Unlocking the Power of Process Intelligence: The Essential Element of Enterprise AI

Accelerating AI Adoption: Overcoming the ROI Challenge

Presented by Celonis

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise, but organizations often face challenges in achieving the expected results. Enterprise leaders are now under pressure to demonstrate tangible return on investment from AI solutions, especially in the face of increasing use of autonomous agents and disruptions in global supply chains due to tariffs.

Alex Rinke, co-founder and co-CEO of Celonis, a prominent player in process intelligence on a global scale, emphasizes that the key to success with enterprise AI lies in understanding the context of a business’s processes and how to enhance them. Without this business context, AI runs the risk of being merely an internal experiment.

The upcoming Celonis 2025 event aims to address the challenge of AI ROI directly. The event will feature customer strategies, interactive workshops, and live demonstrations showcasing the enhancements to the Celonis Process Intelligence (PI) Platform. These enhancements aim to help enterprises leverage ‘enterprise AI,’ powered by PI, to continuously enhance operations and generate measurable business value at scale.

Emphasis on Tangible ROI

The focus of the event on achieving AI ROI highlights three key challenges that technology and business leaders face when transitioning from pilot projects to full-scale implementation: outdated systems, rapid industry changes, and the rise of autonomous AI agents. According to a Gartner survey, while 64% of board members consider AI a top priority, only 10% of organizations report significant financial returns.

Celonis customers, however, are bucking this trend. A Forrester Total Economic Impact study revealed that organizations using the Celonis platform achieved a remarkable 383% ROI over three years, with a payback period of just six months. For instance, one company improved sales order automation from 33% to 86%, resulting in savings of $24.5 million. The study estimated total benefits of $44.1 million over three years, driven by faster automation, reduced inefficiencies, and enhanced process visibility. These success stories underscore the importance of modernizing systems and aligning AI with process optimization to achieve rapid and sustainable gains.

Real Success Stories from Leading Companies

At Celosphere, global enterprises like Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Vinmar Group will showcase AI-driven solutions powered by PI, demonstrating how AI is transforming their operations. Attendees will have the opportunity to witness how PI enables agents in real-world production environments.

Notable success stories include:

AstraZeneca optimized inventory management and maintained a steady supply of essential medicines by leveraging Celonis in partnership with OpenAI.

The State of Oklahoma achieved significant value by streamlining procurement processes, unlocking over $10 million in savings.

Cosentino expedited sales order processing by up to 5 times using an AI-powered credit management assistant.

Elevating AI Agents to the Next Level

Several sessions at Celosphere will delve into the orchestration of AI agents. The shift from AI as an advisor to AI as an independent actor marks a significant transformation, according to Rinke.

Rinke explains, “The agent must not only know what to do but also understand how your specific business operates. Process intelligence lays the foundation for this understanding.”

This transition from recommendations to autonomous actions significantly raises the stakes. When agents can initiate purchase orders, redirect shipments, or approve exceptions autonomously, a lack of context can lead to disastrous outcomes on a large scale.

Attendees at Celosphere will witness how companies are using the Celonis Orchestration Engine to coordinate AI agents alongside human employees and systems. Effective orchestration serves as a vital safeguard against potential chaos from conflicting actions, duplicated efforts, or missed critical steps.

Navigating Tariffs and Supply Chain Disruptions

Global trade uncertainties are not just headline news but pose operational challenges that are reshaping how companies deploy AI, Rinke notes.

The volatility in global tariffs triggers a domino effect across procurement, logistics, and compliance. Each policy change can have widespread implications, necessitating new supplier agreements, altered shipping routes, and revised inventory levels. Traditional AI systems struggle to cope with such variability, but process intelligence equips organizations with real-time insights into how operational changes propagate throughout the business.

Case studies at Celosphere will showcase how companies are leveraging disruption to their advantage. For instance, Smurfit Westrock optimizes inventory and reduces costs amidst tariff uncertainties, while ASOS uses PI to streamline supply chain operations, boosting efficiency, cutting costs, and maintaining exceptional customer service standards.

Platform-Centric Approach over Point Solutions

Rinke advocates for Celonis’ approach of treating process intelligence as the cornerstone of the enterprise stack rather than a mere add-on. Unlike standalone optimization tools, the Celonis platform creates a dynamic digital representation of business operations, continuously updated and enriched with context that enables AI to function effectively from analysis to execution.

Rinke elaborates, “What sets Celonis apart is its visibility across systems and offline tasks, a crucial element for true intelligent automation. The platform offers comprehensive functionalities spanning process analysis, design, and orchestration rather than isolated solutions.”

Empowering Enterprises with “Free the Process” Initiative

Celonis continues to advocate for openness through its “Free the Process” movement, promoting fair competition and liberating enterprises from legacy constraints. By providing organizations with full access to their process data, open APIs, and a growing network of partners including The Hackett Group, ClearOps, and Lobster, Celonis is laying the groundwork for a new era of interoperable automation.

Rinke believes that this open approach is what transforms AI from experimental projects into a core enterprise driver. He states, “Process intelligence sets in motion a cycle of improvement. Enhanced understanding leads to better optimization, enabling superior AI capabilities, which in turn fosters even deeper insights. Without process intelligence, AI lacks a solid foundation.”

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