With mainstream support for legacy 麻豆原创 ECC systems ending in 2027, IBM guided Toyota through a Brownfield upgrade strategy, enabling a seamless transition to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA while preserving existing business process investments. This approach minimized disruption, accelerated deployment timelines, and ensured continuity for critical operations.

Driving Transformation Across Core Business Functions

Vehicle Management Modernization

IBM led the upgrade of Toyota鈥檚 national Vehicle Management System鈥攁 mission-critical platform for managing orders, inventory, sales, and financial reporting across manufacturing and dealerships. By migrating to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, Toyota now benefits from real-time data visibility, improved inventory optimization, and faster responsiveness to customer demand.

Human Capital Management Enhancement

The second phase focused on modernizing Toyota鈥檚 HR systems, including payroll and personnel administration. IBM delivered a streamlined 麻豆原创 S/4HANA-based HCM platform that simplifies workforce processes and lays the foundation for enhanced talent management and employee engagement.

Speed, Continuity, and Risk Reduction

Both upgrades were delivered on schedule and without operational disruption, ensuring Toyota maintained business continuity while modernizing its core systems. IBM鈥檚 proven methodologies and deep 麻豆原创 expertise enabled a risk-mitigated transformation aligned with Toyota鈥檚 strategic objectives.

鈥淲e are proud to support Toyota South Africa Motors in their digital transformation journey by delivering technology solutions that accelerate innovation and strengthen business resilience,鈥� said , Managing Partner, IBM Consulting South Africa. 鈥淎t IBM, we call this the Science of Consulting – combining human expertise, AI, and technology to deliver scalable, data-driven transformations. By improving data visibility and governance, we help organizations like Toyota achieve their goals with speed and confidence.鈥�

, Managing Director, Southern Africa at 麻豆原创, says: 鈥淭he best companies run on trusted data, optimised business processes and real-time intelligence into every part of the business. By upgrading to 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, companies like Toyota unlock a suite of intelligent technologies that help transform business processes with intelligent automation. We commend Toyota and IBM on this powerful business transformation initiative and wish them well as they continue their rollout.鈥�

A Partnership Built for the Future

Building on these successes, IBM is collaborating with Toyota on the next phase of its 麻豆原创 modernization program, focusing on parts management systems. IBM and 麻豆原创鈥檚 long-standing partnership brings together hybrid cloud infrastructure, automation, and generative AI innovations powered by IBM watsonx鈩�, enabling clients to unlock new value and drive industry-specific transformation.

With over 18,000 certified 麻豆原创 consultants and 300+ 麻豆原创 S/4HANA implementations in the past five years, IBM helps organizations define transformation roadmaps, co-innovate solutions, and deploy modernization strategies with speed, scale, and AI-driven outcomes.

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The relationship between employer and employee is always in flux. Changing technologies, rights, perspectives and expectations have seen dramatic changes in how companies manage and reward their people. It wasn鈥檛 that long ago that hiring children was considered best practice for certain professions, and women were not allowed to be hired at all.

In the 1970s, staying with a company for life was standard practice, but the recession of the 1980s saw layoffs of well-trained professionals and laid the foundations for the gig economy. While the freelance model wasn鈥檛 new, it gained traction. Then the demand in the 鈥�90s on profit over people drove a wedge between the trust engendered between the employer and the employee 鈥� one that remains very much in place today. The 2020 pandemic brought about perhaps the most significant change in the dynamic. A few weeks out of the office turned into months, in some cases years, and employees discovered they liked having a work/ life balance.

When companies pushed for people to come back, people left. In the Great Resignation, employees decided they wanted to be treated with respect and get paid at the same time. The new generations also played a role 鈥� millennials and up-and-coming Gen Z are less likely to fall under the 鈥�80s work hard, work harder cosh.

鈥淲e share the results publicly, but participation is anonymous. We then build trust by changing the areas where our people have concerns.鈥�

Ghouwah Emandien, iOCO

There鈥檚 a lot of talk about how employees are the lifeblood of the business and it鈥檚 important to build a culture that fosters wellness and inclusion. But workplace wellness aside, ultimately, companies want employees to come to work, do their best and produce results. Employees want to work for a company that lets them get the job done without draconian controls or Orwellian monitoring of their behaviour in hybrid or remote environments.

Human capital management (HCM) can be used to achieve a happy middle ground for companies wanting to balance culture with a strong work ethic. Of course, it can also be used to handhold and monitor employees excessively. The use case comes down to the company.

