"Borders That Are Fast Disappearing". AI and Digitalization Conference for the Largest Polish Companies

• The ERP Made in Poland conference was held on May 22 at the Norblin Factory in Warsaw under the patronage of WNP.
• Technology and its impact on the development of enterprises were the core of the discussion during the conference organized by Comarch.
• Experts discussed trends in ERP software, automation systems, artificial intelligence, and the implementation of the National e-Invoice System.

These are important topics for Polish business, especially when you look at the data. They are not very optimistic : according to the study by PMR Market Experts and Comarch "Made in Poland" , domestic companies still have problems with digitalization - almost 40% of large and medium-sized entities still send documents in paper form, and almost 60% enter production data into IT systems manually. Polish companies are also not ready for the National e-Invoice System (let us recall: the obligation to integrate it will come into force next year): almost half of companies are unable to specify what actions they have taken in connection with the implementation of the KSeF. The situation is similar with AI: companies see an opportunity in it, but 49% are unable to indicate where intelligent algorithms could accelerate their business.

In this respect, the Polish IT supplier is better than the foreign one

The conference "ERP Made in Poland" took up the challenge of analyzing these threads. On May 22, over a hundred people showed up at the Norblin Factory to hear about digitalization and success stories in organizations.

– Most companies strongly support digital transformation, voices of approval can be heard in all industries, but the problem lies in the details – said Paweł Olszynka, Head of Strategic Projects and Partnerships at PMR Market Expert .

– Firstly, companies maintain their legacy from previous years; they are aware of the benefits of digitalisation, but time does not allow them to stop and make a change. Some of them claim that there are no solutions that are suitable for their needs. It is tempting to go to these companies and see what tools will be adapted to their specifics. However, the most important thing is not for companies to build technical competences within the company, what is important is knowledge of the process and the right choice of software provider. And here is an interesting observation: our study showed that a domestic supplier is no different from a foreign one, except for one thing – a Polish supplier knows the regulations better and is often faster to introduce related innovations to the IT system. The conclusion? Digitalisation is a synthesis of knowledge about processes and the choice of provider – he added.

AI? We have no other choice

During the conference, participants heard about methods for effective information management in the company, document digitization, Business Intelligence applications, AI in ERP systems and automation of accounting processes in the context of KSeF. Zbigniew Rymarczyk, Vice President of Comarch and Director of the Enterprise Solutions Sector, emphasized the importance of implementing artificial intelligence in the company.

- Artificial intelligence is now gaining the ability to interact with the outside world, for example, thanks to robots. Why is it necessary to implement AI? We have no other choice , because labor costs are rising, there are fewer and fewer of us due to demographic factors, so increasing productivity is necessary. At Comarch, we have been investing in AI for years, and the most ambitious product currently, constantly developed, is ChatERP, an intelligent assistant that enables natural communication between the user and the ERP system - said the vice president of Comarch.

Prof. Dragan: We have a revolution

A special guest of the conference, Prof. Andrzej Dragan , also gave a lecture from the stage, presenting his point of view on artificial intelligence. He called it a revolution that completely changes the approach to everyday life.

- To pretend to be intelligent, you have to be... intelligent. Is that the case with AI? If this pace of development of intelligent algorithms is maintained, humanity will not solve any problem if AI does not deal with it first. Models can effectively solve difficult logical puzzles, they are able to reason at an abstract level or program in various languages. Today, these models are better at solving mathematical problems than gold medalists from scientific Olympiads - said the scientist.

Prof. Dragan also drew attention to the dynamic development of AI models and how this will impact business.

– First, these models were trained on data from the Internet, then on data provided by people. A lot changed last year, when AI started learning through reinforcement . This means that models can “connect the dots”, see analogies with existing data and prepare an answer, logically solve a problem that was not described anywhere. These boundaries, which seemed insurmountable to people in the context of solving complex problems by AI, are quickly disappearing . AI will revolutionize many industries in business. Artificial intelligence is created for optimization, for noticing things that should be improved. People will not lose their jobs to AI, but to people who use AI – he said.

The center of the universe in the company

There was no shortage of practical tips on successful digital transformation. Representatives of ASAJ (electrical engineering), extraDACH (construction industry), Astra (school supplies industry) presented their own success stories . They told how modern technologies and appropriately tailored Comarch ERP applications and systems allowed them to raise the level of organization and sales.

– For us, the ERP system is the center of the universe in the company, which communicates with other applications and tools in the organization – said Piotr Prokurat, IT director at ASAJ.

The conference ended with a discussion on KSeF and automation of accounting in the company. Paweł Krupa, Product Manager at Comarch, spoke about how to sleep soundly in the era of dynamic changes in regulations and how KSeF changes the approach to cooperation with business partners.

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Comarch was founded in 1993 in Krakow. It is one of the largest IT companies in Europe and runs projects for leading brands from Poland and around the world in the most important sectors of the economy, including: telecommunications, finance, banking and insurance, trade and services, IT infrastructure, public administration, industry, healthcare and in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector. Comarch services have been used by tens of thousands of global brands in over 100 countries on 6 continents, including: Allianz, Auchan, BNP Paribas Fortis, BP, Carrefour, Heathrow Airport, Heineken, ING or LG U+, Orange, Telefónica, T-Mobile, Vodafone.

The company ranks high in IT analyst rankings, including: Gartner, Truffle 100, TOP 200 "Computerworld", IDC, Polish Academy of Sciences, EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. Comarch annually invests funds worth approx. 15% of revenues in innovative projects. In 2024, expenditures on R&D amounted to over PLN 400 million. It currently employs over 6,400 experts in over 80 offices in over 30 countries from Australia and Japan through the Middle East and Europe to both Americas.