Over the past two decades, the role of ERP Pre-Sales and Solution Consultants has been steadily evolving. But right now, with the advent of powerful generative AI tools, we’re on the edge of a far more radical transformation—one that is reshaping not only how we work, but what we should be focusing on as ERP professionals.
I’ve been working with ERP systems since the green-screen days—literally. I’ve done payroll in ledger books, picked transfer orders on the warehouse floor, supported financials in MFG/PRO, and helped implement and demo ERP for businesses of all shapes and sizes. My journey through support, implementation, pre-sales, and solution architecture has spanned industries from manufacturing and distribution to retail, eCommerce, services, and finance. That broad experience gives me a unique lens on the changes we have seen and what we’re seeing today.
And make no mistake—things are changing.
AI Tools Are Already Disrupting ERP Pre-Sales Workflows
Many of the high-effort, low-creativity tasks that have traditionally soaked up pre-sales hours can now be accelerated with AI. I’m talking about:
- Drafting RFP responses and tailoring boilerplate content
- Creating flow diagrams and mock-ups with minimal prompt input
- Building up compelling demo scenarios using synthetic, yet meaningful, sample data - Using GPT tools to research feature availability across platforms
- Structuring discovery notes and even generating summaries or next-step outlines
- Generating first-draft proposals and slide decks
- creating draft scripting for proof of concept demonstrations
And these aren’t just hypotheticals. I’ve personally used GPT-4-based tools to accelerate demo planning, RFP responses, and even workshop preparation—saving hours per task.
ERP Platforms Are Embedding AI Too
At the same time, ERP vendors themselves are beginning to bake AI capabilities directly into their platforms. These native tools are starting to remove even more of the task-work from the pre-sales and implementation process:
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot helps draft emails, summarize leads, and interpret data trends -
- Oracle Guided Journeys & AI Apps suggest process improvements and automate insights -
- SAP Business AI brings contextual recommendations, predictive analytics, and intelligent process automation
- NetSuite’s Text Enhance & Bill Capture AI automatically generates contextual text and processes vendor bills
- Odoo’s AI features include AI-generated product descriptions, email responses, and financial insight summaries
These enhancements are powerful—but they also mean that consultants need to move up the value chain. The question isn’t “Will AI replace me?” It’s “How do I stay indispensable as the nature of my work changes?”
What AI Can’t Do (Yet)—and Why We Still Need Human Experts
Despite all this, there’s a critical layer of value that AI tools can’t touch:
- Understanding the true intent behind business requirements - Navigating stakeholder politics, competing priorities, and internal readiness - Reading a room during discovery and pivoting on the fly - Connecting complex operational needs with feasible, staged delivery roadmaps - Building trust with key stakeholders and guiding them through uncertainty
ERP pre-sales is about much more than knowing the product. It’s about storytelling, empathy, experience, and creative solutioning. AI can accelerate the prep work—but the moment you’re live in front of a CFO or walking a team through a business case, your experience is still the differentiator.
Where Is This Headed in 5 to 10 Years?
We’ll dig deeper into this in a follow-up article—but here’s a teaser: In the next 5–10 years, I expect ERP pre-sales roles to bifurcate. Some consultants will become more like AI-augmented strategists, focused on business value, change leadership, and digital enablement. Others may become hyper-specialized “prompt engineers” for specific industries, products, or solution verticals.
Either way, those of us with operational roots, system fluency, and a human-first mindset will continue to thrive—if we stay curious and embrace these tools as force multipliers, not threats.
Coming Soon: A second article on what ERP professionals should be learning right now to prepare for the next era of intelligent ERP. If you’re an ERP consultant, pre-sales lead, or solutions architect wondering where to focus next, stay tuned.