APAC Issue 7 2018

APAC / Issue 7 2018 29 who work in finance agree robots can take stressful tasks away from humans (compared to 23% in IT and 20% of CEOs). Technology attracts new recruits 41 percent also agreed that young people want the opportunity to work with the latest innovations, so implementing new technology can bring real recruitment benefits as well as business efficiencies for industrial firms. 20 percent said the chance to work with robotics and AI is a big draw for young talent, and 33 percent of millennials want the opportunity to work at the cutting edge of new developments. Modern enterprise resource planning platform unleashes innovation and growth In order to make the most of the latest innovations in workplace robotics and AI, businesses need to have the right infrastructure in place—one that fits their business and industry. Cloud- based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions like Epicor ERP can be crucial to coordinating robot workflows and sharing data between machines and humans across multiple digital platforms. Indeed, around a fifth (19%) of businesses questioned in the Epicor study said they rely on a single core business system to manage everything. Terri Hiskey, vice president, product marketing, manufacturing, at Epicor said, “The study shows us that the use of robots is a very real, but also very welcome way of solving an otherwise worrying industry- wide knowledge and skills gap. With employers struggling to find candidates with the right skills or knowledge for entry-level roles, and with employees struggling to keep up with the pressures of business growth, automating aspects of the workforce offers a new way of building efficiencies into the supply chain, and enabling digital transformation. However, businesses need the right infrastructure at their heart if they are to manage data flows effectively and to make the most of robotics and AI. This is where ERP and the cloud come into their own.” “Far from workers worrying about their jobs being taken by robots, our study shows that employees are actually very happy to work alongside machines. With all the advantages of robots not getting involved in office politics too, we can expect to see more of this in the future!” concluded Hiskey. Only a Quarter of Businesses Currently able to Attract Recruits with the Right Knowledge, Finds Epicor g