risks?

③ Integrated business-finance decision-making: As supply chains and customer service operations become increasingly intertwined with financial data, finance professionals must rapidly access cross-departmental insights to support real-time operational decisions.

While traditional ERP systems provide core financial and operational data, they remain limited in intelligent analytics, predictive decision-making, and automated execution. The embedding of AI is precisely the key to helping CFOs transform ‘data’ into ‘insights’.

II. Proven Practical Experience from Over 24,000 Global Enterprises

SAP’s comprehensive embedding of AI within ERP provides CFOs with a referenceable ‘implementation blueprint’. This represents not merely a technological upgrade, but a business methodology validated by large-scale enterprises.

1. Applications in Financial Operations

① Intelligent Accounts Receivable/Payable: AI automatically identifies payment anomalies and forecasts bad debt risks, enabling CFOs to optimise cash flow proactively.

② Intelligent Closing: Automated reconciliation and journal entry generation significantly reduce manual verification time, freeing finance personnel to focus on analysis.

③ Predictive Financial Analysis: By integrating historical transactions and market data, AI simulates future financial scenarios to support CFOs in capital and investment decisions.

2. Applications in Supply Chain and Manufacturing

① Demand Forecasting: AI-powered ERP systems anticipate market fluctuations, enabling CFOs and supply chain managers to coordinate procurement and production adjustments.

② Inventory Optimisation: Intelligent algorithms minimise stockpiling and stockout risks, freeing up cash flow.

③ Manufacturing Yield Analysis: AI identifies potential issues within quality data, reducing production costs.

3. Applications in Customer Service

① Intelligent Customer Service and After-Sales Forecasting: Assists CFOs in evaluating customer service costs and profitability models.

② Revenue Forecasting: AI-driven ERP systems provide more accurate predictions of customer renewals and payment cycles, enabling CFOs to develop more robust revenue plans.

These examples demonstrate that AI’s role in ERP extends beyond mere ‘automation,’ deeply engaging in the three core operational functions of prediction, optimisation, and decision-making.

III. Three Direct Benefits for CFOs

For CFOs, the paramount concerns remain risk, efficiency, and value creation. The direct benefits of embedding AI within ERP systems can be summarised in three points:

1. Reduced Trial-and-Error Costs

For CFOs expanding internationally, one of the greatest challenges lies in technology selection and investment payback cycles. SAP has implemented AI across its 24,000+ global clients, establishing replicable best practices. This enables CFOs to adopt solutions directly, bypassing unnecessary detours and avoiding costly trial-and-error expenses.

2. Enhancing decision-making efficiency

Historically, CFOs relied on monthly or quarterly financial reports for decision-making. Yet in the competitive landscape of global expansion, market conditions evolve rapidly. AI-driven ERP enables real-time financial analysis, empowering CFOs to complete cash flow forecasting, tax simulations, and capital allocation decisions within hours, significantly accelerating response times.

3. Transitioning from “cost centre” to ‘value creator’

Traditionally, finance departments are often perceived as cost centres. However, empowered by AI, CFOs can leverage intelligent financial forecasting and cross-departmental data integration to pioneer new profit models and capital management approaches for the enterprise. This signifies that CFOs are evolving into engines of digital growth.

IV. Strategic Considerations for Global CFOs

How, then, should CFOs of global enterprises translate AI+ERP capabilities into competitive advantages? Approach it through these four dimensions:

1. Define Business Priorities
CFOs must select entry points based on the company’s stage: optimising cash flow? Enhancing cross-border compliance capabilities? Supporting rapidly expanding supply chains?

2. Pilot with ‘Small Entry Points’
For instance, first apply AI to accounts receivable/payable processes to forecast and optimise bad debt ratios and cash flow, then gradually expand to budget management and global cash pools.

3. Prioritise compliance and risk management
Tax and financial compliance are paramount in multinational markets. A key value of AI-integrated ERP lies in automating compliance checks and risk alerts, directly alleviating CFO workload.

4. Foster a CFO-driven digital culture
CFOs should be digital transformation catalysts, not merely system users. Shifting finance teams from an ‘accounting mindset’ to an ‘analytical mindset’ is pivotal for AI implementation.

V. The Value of Media Coverage: Success Stories + Industry Trends

In today’s communications landscape, CFOs require not merely technical reports but verifiable industry trends and case studies.

SAP’s AI application practices across its 24,000+ global customers inherently combine ‘success stories + industry trends’:

① Case: Over 24,000 enterprises have implemented AI in finance and operations, proving its feasibility.
② Trend: ERP + AI has become the standard choice for global CFOs, not merely an experimental frontier.
The value of conveying this information to CFOs lies in presenting a clear implementation pathway, rather than remaining at the macro level of ‘AI is important’.

VI. Conclusion: The Window of Opportunity for Globalising CFOs

Amid intensifying global competition, CFOs have evolved beyond mere accountants to become core drivers of corporate digital transformation.

With over 24,000 enterprises worldwide embedding AI within ERP systems and establishing comprehensive application expertise, this presents a rare ‘window of opportunity’ for CFOs of growing Chinese enterprises expanding overseas.

If your enterprise has surpassed ¥200 million in revenue and plans further expansion into multinational markets, now is the optimal moment to embrace AI+ERP. Rather than waiting on the sidelines, draw upon global best practices to directly establish AI as the foundation for growth, transforming financial management into a stable engine propelling your enterprise towards globalisation.

This article expands upon the insights from ‘Unlocking the Full Value of ERP Systems with AI and Generative AI,’ integrating management practices from overseas CFOs. To access the full document, visit https://en.acloudear.com/more/    and specify your request for the IDC Brief: ‘Unlocking the Full Value of ERP Systems with AI and Generative AI.’

Acloudear is an SAP Platinum Partner, recipient of the SAP Pinnacle Awards 2020, finalist for the SAP Pinnacle Awards 2021, a GROW with SAP certified partner, and a member of United VARs’ global top-tier SAP partner alliance. We specialise in SAP public cloud ERP solutions. Driven by the dual engines of ‘AI + Globalised Services’, we have crafted ‘Cloud-Native + Scenario-Based’ digital engines for over 300 enterprises across 8 major industries, including Qingdao Huadi and Naiyou Bio. We deliver end-to-end cloud solutions spanning business process re-engineering to AI innovation applications, boasting extensive SAP cloud service success stories in automotive components, medical devices, high-tech, e-commerce, equipment manufacturing, discrete manufacturing, and engineering services. As one of China’s inaugural SAP cloud-native service providers, we reconstruct corporate digital DNA through SAP best practices and our ‘1+X’ innovation matrix. This empowers enterprises to rapidly unlock core SAP public cloud value, earning us multiple accolades as SAP’s Premier Cloud Partner.

This article "Who is applying AI in ERP: Over 20,000 enterprises globally utilise SAP AI for financial management – best practices for CFOs expanding overseas" by AcloudEAR. We focus on business applications such as cloud ERP.

Scanning QR code for more information