Edward Snell & Co, an independent spirits group in South Africa, is using Payspace to improve its payroll processes. Juliette Bourne, head of human resources at Edward Snell & Co, explains: 鈥淲e wanted user-friendly, with some light and fluff. It was non-negotiable that our user experience was improved. It also had to be cloud-based, meet our ISO 27001 IT security聽standards and be accessible across multiple channels. Our office, field, production and warehousing staff had to access and interact with the solution.鈥�

The platform is used to manage monthly payroll, provide employees with selfservice tools, and support HR by reducing the burden of day-to-day queries. The goal, says Bourne, is to improve employee interactivity in a system that鈥檚 easy to use.

It鈥檚 a similar metric that drives the use of HCM at KPMG. The company has a mix of platforms designed to manage local and international employees and process employee data, payroll, leave applications, and performance. Candice Hartley, chief people officer, says it uses Oracle eBusiness Suite for processing payroll and 麻豆原创 modules to manage performance, learning and development. 鈥淥ur business is centred around continued professional development so we have controls around risk management, indemnities and independent training managed within the 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors,鈥� she says.

Also offering self-service tools, the KPMG platform is designed to increase collaboration between staff and the company. It provides a level of autonomy but balances this, says Hartley, with ensuring the right controls are in place to ensure the company is meeting global and local regulatory requirements around processing employee data聽and implementing qualitative and quantitative metrics.

鈥淲e use the data provided by our HCM platform to measure factors such as turnover, attrition, and extended absenteeism,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hese are important for data analysis as we can use the information to make informed management decisions.鈥�

At iOCO, the HCM platform is used to support the company with wellness and enablement, and uses data to support the business and employee performance. Ghouwah Emandien, manager: people and culture, says it captures KPIs in the employee performance management system and the information is used to help managers have conversations with their staff. 鈥淲e also focus on upskilling and reskilling as well as on inclusion and diversity within our platform,鈥� she says. The system is designed to help everyone work towards a common goal.

These metrics are great for the business, but how do they affect employee trust? Do the self-service tools and system visibility make the granular visibility into employee data an easier pill to swallow? HCM systems can be used to build connections with employees and the data can benefit both sides of the coin, but often, HR systems are perceived as the enemy and more on the side of the company than the employee.

Hartley says monitoring staff is the purpose of these solutions. 鈥淭he question is whether or not these solutions are enabling them to deliver what they were employed to do. We live in a world where everything is digitised and, in the workplace, you want that seamless digital experience. Employees need to trust that the organisation has selected the right technology that ensures they are rewarded for doing their job.鈥�

鈥淓mployees need to trust that the organisation has selected the right technology that ensures they are rewarded for doing their job.鈥�

Candice Hartley, KPMG

She adds that trust isn鈥檛 just in how an employee鈥檚 data is used, but in how it is protected. 鈥淲hen you trust a company with your data, ID,

This is echoed by Bourne, who says it was important that its solution was developed with the security and privacy of employee information in mind.

At iOCO, Emandien believes that HCM needs to be structured in a way that avoids making people feel like just another number. 鈥淵ou have to take the time to sit down with people and have a conversation. One metric we use to measure our employee value proposition, or HCM solution, is through a survey we鈥檝e been running for four years. We share the results publicly, but participation is anonymous. We then build trust by changing the areas where our people have concerns.鈥�

Trust, metrics, management, visibility, and control: these are the foundations that an HCM platform should stand on if it wants to respect the needs of the business alongside the personal space of the employee. Nobody expects to walk into an office and avoid the admin, KPIs and performance assessments, but equally, they do expect these to be managed in a way that respects their autonomy. Finding this balance depends ultimately on leadership, not technology.

This article first appeared on .

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1. 麻豆原创 leads with ethics

麻豆原创 appreciates the complexity that AI introduces into technology, and they approached the topic by forming an AI ethics steering committee comprised of senior 麻豆原创 leaders who review their approach, processes, and product capabilities to ensure operationalization and alignment with their policies and guidelines. Read about 麻豆原创鈥檚聽.

2. Joule is not limited to SuccessFactors

Joule, announced in September 2023, is a natural-language, generative AI co-pilot that is embedded across the entire 麻豆原创 portfolio, and is designed to transform the way a business runs by leveraging intelligent technology across the various business applications. I鈥檝e heard it referred to as both a Co-pilot and a Digital Assistant, but the magic of it is that it is embedded in every application area across the business. It is first available as part of SuccessFactors; however, it will become available across the entire 麻豆原创 ecosystem.聽

3. New AI innovation is delivered each quarter

You can keep an eye on what is available today and what is coming soon, by quarter, by viewing the 麻豆原创聽. The Roadmap Explorer makes it easy for you to enter filters for the key areas that you are interested in, so you see only the areas of interest. For example, in the picture below I filtered on SuccessFactors and Artificial Intelligence:

4. 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors resources

There are large teams of people at 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors that focus on Artificial Intelligence, here are a couple that I like to follow to stay in the know on the topic specific to SuccessFactors:聽,听,听听补苍诲听. Also I share a weekly AI Byte on LinkedIn that introduces something new in the area of AI, please follow me at聽. Lastly, please be sure to check out this interesting White Paper聽聽(valid 麻豆原创 credentials required).

