From manual and spreadsheets to an ERP with AI doing the repetitive work

From manual and spreadsheets to an ERP with AI automation: that move is my speciality, done as Head of IT in Dubai for a plastics manufacturing group across six sites in five countries. The order matters more than the software: process map first, then clean master data, then one ERP one site and one function at a time, then AI on the repetitive work that now has a system to write into. I help UAE companies do it without stopping the business.

Deployments

1. One Odoo ERP for six sites in five countries and around 150 users, rolled out site by site and function by function: production, sales, inventory, procurement, accounting, HR and maintenance.
2. Custom development kept upgradable: 256 models, 1,187 custom fields and 686 access rules, including machine scheduling with overlap prevention and barcode batch labels printed from the same record.
3. PostgreSQL 9.5 to 16 under the live system, eight major versions, with no unplanned downtime at any site.
4. Five AI systems on top of the ERP in daily production: document OCR, automated document verification, a WhatsApp and web sales agent, an AI voice agent on Grandstream telephony, and one multi-channel chat platform.
5. Biometric attendance across sites and a geo-verified security patrol application, both mobile apps integrated with the ERP.

The order that works

First, a process map of how the business actually runs, from the people who run it, not from the org chart. Second, one clean master data set: products, customers, suppliers, machines, chart of accounts. Third, the ERP, one site and one function at a time, with the month-end close as the test of each step. Fourth, AI on the repetitive work: supplier bills into the system, enquiries answered on WhatsApp, documents verified, calls handled. AI before the ERP is a common mistake, because the model has nowhere to put what it reads.

What goes wrong

Buying the software before mapping the process. Customising to match old habits instead of standardising. Migrating dirty data and spending a year cleaning it inside the new system. Running two systems in parallel for too long. Pilots that never get a switch-off date or a production date. And nobody owning it: the project needs one person who answers to the owner.

What I have done

One Odoo ERP for six sites in five countries and around 150 users, covering production, sales, inventory, procurement, accounting, HR and maintenance, rolled out site by site and function by function. Then five AI systems on top of it in daily production. Before Odoo, two years building a custom ERP from scratch, which taught me what to buy and what to build.

How I can help

A fixed-scope roadmap: process map, ERP scope and platform recommendation, which repetitive work goes to AI first, a phased plan with budget bands and a vendor shortlist. Then, if you want it, oversight through implementation as a fractional Head of IT. On-site in the UAE or remote across the GCC. Fees are quoted in writing before anything is paid.

Read the evidence

• Service: manual to automated, the ERP and AI transformation roadmap
• Case study: one ERP across six sites in five countries
• Case study: document OCR into the ERP
• Article: five AI systems in production
• Note: the month-end test for ERP health

Questions people ask

How long does the move from spreadsheets to an ERP take?

For a single-site company with clean data, months rather than weeks; for several sites, a phased rollout over a year is normal. The roadmap gives you the phases and what each one has to prove before the next starts.

Should we do AI first because it is cheaper?

No. AI needs a system of record to write into and rules to validate against. Put the ERP in first, then automate the repetitive work around it. The exception is a standalone process with its own clear output, such as enquiry handling on WhatsApp.

Do we need a full-time IT person for this?

You need one accountable owner. That can be a capable manager with a fractional Head of IT behind them, which is a service I offer, or a full-time hire once the platform is in and the workload justifies it.

Which industries have you done this in?

Manufacturing first, across six sites. The pattern applies to distribution, trading, services and family groups, and the roadmap is built around your process map, not a template.

Talk to me

Email with a few lines about your situation, or message me on LinkedIn. I reply within one working day, Dubai time. Fees are quoted in writing before anything is paid.