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Organizations across all industries are increasingly turning to chatbots to improve processes and boost productivity. Chatbots work by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to automate internal support. Users can seek conversations with chatbots to gain immediate access to information and execute tasks, which ultimately frees workloads and streamlines processes.
In our PeopleSoft PICASO – Chatbots for Human Resources blog, we discussed how PeopleSoft Chatbots like the PeopleSoft Intelligent Chat Assistant (PICASO) can add value to Human Resources departments and enhance overall efficiency. Below, we’ll discuss how Oracle Digital Assistants like PeopleSoft PICASO can be leveraged by Supply Chain and Finance and highlight the benefits that come with doing so.
Benefits of Oracle Digital Assistants for Supply Chain and Finance
Emerging technology like chatbots enhance the user experience and mirror human conversation, allowing a user seeking information to speak naturally with the bot and receive help instantly. The benefits of chatbots can be applicable to all business departments, but within Financial Management applications specifically, Oracle Digital Assistants can provide streamlined communication about expenses and other processes.
Using digital assistants, enterprises with Financial Management applications can better oversee core business processes like risk and compliance and treasury management. Enhanced financial control and the ability to leverage reporting in real-time are other advantages that a digital assistant provides for organizations.
Oracle Digital Assistants can also add value to Supply Chain Management. Integrating chatbots within Supply Chain Management gives the opportunity to automate aspects of the supply chain process. For example, digital assistants can help send real-time status reports to employees and customers, enhancing collaboration and productivity. Self-service capabilities within digital assistants can monitor orders and shipments, producing data that organizations can leverage for enhanced management of complex supply chain components.
For Advanced Procurement applications, integrating a chatbot provides the opportunity for organizations to cut costs associated with supply management. It also enhances decision-making by providing information about purchasing, sourcing, supplier lifecycle management, and more.
Chatbot Integration with PeopleSoft
Oracle Digital Assistant sits on the cloud, allowing you to leverage skills like new benefits assistants or PICASO and its varying HCM and FSCM skills. These skills are prebuilt templates available for users to take and implement the skill by bringing it into the PeopleSoft environment.
Current delivered chatbots for PeopleSoft include PICASO, which acts as one chatbot that delivers numerous skills for HCM and FSCM. Current available skills for FSCM include the Expense Inquiry Skill and Requisition Inquiry Skill. If you have both HCM and FSCM pillars, unified navigation allows for PICASO to exist on both, and will distinguish which to navigate depending on the inquiry.
The Expenses Skill gives employees the ability to find expense reports, view status and details, and make My Wallet transactions. If a user navigated to PICASO to seek information on expenses, they would immediately be prompted with options like “Show my expense reports for last month or week” and “Show my recent expense reports.”
The Requisition Inquiry chatbot provides users the ability to quickly search for requisitions and view the status of items in the Request Lifespan. The chatbot saves time for those inquiring on requisitions by providing its current status and details immediately. If a user navigated to the chatbot to seek requisition status, they would enter its ID or description and the chatbot would respond instantly.
Future PeopleSoft Chatbots to plan for
Future chatbots on the planned roadmap for FSCM include the Supplier Assistant Chatbot. PeopleSoft update images will create an interactive Supplier Assistant Chatbot that will help suppliers perform functions. Suppliers will have quicker and easier access to invoice status, payment status, and visibility into disputes.
Another chatbot on the roadmap includes a Customer Assistant Chatbot. PeopleSoft update images intend to create a Customer Assistant Chatbot that can assist eBill Payment customers with an easier accessibility to check balance, make payments, dispute transactions, and shot pay. The chatbot will essentially eliminate the need to talk to a customer service representative, which can allow customer service representatives to focus on more valuable, revenue generating tasks.
PeopleSoft Chatbot Implementation: How-To
The steps of developing and building chatbots include:
- Creating a new app service
- Pulling a skill template
- Adding intents, utterances, dialog flow, and training skill
An effective PeopleSoft chatbot integration framework also involves a few required developer skills, like an understanding of Oracle Digital Assistant (ODA), application services in PeopleSoft, skill development, and knowledge of java script.
If you’re looking to leverage the benefits of chatbots, there are a few minimum requirements to be aware of before you can get started. First, an ODA Cloud-Based subscription will be needed. Further, you must have PeopleTools 8.57.07 or higher and FSCM Image 33 update to support chatbots. If you’re looking to utilize chatbots via text messaging, you’ll need a TWILIO account, PeopleTools 8.57.07 or higher, and FSCM Image 33 update.
Considerations to make before investing in Chatbots
Although the value of chatbots can greatly improve business processes and meet changing needs of employees and customers, it’s important to make a few considerations before making the decision to invest in them. For example, you may evaluate the time that your employees spend answering repetitive questions. If repetitive response to inquiries isn’t a frequent task, chatbots may not hold as much value. It’s also important to evaluate current administration satisfaction and productivity to uncover any pain points that could be solved by chatbots.
The modes of communication for customers and employees are shifting, and organizations must address the need for immediate, simple support. Chatbots for Financials and Supply Chain can be a valuable tool for businesses to meet these changing needs while also improving overall productivity. However, you’ll need to assess if the decision to invest in this emerging tech is right for your business and client needs. Elire is here to help. Reach out to [email protected] to speak with our experts and visit our PeopleSoft Services page to learn more about how we can help optimize your PeopleSoft applications.