5. Partners play a critical role in 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors鈥� AI strategy

麻豆原创 and SuccessFactors are known for their superior technology, but they also acknowledge that Partners are an important part of the ecosystem, and having the ability to integrate with their technologies quickly and seamlessly to deliver better employee experiences is important. Here at EPI-USE Labs we have created a division dedicated to developing BTP and AI integrations for SuccessFactors. See my blog聽聽for more information.

聽to enrich, enhance and extend your applications, landscapes and processes.

This article first appeared on the EPI-USE website:

The post Five Things to Know about Artificial Intelligence in 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

By leveraging AI technologies, SMEs can achieve performance and innovation boosts across multiple areas of the business, from financial management to sales and marketing to human capital management and product development.

The global AI market is expected to grow from $208-billion in 2023 . For SMEs, the growth of AI holds huge promise: one study found that .

However, AI is still in its relative infancy. While technology providers have made huge strides in the power and quality of their AI tools, the technology has not yet reached its full potential and can be prone to error if not deployed in an optimised environment.

The intelligent SME

The adoption of AI forms part of a broader shift among businesses to establish intelligent enterprise capabilities. An intelligent enterprise consistently applies advanced technologies and best practices聽within agile, integrated business processes.

For SMEs, this means establishing a powerful core that links departments, integrates business processes, connects data, and embeds intelligence to accelerate innovation and growth. And AI is the latest essential technology in the intelligent enterprise mix.

However, a successful deployment of AI in an SME requires accurate, relevant and reliable data. The better the data, the better the AI-generated outcomes.

For example, deploying AI to make decisions based on unstructured third-party data – such as social media posts by potential customers – can lead to inaccurate or downright incorrect outcomes. In contrast, deploying AI to trusted business systems, such as an SME’s enterprise resource planning solution, means the algorithm is basing its recommendations and outcomes on data that is accurate, up-to-date, reliable and relevant, leading to higher-quality outcomes that can truly drive the business forward.

Practical applications of AI

Despite the technology still being in its relative infancy, AI holds huge potential to SMEs. Unlocking its value will be a critical aspect of the success of any business in the coming years.

For SMEs, the journey to value-generating AI for business really starts with a digital transformation process that establishes a single source of truth for all business data. Here, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are key: cloud ERP systems enable greater speed and predictability across all of an SME’s core business processes and can scale as the business grows or expands to new markets.

With the core ERP in place, SMEs can choose to deploy AI to a wide range of business processes to accelerate daily tasks, minimise human error, cut costs and boost innovation, including:

Human Capital Management: Generative AI integrated with human capital management software can streamline content creation and provide access to in-depth analytics that provide valuable insights into the talent management and hiring process.

Finance: SMEs can increase the performance of their finance operations by leveraging AI for expense management, invoicing, auditing, financial forecasting and payments. One of the biggest challenges for SMEs is managing cash flow. AI can reduce the sales outstanding days with intelligent invoice matching to improve cash flow and keep the balance sheet healthy.

Supply Chain: In the wake of ongoing supply chain challenges, SMEs may want to leverage AI to better predict customer demand and increase production efficiency with intelligent auto-dispatching. In the manufacturing sector, SMEs can mitigate risk with preventive maintenance guided by AI that is integrated to the core production systems.

Procurement: Buying and procurement can become more agile, with AI simplifying the buying process while maintaining compliance with various internal and external controls. The use of AI can also automate the creation of sourcing events, drawing on past successes and real-time business information to provide an intuitive automated sourcing capability.

Sales & Marketing: Considering the importance of customer engagement and CX in the sales process, SMEs may also want to leverage AI for hyper-personalised product recommendations across multiple channels, with AI predicting customer behaviour to enable companies to minimise costly customer churn.

Innovation: Finally, SMEs can accelerate their innovation efforts by deploying and running AI models at scale without compromising data privacy. By leveraging the work by leading technology providers such as 麻豆原创, SMEs can also build AI into their core business applications with a library of pretrained models, accelerating the time-to-value of new innovation projects.

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