Manufacturing SystemsERP Platform

o9 Solutions + ERP-grounded AI

AI Around o9 Solutions: Grounding Planning Reviews in Live ERP Data

Short answer

o9 Solutions is a cloud planning platform with its own AI, so a private AI layer is not a substitute. It complements o9 by grounding plan reviews in live ERP data, reconciling o9 demand and supply plans with orders and inventory in the ERP, and keeping sensitive execution data on infrastructure you control.

ERP: o9 Solutions
Industries: Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Electronics, Aerospace
Written for: VP Supply Chain

Discuss your o9 Solutions environment See use cases

o9 Solutions is a cloud-based planning platform for demand, supply, inventory and integrated business planning. Its data model is organized as a knowledge graph of planning entities, with plans produced and reviewed in o9 itself, and it ships its own AI assistant and machine learning forecasting. It receives master and transactional data from ERPs and writes plans back through integration.

That arrangement is clear in theory. In practice a planning lead lives with a recurring gap. The o9 plan says one thing, the ERP says another, and the reasons are scattered: a lead time that differs between systems, a purchase order that changed after the last data load, a bill of material revision, a customer order split in execution. Sorting out which is right usually means exports and a meeting.

A private AI layer on the ERP side does not compete with o9. o9 is the planning system of record for the plan. The AI layer is for the execution system of record: it answers questions about live orders, inventory, purchasing and routings, shows the query, and sets the o9 plan figures next to what the ERP actually shows. It also helps where plant and finance data must stay on-prem even though planning runs in a SaaS platform.

Be realistic about scope. If your questions are about forecasts, scenarios and plan accuracy inside o9, use o9's own capabilities. If they are about whether the ERP can execute the plan, or why the two diverge, a grounded ERP-side assistant is the useful addition.

What usually gets in the way

The problems we hear most from vp supply chain teams running o9 Solutions.

Plan and ERP disagree

Lead times, lot sizes, safety stock or open order quantities differ between o9 and the ERP, and nobody can quickly say which side is stale.

Integration lag

Data moves to o9 on a schedule. Changes made in the ERP in between, such as expedites or cancellations, are invisible to the plan until the next load.

Execution detail lives in the ERP

Questions about specific purchase orders, work orders, routings or lot status need ERP data that a planning cube does not hold.

Master data inconsistencies

Item, BoM and supplier records are maintained in the ERP and mapped into o9. Mapping errors surface as odd plan results that take time to trace.

Sensitive data in a SaaS platform

Some manufacturers, especially in defense and aerospace, restrict what program or customer data may leave their network, which limits how much flows to a cloud planning tool.

Where AI earns its place in o9 Solutions

Each use case names the ERP objects it reads or writes, so your ERP team can judge the integration effort before anyone commits budget.

Plan versus ERP reconciliation

Compare o9 supply plan figures such as planned receipts and open orders with ERP purchase orders, work orders and stock, and list the differences with probable causes.

Touches: ERP purchase orders, production orders, inventory, o9 plan extracts

Outcome: Turns a recurring spreadsheet exercise into a reviewable list that planners confirm.

Master data parameter check

Compare lead times, lot sizes, safety stock and yield between o9 inputs and the ERP item master, flagging mismatches.

Touches: Item master, supplier lead times, routing data, o9 parameters

Outcome: Finds the data issues behind implausible plan recommendations.

Why can't we execute the plan?

For plan lines the ERP cannot satisfy, explain the blocker: missing material, capacity, closed supplier, or BoM change.

Touches: BoM, stock, purchase orders, work centers, approved supplier data

Outcome: Gets the planner to the real constraint faster.

Exception triage

Group ERP-side exceptions such as late supplier deliveries and cancelled orders that should trigger a replan in o9.

Touches: Purchase order lines, supplier confirmations, work orders

Outcome: Reduces the lag between an execution event and a planning response.

Natural-language ERP questions for planners

Planners ask for open orders, inventory position or supplier performance for an item family without an ERP report request.

Touches: Inventory, purchase orders, receipts, supplier records

Outcome: Cuts waiting on IT or analysts for routine ERP data.

Integration monitoring summary

Summarize load failures and rejected records between the ERP and o9 from integration logs, in plain language.

Touches: Integration logs, staging tables, extract jobs

Outcome: Shortens detection of data feed problems.

Privacy-restricted analysis

Where program or customer data cannot go to the cloud, answer detailed questions on-prem and send only approved aggregates onward.

Touches: Restricted orders, programs, customer data in the ERP

Outcome: Allows detailed analysis without widening data exposure.

Reference architecture

The AI layer sits on the ERP side, with read access to ERP data and to plan extracts from o9 obtained through its supported export or API routes. It does not write to o9 or the ERP without human approval.

