Cirque du Soleil: Flexing AI capabilities for a quantum leap in business process efficiency
Learn how Cirque du Soleil is easing the workload for its accounts payable team with an intuitive, AI-enabled tool built using SAP BTP and SAP Business AI, helping identify the payment status of an invoice in seconds. Download the DocumentINTERNAL – SAP Only (delete if public)
Cirque du Soleil: Flexing AI capabilities for
a quantum leap in business process
efficiency
As a world leader in live entertainment, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group continues to
reinvent circus arts. In addition to producing world-renowned shows, it now offers
various entertainment forms such as multimedia productions, immersive experiences, theme
parks, and special events.
Orchestrating 38 shows worldwide requires a fine balance of its complex operations and global
team of artists and staff. With tour-supporting suppliers at every show producing over 70,000
invoices per year, Cirque du Soleil sought to ease the workload for its overwhelmed accounts
payable team. To keep track of the status of these invoices and enable responses in a quicker,
more transparent manner, Cirque du Soleil required AI capabilities that could automate tasks
and boost back-office efficiency. Picture Credit | Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, Montréal, Canada.
Used with permission.
Cirque du Soleil: Flexing AI capabilities for
a quantum leap in business process
efficiency
As a world leader in live entertainment, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group continues to
reinvent circus arts. In addition to producing world-renowned shows, it now offers
various entertainment forms such as multimedia productions, immersive experiences, theme
parks, and special events.
Orchestrating 38 shows worldwide requires a fine balance of its complex operations and global
team of artists and staff. With tour-supporting suppliers at every show producing over 70,000
invoices per year, Cirque du Soleil sought to ease the workload for its overwhelmed accounts
payable team. To keep track of the status of these invoices and enable responses in a quicker,
more transparent manner, Cirque du Soleil required AI capabilities that could automate tasks
and boost back-office efficiency. Picture Credit | Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, Montréal, Canada.
Used with permission.
INTERNAL – SAP Only (delete if public)
“The time-consuming research required to identify the
payment status of an invoice and its reason was
overwhelming. We were looking for a more efficient way to
handle this, and SAP Business AI provided us with a simply
stunning answer.”
Philippe Lalumière, Vice President of Information Technology, Cirque du Soleil
Entertainment Group
Cirque du Soleil
Entertainment Group
Montréal, Canada
www.cirquedusoleil.com
Industry
Media, sports, and
entertainment
Employees
>4,000
Products and services
Live entertainment shows
Featured solutions
SAP BTP, SAP Build, SAP
AI Core, and
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Private Edition
98%
Improvement in handling
urgent or sensitive
information requests
25%
Faster invoice inquiry
responses
Before: Challenges and opportunities
• Overcome labor-intensive research and translation requests on supplier invoice inquiries
• Gain clarity and transparency on the processing status of a supplier invoice
• Eliminate tedious investigations in the accounts payable department
Why SAP
• SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), offering a flexible and integrated platform for extending and
integrating solutions as well as for enabling secure access to SAP Business AI
• SAP Build solutions, providing a modern approach to developing custom applications and automations
• Access to artificial intelligence models from the SAP AI Core infrastructure, allowing the company to integrate
AI into its business processes and enrich its instance of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
After: Value-driven results
• Built an intuitive, AI-enabled tool for accounts payable specialists, helping identify the payment status of an
invoice in seconds
• Reduced repetitive tasks, including issue investigation, manual data retrieval, and drafting e-mail responses,
resulting in quicker answers to suppliers on their invoice inquiries
• Enhanced vendor relationships and improved customer satisfaction
• Enabled bilingual responses, with the assistant feature retrieving invoice-status information and generating a
proposed e-mail response with the invoice details in French and English
Transforming processes for supplier invoice inquiries with
SAP BTP and SAP Business AI
99499enUS (25/10) © 2025 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. sap.com/terms-of-use
Want to know more?
Read the full story
“The time-consuming research required to identify the
payment status of an invoice and its reason was
overwhelming. We were looking for a more efficient way to
handle this, and SAP Business AI provided us with a simply
stunning answer.”
Philippe Lalumière, Vice President of Information Technology, Cirque du Soleil
Entertainment Group
Cirque du Soleil
Entertainment Group
Montréal, Canada
www.cirquedusoleil.com
Industry
Media, sports, and
entertainment
Employees
>4,000
Products and services
Live entertainment shows
Featured solutions
SAP BTP, SAP Build, SAP
AI Core, and
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Private Edition
98%
Improvement in handling
urgent or sensitive
information requests
25%
Faster invoice inquiry
responses
Before: Challenges and opportunities
• Overcome labor-intensive research and translation requests on supplier invoice inquiries
• Gain clarity and transparency on the processing status of a supplier invoice
• Eliminate tedious investigations in the accounts payable department
Why SAP
• SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), offering a flexible and integrated platform for extending and
integrating solutions as well as for enabling secure access to SAP Business AI
• SAP Build solutions, providing a modern approach to developing custom applications and automations
• Access to artificial intelligence models from the SAP AI Core infrastructure, allowing the company to integrate
AI into its business processes and enrich its instance of SAP S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition
After: Value-driven results
• Built an intuitive, AI-enabled tool for accounts payable specialists, helping identify the payment status of an
invoice in seconds
• Reduced repetitive tasks, including issue investigation, manual data retrieval, and drafting e-mail responses,
resulting in quicker answers to suppliers on their invoice inquiries
• Enhanced vendor relationships and improved customer satisfaction
• Enabled bilingual responses, with the assistant feature retrieving invoice-status information and generating a
proposed e-mail response with the invoice details in French and English
Transforming processes for supplier invoice inquiries with
SAP BTP and SAP Business AI
99499enUS (25/10) © 2025 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. sap.com/terms-of-use
Want to know more?
Read the full story