Artificial intelligence is no longer a promise: it now forms the backbone of a profound corporate transformation. For finance departments and purchasing services, the challenge is to move beyond the myth of simple automation and make AI a true engine for value creation, resilience, and sustainable competitive advantage.
AI Serving the Finance Department: From Control to Performance
Long perceived as a support function, the Finance Department is now at the heart of strategic decisions. AI frees teams from repetitive tasks, allowing them to become architects of performance.
Rapid and Tangible Gains
- Accelerated Accounting Closures: An industrial group reduced its closing times by 30% through automated entries and reconciliations, enabling teams to focus on forward-looking analysis.
- Predictive Fraud Detection: A banking player decreased false positives by 42% by leveraging machine learning models, making fraud prevention both more efficient and less costly.
- Enhanced Forecasts: According to Gartner, 80% of CFOs plan to increase their AI spending in the next two years, and 32% of finance teams already use AI-based tools.
Althéa Client Case: A Leader in B2B Electronics Industry (3,500 employees, €1.5 billion revenue)
Althéa supported this client in structuring its financial organization and deploying AI:
- 50% reduction in time spent on administrative tasks.
- 30% improvement in financial forecast accuracy.
- 40% reduction in fraud-related losses.
This transformation perfectly illustrates how AI enables the finance function to gain efficiency, accuracy, and security.
AI and the Purchasing Function: Building a Resilient Value Chain
The Purchasing function is no longer just a cost center: it is becoming a pillar of resilience and competitiveness. AI offers unprecedented visibility into markets, suppliers, and expenditures.
Tangible Use Cases
- Optimized Spend Analysis: A manufacturing company achieved 15% savings on strategic purchases thanks to AI.
- Supplier Risk Monitoring: A distributor reduced its supply chain disruption risk by 40%, strengthening the continuity of its value chain.
- Yet, only 23% of purchasing departments currently use AI, revealing immense untapped potential.
Althéa Client Case: A Major Distribution Player
Development of an AI-powered payroll control tool in a Shared Service Center with 65 payroll managers:
- Prioritization of controls on high-risk payrolls.
- 20% reduction in processing time.
- Execution of complex controls previously impossible manually.
Game-Changing Cross-Functional Applications
The impact of AI extends beyond organizational silos: it enhances efficiency, reliability, and employee experience.
- Data Reliability: For a transport company, Althéa developed an automated data quality control tool during an IT migration. Result: guaranteed integrity and comprehensive anomaly reporting.
- Intelligent Support Management: An energy company benefited from an ML module to automatically classify customer tickets. Results: repositioning of 2 FTEs, customer satisfaction up by +30%, and more efficient ticket prioritization.
AI as a Human and Strategic Lever
Adopting AI doesn’t just mean modernizing technology: it’s a strategic and human transformation.
- Diversity and Inclusion: AI helps reduce bias in recruitment, with already 30% more female applicants for technical positions.
- Increased Accuracy: 66% gain in anticipation and forecasting, allowing for better response to market needs.
- Facilitated Adoption: 67% of companies already use low-code platforms to quickly integrate AI into their processes.
The Althéa Approach: Expertise, Support, and Impact
At Althéa, we view AI not as a technological project but as a business project. Our approach is holistic:
- Tailored diagnostics to identify the most promising use cases.
- Support in choosing and deploying suitable solutions.
- Change management: training, adoption, steering.
Together, we make AI a lever for efficiency, resilience, and professional fulfillment.
Make AI a decisive competitive advantage for your finance and procurement departments. Contact us.
