The future of ERP | Deloitte Germany

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are highly optimized applications that manage a company’s various resources, operations, and data to improve productivity, efficiency, and visibility. They seamlessly integrate functional areas into a consistent platform to enable accurate, real-time cross-functional data flow. Disruptive technologies have brought us to the brink of a technology revolution as the enterprise resource management landscape continues to evolve. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and data security are redefining the principles and parameters of ERP systems.

Our “The Future of ERP” study is based on the Deloitte study “The Future of the Intelligent Enterprise by 2035”, which contains hypotheses and strategic options considered universal in various future scenarios. One of the main hypotheses of the study regarding potential changes in the functioning of enterprises concerns intelligent platforms for enterprises. They will enable companies to integrate and orchestrate data, processes and resources across multiple systems. Moreover, flexibility, adaptability and data-driven decision-making are essential to respond to changes in market conditions. Innovative partnerships, open collaborative ecosystems and a focus on cybersecurity should be top priorities for ensuring security in this dynamic environment.

In our study, we look at these findings through the lens of ERP. This study also considered a time frame up to 2030 for short-term events. It aims to examine the trajectory of ERP systems and identify the implications for today’s enterprises, drawing on a three-tiered research methodology. In the first step, a broad range of existing scientific literature was analyzed to gain detailed insight into our main research question. Focusing on the goals of our mission, we prepared an extensive survey addressed to a diverse group of stakeholders. More than 200 participants, including decision-makers, users, consultants and students, shed light on the future of ERP systems by 2030. Their perspectives provide valuable insight into new opportunities and challenges that point to a promising future.

This allowed us to examine the current ERP landscape and outline its future contours based on a stakeholder perspective. Finally, we conducted in-depth interviews with subject matter experts (C-levels and academics) from various industries to deepen our understanding. In addition to human voices, we also included the “opinions” of three AI chatbots (ChatGPT, Bard, Luminous) on the future development of ERP, as the quality and information value of AI have improved significantly.

In summary, our study explores changes in the traditional ERP landscape in the face of rapid technological advances. It aims to guide enterprises through the promising, if ambiguous, path that lies ahead. As we delve deeper into this unprecedented era of digital transformation, the findings from our study will become increasingly helpful.

For more information, download our “The Future of ERP” study here.