Celonis Optimizes AP With Process Mining Engine

Celonis, which works in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered process mining, has introduced its new process mining engine, which will help automate accounts payable (AP) functions, according to a press release.

Celonis’ technology will also let customers build their own purpose-built Operational Applications.

Celonis showed off the platform at Celosphere Live, its annual customer conference, to more than 15,000 registrants. There, the company displayed the new technology for AP and also one for materials management for supply chains.

Process mining uses activity logs to analyze business practices. The Celonis Operational Applications marry the company’s process mining tool with AI and automation services, so as to more easily detect problems in processes and then take automatic action to correct them. AI, Celonis said, is integrated fully into all steps of process mining.

Executives will be able to set business priorities with key performance indicators (KPIs), and the Celonis Process AI Engine will automate tasks, prescribe guidelines for employees, and arrange workflows in the best manner to achieve the right outcome.

The Process AI Engine will analyze process data in source systems and desktops in order to find what Celonis called “blockers” that are preventing things from working as efficiently as possible, with AI and machine learning working together to iron out kinks and then implement solutions in real time.

Then, once the problems are detected, the Process AI Engine will employ “out-of-the-box” solutions that users can activate at the click of a button or, sometimes, which operate without user involvement, the release states.

The Operational Applications are supported by real-time data connectivity, which allows Celonis to take data from source-systems like SAP, Salesforce or ServiceNow and analyze it in real time to provide real-time, sensible actions for operational users.

The enhanced platform gives users the option to customize their own Operational Applications based on Celonis’ AI capabilities.

Celonis’ strides in automating AP functions represent a step forward for B2B functions in terms of automation, where it had been outpaced for years by P2P innovations like Venmo that allowed individuals to send and receive money in seconds. The operational hurdles and extra steps of AP always made it more difficult to speed up.