Tag: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

The role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in the manufacturing sector is undergoing a significant transformation. Traditionally seen as the gatekeepers of financial integrity and corporate compliance, CFOs in manufacturing are now finding themselves leading digital transformation initiatives.

As the hype around artificial intelligence (AI), and more particularly, Generative AI, continues to grow, manufacturers must assess the benefits of adopting this cutting-edge technology into their platforms and processes. Similar to the innovation in cloud technology, the closer AI is to a business’s processes, the more transformative it will be.

One significant challenge facing African manufacturers is inadequate reporting and analysis capabilities. This often results in inefficient decision-making processes due to siloed data, limiting the ability to respond to changing conditions quickly.

Agriculture in Africa is being transformed by artificial intelligence (AI), but there is still one element it cannot replace. Despite dramatic technological advances in the sector in recent decades, the role of the farmer remains indispensable. This was a message delivered, surprisingly, at a recent conference in Europe, by a world leader in the field – from Eswatini.

In recent years, the cloud has emerged as an undeniable powerhouse in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) market, with projections indicating a staggering transformation from the current $64.7 billion valuation to an astounding $130 billion by 2027. The allure of cloud-based ERP is undeniable, offering cost savings, swift implementation, enhanced flexibility, and accessibility for businesses to scale seamlessly.

While enterprise resource planning (ERPs) are applications used by businesses to manage and integrate the essential and crucial parts of their structures to streamline...

The pace of technology change keeps accelerating, not just in the manufacturing sector, but across industry sectors globally. Machines are faster, more powerful and more sophisticated than ever, and this trend shows no signs of easing off. However, for many reasons, South African industrial equipment and machinery (IM&E) manufacturers have been slow to adopt some of the latest technology, relying instead on old models. In doing so, they run the risk of falling behind their regional and global counterparts.

There are many challenges for treasuries across the world, in any market, but the developing world has an opportunity for a head start in the switch to digital. This is borne out by the fact that the adoption of best practice treasury management tools, technology and integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems that feed off data points all along the ERP value chain, are entirely within the grasp of corporate treasuries.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives have become top of mind in many companies. This has left organisations with questions such as: “Who should run with this internally?”, “What do we need to do?”, and “Is this something that will save us money or cost us money down the line?”

Findings contained in a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicate that Africa’s economies have the potential to become major players in global supply chains.