1
ERP and o9 connectors
Reads ERP data through APIs or read replicas and o9 plan data through supported exports or integration interfaces, using scoped read-only credentials.
2
Semantic layer
Maps item, location, supplier and period concepts between the ERP and o9 so comparisons use matching keys and units.
3
Model serving
Open-weight models served with vLLM or Ollama on customer hardware or a private cloud.
4
Retrieval and agents
Retrieval over live ERP data and o9 extracts; any proposed change is a draft for a planner.
5
Governance and audit
Per-user logging of questions, queries and answers, with sensitive ERP data kept within your environment.

Integration notes for your ERP team

o9 is a SaaS platform; this layer does not run inside it. Use o9's supported export, API or integration routes to obtain plan extracts, and confirm access with your o9 administrator.
Align keys between systems first: item, location, supplier, unit of measure and time bucket. Most reconciliation noise comes from mismatched keys or calendars.
ERP reads use documented APIs or read replicas, for example SyteLine IDOs, SAP OData, or NetSuite SuiteQL, with role rules enforced.
Do not give the assistant write access to o9 or the ERP; plan changes are made by planners in the respective system.
Index integration job logs from the ERP-to-o9 feeds to support monitoring questions.
Agree which extracts of o9 data may be stored outside o9 and for how long, based on your contract and data policy.

Deployment options

Air-gapped on-prem

Defense and aerospace manufacturers restricting execution data.

Model and ERP connectors run on site; only approved aggregates are exported to planning.

Private or sovereign cloud

Companies that host the ERP in their own cloud tenant.

Deployed beside the ERP in the same region and boundary.

Hybrid

Groups with several ERPs feeding one o9 tenant.

Per-ERP connectors with central comparison against o9 extracts.

Compliance and data control

How the architecture supports your obligations. Certification and accountability stay with your organisation; the design keeps the evidence straightforward.

ITAR / EAR data handling

Keep controlled program data on infrastructure you control, and decide which aggregates, if any, flow to a cloud planning tool.

Customer NDAs and flow-downs

Detailed order and customer data stays in the ERP environment rather than moving to extra services.

SOX and financial controls

Read-only access and full logging support control narratives around planning and inventory data.

GDPR and regional privacy

Personal data in ERP records stays within the region and infrastructure you control.

Where Netray fits

ERPray

The primary fit: grounded natural-language questions and dashboards over live ERP data, alongside o9 plan extracts.

DataRay

Useful when plan exports, integration logs and ERP tables need to be queried together on-prem.

Custom build

Reconciliation and exception-triage agents depend on your key mappings and are typically bespoke.

How an engagement runs

Phase 1 . 2-4 weeks

Discovery

-Map of ERP-to-o9 data flows and keys
-Agreement on o9 extract routes and permissions
-Prioritized reconciliation questions
-Deployment recommendation

Phase 2 . 6-8 weeks

Pilot

-Read-only ERP connector and o9 extract ingestion
-Plan-to-ERP reconciliation live for one product family
-Accuracy review with planners
-Logging validated

Phase 3 . 4-6 weeks

Production

-Production cutover with scoped accounts
-Runbook for new comparisons
-Planner training
-Audit review

Phase 4 . Ongoing

Scale

-More product families and ERPs
-Exception triage workflows
-Model refresh
-Quarterly accuracy review

Questions to ask any vendor, including us

A short list that separates real o9 Solutions AI work from a chatbot demo.

Does this duplicate o9's own AI, or does it cover the ERP side that o9 does not hold?
How do you obtain o9 plan data, and is that route supported and approved by our o9 administrator?
How are item, location and calendar keys reconciled between systems?
Can the assistant write to o9 or to the ERP?
Where does the model run and which data leaves our network?
How is reconciliation accuracy verified by our planners?
How are changes in our o9 configuration handled?
What do we keep if we end the engagement?

Frequently asked questions

Do we need this if o9 has its own AI?

Maybe not. o9's AI works on the planning model inside o9. A private ERP-side layer addresses a different gap: live execution data, reconciliation with the ERP, and keeping restricted data on your own infrastructure. If you only need plan analytics, stay with o9.

Can this run inside o9?

No. o9 is a cloud platform and this layer runs on your infrastructure, reading ERP data directly and o9 data through supported exports or integration routes agreed with your o9 administrator.

What does it actually compare?

Plan figures such as planned receipts, open orders and parameters like lead times and safety stock against the ERP's purchase orders, work orders, stock and item master, flagging differences for a planner to review.

Does it change plans?

No. It reads and explains. Any proposed change is a draft, and planners make changes in o9 or the ERP through the normal process and approvals.

Which ERPs work?

Any ERP with a documented API, database access or exports, including SyteLine, SAP, NetSuite, Epicor and others. The connector is built for your version, and discovery confirms the data paths.

Is it safe for restricted defense data?

The model and ERP connectors run on infrastructure you control, so detailed execution data stays on-prem, and you decide which aggregates go to planning. Your own compliance obligations remain yours.

How long does a pilot take?

Usually two to four weeks of discovery and six to eight weeks of pilot for one product family and one ERP. Several ERPs or messy key mappings add time.

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