Sage is betting on intelligent assistants to redefine how businesses operate with the global launch of a Copilot for Sage X3 and a peek into the AI-infused roadmap for Sage Intacct unveiled at Sage Future in Atlanta on June 4. These announcements are worth a closer look for professionals in the enterprise software space, particularly those navigating the worlds of manufacturing, distribution, and high-performance finance.
Sage X3 Copilot Takes Flight
Imagine an organization’s sales manager simply being able to ask, “Hey, Sage, any red flags on customer order fulfillment this week?” instead of drowning in spreadsheets. That’s the conversational power Sage Copilot brings to Sage X3, its solution for medium-sized businesses in the manufacturing, distribution, and food & beverage sectors.
This AI-powered assistant is designed to be an operational intelligence hub with an initial focus on empowering sales teams to manage customer relationships proactively. The Copilot will help these teams to:
- Anticipate hiccups: Copilot actively surfaces anomalies in customer orders, shipping timelines, and potential fulfillment snags. This means teams can jump on issues before they escalate into complaints.
- Spot opportunity: It can highlight opportunities, such as a dip in order volumes from a key client who needs a friendly check-in.
- Get 360-degree clarity: By unifying views across sales, inventory, and customer orders, decisions become faster and more confident. Users can query in English, French, or Spanish.
“By putting operational intelligence at businesses’ fingertips, Sage Copilot for X3 marks a significant step forward,” commented Rob Sinfield, SVP of ERP at Sage.
According to the company, Sage X3 users also get an AI boost with embedded Accounts Payable Automation, which aims to reduce manual data entry. Looking ahead, Sage plans to weave Copilot’s intelligence into procurement, inventory management, finance, and manufacturing.
Charting a Course for High-Performance Finance with AI
Sage has also unveiled an AI-powered roadmap for Sage Intacct, its cloud financial management system, designed to accelerate finance teams into what Dan Miller, EVP Financials and ERP Division at Sage, described as “the new era of high performance.”
According to research by Sage and Edelman, only 26% of finance leaders feel AI is significantly speeding up their book-closing times. However, the upcoming innovations in Sage Intacct promise to transform these tedious processes:
- Close Workspace: A centralized Sage Copilot hub to track close tasks, pinpoint bottlenecks using analytics, and offer innovative suggestions.
- Supercharged AP Automation: Extending AI across the entire accounts payable workflow – from purchase to payment.
- Continuous Assurance: Orchestrating tasks and automating data entry for real-time insights throughout the reporting cycle, inching closer to a continuous, automated close.
- Crystal Ball for Cash Flow: Predictive cash forecasting and optimized vendor payments are on the horizon.
- Developer Playground: New tools for developers to customize and extend Sage Copilot’s functionality within Intacct.
Miller noted, “We will be helping finance teams simplify their work, gain trusted insights, and stay focused on driving proactive growth rather than reacting to what has happened.” The roadmap also hints at the next wave: agentic AI, promising even deeper automation and orchestration.
The Human Element
The underlying theme of these advancements is compelling. Sage isn’t positioning AI as a replacement for human expertise but as a powerful enabler. David L. Sugg of Practical Software Solutions, a Sage partner, noted, “We see real potential to help businesses unlock more intelligent, data-driven decision-making, streamline operations, and build resilience.”
These AI advancements represent a significant leap for businesses running complex operations, whether in manufacturing with Sage X3 or managing intricate financials with Sage Intacct. Thus, the message from Sage Future is clear: the copiloted enterprise is taking off.
What This Means for ERP Insiders
AI Copilot signals a shift to proactive operations. Sage Copilot for X3 initially targets sales intelligence in manufacturing and distribution. This means moving beyond reactive order management to proactively identifying fulfillment risks, anticipating customer needs through natural language queries, and getting a unified 360-degree view of customer operations. This signals a clear trend towards utilizing AI assistants in ERP systems to empower users in complex industries like manufacturing to anticipate disruptions, optimize real-time decisions, and elevate customer service.
Sage Intacct’s roadmap accelerates the journey to continuous, intelligent finance. Sage Intacct’s AI roadmap is heavily focused on creating high-performance finance teams. Key initiatives like the Close Workspace within Copilot, enhanced end-to-end AP automation. The goal is a more automated, continuously reconciled, and forward-looking finance function. The push for AI in financial management systems is about transforming finance from a historical reporting function to a strategic, predictive powerhouse. ERP professionals in finance should prepare for tools that not only automate routine tasks but also provide sophisticated analytics, predictive insights, and, eventually, more autonomous financial operations through agentic AI.
AI is becoming the standard Copilot. Sage’s announcements mirror a larger market shift: AI, especially conversational and generative AI, is becoming integral to the core ERP user experience across various modules. The emphasis is on augmenting human capabilities by making complex data accessible, automating routine tasks, and providing predictive insights to facilitate faster, more informed decision-making. This points to a future where AI systems can autonomously take on more complex, multi-step tasks, orchestrating workflows and making decisions with decreasing human intervention. ERP professionals must understand this trajectory, as it will redefine roles, require new skills in managing and collaborating with AI, and fundamentally change how businesses extract value from their enterprise systems.
