In a Rootstock Software survey of 588 manufacturing professionals, 77% said their organizations plan to commit more money or resources to AI tools over the next 12 to 18 months. Just 43% said they were very or extremely confident that their ERP systems could keep pace with AI-driven changes in manufacturing.
Researchscape conducted the survey for Rootstock, a manufacturing ERP vendor. Respondents worked at organizations with at least 100 employees in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The findings, released November 5, reflect respondents’ plans and assessments. ERP readiness was measured by how confident respondents felt about their systems.
Manufacturers see value in agents that work across applications
Rootstock found that 88% of respondents saw at least some value in a single AI agent that could work across business applications, and 58% rated the idea very or extremely valuable. At the time of the survey, 59% either used separate AI tools in different applications or had adopted AI in too few areas for integration to matter.
AI was already in pilot or operational use for 64% of respondents. Among those deploying AI, 31% said they were using agentic AI. Automation was the most commonly reported category in that group at 52%, followed by generative AI at 49% and predictive AI at 40%.
Most respondents favor limits on what AI can do
Seventy-three percent preferred either AI that takes direction from people or AI that can act within defined limits and escalate when necessary. Fully autonomous AI was the preference of 13%. Employee training was the most commonly reported responsible AI practice at 40%, while 25% said they used none of the practices listed in the survey.
For an ERP team, those limits could shape how an agent handles a supplier delay. The agent could check which production orders are affected and suggest a revised schedule. Changing a purchase order or rescheduling production could require approval from a buyer or planner.
Rootstock’s Ohad Idan discussed that distinction in an earlier ERP News interview on AI in manufacturing ERP. In the November release, he pointed to the downstream cost of an error that goes unnoticed: “By the time the mistake shows up in inventory or the books, it’s already expensive.”
The survey also found that 41% of respondents expected AI to make them more productive, while 61% were at least somewhat concerned that it could limit their career opportunities.
Sources
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