Artificial intelligence is infiltrating every corner of enterprise operations, but nowhere is its impact more consequential than in Order-to-Cash. This critical process, where sales turn into receivables and receivables turn into cash, dictates the financial pulse of an organization. A delayed payment is more than a nuisance: this is a liquidity shock. An inefficient cash application, which goes beyond mere clerical overhead, constrains working capital.
Kaustav Sen, a seasoned SAP Solutions Architect at PHINIA and with over 15 years of experience, sees this as the next frontier. Recognised with the Most Influential SAP Transformation & Digital Innovation Leader award, he positions OTC thus: rather than a back-office formality, OTC is the arena where technology and financial strategy converge.
“Order-to-Cash is where finance and operations collide,” he explains. “Embedding intelligence here goes beyond mere speed: this concerns unlocking capital that sustains growth.”
Traditional OTC systems ensured invoices were issued, payments recorded and disputes logged. But in volatile markets, transactional reliability is no longer enough. AI-driven OTC turns workflows into predictive engines. Algorithms forecast which customers are likely to delay, suggest proactive interventions and optimize invoice timing to maximize liquidity.
Sen, who is currently leading a large-scale OTC transformation, has seen this shift firsthand. His architectural approach embeds predictive models into ERP foundations so that liquidity is managed by design, rather than afterthought. His recognition as a Raptors Fellow underscores his role in advancing communities focused on automation and intelligent system design.
“True automation is contrary to replacing people,” he notes. “Instead, it involves eliminating blind spots. AI makes cash flow something you can anticipate, rather than just reconcile.”
The business case is unambiguous. A five-day improvement in Days Sales Outstanding can release millions in working capital for a mid-sized enterprise. AI accelerates this through intelligent design, where: invoice intelligence uses OCR and natural language processing to accelerate billing cycles and reduce errors, while credit foresight applies machine learning models to assess receivable risk beyond static thresholds.
At the same time, dynamic cash optimization allows AI to recommend early-payment discounts or deferrals aligned with liquidity forecasts.
Sen emphasizes that these outcomes materialize only when built into the system’s architecture. “Working capital is always a boardroom discussion,” he says. “But unless it is engineered into the ERP core, it remains a talking point rather than a lever.”
Many organizations stumble after promising pilots. An AI invoice matcher works well in one market, whereas a receivables predictor delivers value in a single region. But scaling across global divisions reveals architectural cracks. Without harmonized processes, governance and embedded compliance, pilots remain mere isolated wins.
Sen’s experience in orchestrating ERP cutovers and harmonizations offers a blueprint for scaling. He emphasizes disciplined design over tool hype: standardized workflows, embedded metrics and resilient governance structures. These ensure that AI models trained in one unit perform consistently across the enterprise.
“An OTC pilot may improve DSO for a single market,” he explains. “A scaled architecture changes working capital globally, with repeatability and confidence.”
As AI permeates OTC, Sen warns against opacity. Automated decisions on receivables or discounts must withstand audit, regulation and human scrutiny. Rather than optional, trust is structural. AI-driven liquidity only holds value if its reasoning is transparent and defensible.
This balance of practice and oversight shapes Sen’s broader contributions. As a reviewer for the IEEE Internet of Things Journal, he evaluates cutting-edge research that intersects governance, infrastructure and enterprise design. His dual vantage point reinforces a central thesis: OTC, which is no longer a clerical stream, is a proving ground for trust in enterprise AI. Through his leadership, Kaustav Sen exemplifies how intelligent ERP design transforms OTC into a strategic asset.
“The systems of tomorrow will be judged on more than processing speed,” he reflects. “Better still, they will be judged on how intelligently they manage capital, risk and trust.”