MCP lets an AI assistant work inside your ERP — checking stock, raising purchase orders, sending reports — with exactly your permissions. Here is what that means, without the jargon.
What is an MCP server, in plain terms?
MCP — the Model Context Protocol — is an open standard that lets an AI assistant connect to a piece of software and use it. An MCP server is the part of that software that says to the assistant: here is what you can look up, and here is what you can do. Think of it as a door built for AI, with the same locks as the door your staff use.
Without one, an AI assistant can only talk about your business from what you paste into the chat. With one, it can work inside your system — check stock, raise an order, pull a report — and you see the result in the same screens your team already uses. The standard is public and documented at modelcontextprotocol.io.
Why does it matter for an ERP?
An ERP is where the work of a stock-led business actually happens: purchase orders, goods receipts, stock at every outlet, billing, GST and the books. Most of that work is routine, and most of it is done by clicking through the same screens every day.
An MCP server turns that routine into a sentence. Instead of opening four screens to find what is below its reorder level at one outlet and then raising a purchase order for it, an owner or manager asks for it — and it is done, in the ERP, as a real purchase order.
What can an AI agent do in VAP today?
VAP, the AI-first ERP built by Vritti AI, has its own MCP server. Through it, an AI assistant can do anything that can be done in VAP's screens, including:
- Update stock — adjustments, transfers between outlets and warehouses, counts.
- Raise purchase orders — for example, for everything at one outlet below its reorder level.
- Record goods receipts against a purchase order when the delivery arrives.
- Analyse sales by outlet, item, channel or period, from your own records.
- Send reports on WhatsApp — a sales summary, low stock, batches about to expire.
More detail on the AI agent page.
Can the AI see or change things it should not?
Not if the MCP server is built properly, and this is the question to ask any vendor. In VAP, the agent acts as the person who is signed in. Everything it does is checked against that person's roles and permissions — scoped to the organisation, a registered firm, a group of outlets or one outlet — so it can never see or change more than they could on screen. A cashier's assistant can bill but cannot open the books; give someone read-only access and their assistant can analyse but not change anything. See roles and permissions.
Does every change still follow the rules?
Yes. The agent does not get a side door. A purchase order it raises is the same kind of record as one raised on screen, and a stock change goes through the same rules: the movement is recorded, tax is worked out the same way, and the books update the same way. That is what makes it safe to let an assistant do real work rather than just draft it for someone to retype.
Which AI assistants work with it?
Any assistant that supports MCP. Because MCP is an open standard rather than one company's product, you are not tied to a single AI — Claude and ChatGPT both support it, and more assistants are adding it.
What should I ask a vendor about their MCP server?
- Does the agent act as the signed-in user, with exactly their permissions — or with a broad "integration" account?
- Can it do real actions (create orders, update stock), or only read and report?
- Do its actions go through the same rules and records as the screens, so the books and stock stay right?
- Can I give someone read-only access so their assistant can analyse but not change anything?
- Is it included, or does it need a higher plan or paid credits?
What is a good first thing to try?
Start with questions, not changes: "How did each outlet sell last week compared with the week before?" or "What expires in the next 30 days, by outlet?". Once you trust the answers, move to routine work — the week's purchase orders, or a goods receipt when a delivery lands. Talk to us and we will show it working on a system set up for your trade.