Part 2 of the Intelligent Age series
In Part 1 of this series, we explored how The Intelligent Age is reshaping the way organizations approach travel, expense, and payments. As technologies like AI, machine learning that can be labeled also by AI rather than humans, and automation become enmeshed in our lives, finance leaders are evolving their own roles—prioritizing agility, real-time insights, and smarter solutions for their people and their companies.
But what does The Intelligent Age actually mean? The Intelligent Age, in simple terms, is a new era of work where technology doesn’t just support tasks—it anticipates needs, adapts to behaviors, and enables people to do their best work with less effort. It’s about embedding intelligence into systems so that teams can focus on strategy, not spreadsheets - human and artificial intelligence together. And it also relates to imagining the software of the future.
In this second installment, we explore how this concept comes to life—not just through Emburse technology, but through shared learning and community. And there’s no better example of that than Emburse in Motion, our upcoming annual user conference designed to help you realize the full potential of your Emburse solutions.
Emburse in Motion: A User Conference for the Intelligent Age
Emburse in Motion—coming up May 20–22, 2025, in Nashville—is more than just another conference. It’s a dynamic experience where finance professionals, travel managers, IT leaders, and program administrators gather to:
- Deepen product knowledge through expert-led sessions and live demos
- Learn directly from other users who are solving real-world challenges in innovative ways
- Gain exclusive insights into the Emburse product roadmap
- Explore how AI and automation are simplifying spend, increasing control, and unlocking greater efficiency
In the Intelligent Age, it’s not enough to simply deploy software—you need to elevate your experience with it. That’s exactly what Emburse in Motion empowers you to do.
The Customer Voice as a Catalyst for Innovation
In a recent episode of the Beyond Spend podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Toni Hoffmann, Director of Financial People Management at Sixt, about how his team is navigating the complexity of global employee spend using Emburse.
Toni’s reflections underscored a core belief we hold: true innovation starts with listening to our customers.
“We didn’t want just another vendor—we wanted a partner who listens, evolves, and truly understands our business,” Toni shared.
At Emburse, this feedback fuels every enhancement, from how our AI models learn real-world behaviors to how we expand global support for multinational finance teams. Our product roadmap is shaped in partnership with the people who use it daily—because building for the customer starts by building with the customer.
Transformative Results: Sixt SE's Journey with Emburse
Sixt SE's collaboration with Emburse exemplifies the transformative impact of Intelligent Age solutions. Facing challenges with a fragmented, paper-based expense management system, Sixt SE sought a unified, automated approach. By implementing Emburse's centralized digital platform, they achieved remarkable outcomes:
- Expense processing time reduced from two weeks to two days: Accelerating approvals and reimbursements enhanced operational efficiency.
- 81.67% reduction in cost per claim: Streamlining workflows led to significant cost savings.
- Consolidated five separate systems into one solution: Simplifying processes improved consistency and user experience.
- Accelerated expense claim reviews by 3x: Faster resolutions boosted employee satisfaction.
- Established a Center of Excellence: Providing consistent, instant support to employees worldwide.
Toni highlighted the impact:
“The positive impact was immense for the entire organization. We reduced the manual effort and workload with Emburse, which enabled us to focus on more important tasks.”
Positioning People at the Center of Finance Innovation
Every product improvement and strategic decision at Emburse is anchored in this belief: technology should serve people, not the other way around.
As I shared in my latest article for Forbes, the real revolution in expense management isn’t about automation for automation’s sake. It’s about making daily work easier, more intuitive, and more human for users.
“Expense tools should be as seamless as the apps we use in our personal lives. If it’s not reducing friction and empowering users, it’s not innovation—it’s just software.”
This human-centered philosophy powers every layer of the Emburse platform, from AI-driven receipt capture to smart policy enforcement and flexible card programs.
Filling the Gaps That ERPs Can’t Reach
Another hallmark of the Intelligent Age is the growing recognition that legacy ERP systems can’t do it all—especially when it comes to managing employee-initiated spend or where you want to have real time expense management versus old school procure-to-pay cycles where you may match an invoice to a PO, but also buy from a more expensive or lower quality vendor. While powerful for reporting and accounting, we are creating a “moat” around traditional ERP offering for the Office of the CFO the agility, control, and intuitive design today’s finance teams need to thrive and prepare for the future.
Emburse steps in with purpose-built precision that are tested over and over with our customers:
- Mobile-first, consumer-grade UX
- Real-time policy automation and spend controls
- Embedded AI that flags risk and streamlines classification
- Seamless integration with existing ERP, HRIS, and finance ecosystems
We’re not here to replace your ERP—we’re here to enhance it with the intelligence and flexibility needed in a modern finance environment.
Realizing the Intelligent Age — Together
A consistent message continues to emerge: the Intelligent Age isn’t just about smarter systems—it’s about smarter teams. When we equip people with the right tools, the right data, and the right support, transformation happens faster—and with more impact.
Emburse in Motion will bring this all to life. It’s where organizations like Sixt, the University of New Mexico, Databricks, General Mills, Flynn Canada, Carelon Global Solutions, Sasser Family Companies, and Nature’s Path come to share success stories, develop strategies, and influence what’s next. It’s where knowledge becomes action—and our customers are leading the way forward. I look forward to seeing you there!
