ERP Software

ERP CRM, Part II

The purpose of ERP software is to integrate corporate functions such as inventory control, procurement, distribution, shipping, finance, and project management. Any transactions handled by any department are recorded and managed by a single system. This database sharing means that all back-office information is consolidated: finance, human resources, production, and distribution departments collaborate and coordinate their data for the betterment of the company.  ERP has proven so beneficial that a survey of executives found that more than 85 percent of them agreed ERP systems were essential to the core of their businesses.

CRM is software designed to improve a company's relationship with its customers across sales, marketing, and customer service departments. Prior to CRM, businesses fed information into a static database for future reference. But, the advent of CRM meant customer needs and behavior could be tracked and constantly updated. At its best, CRM creates categories, sub-folders, and custom features into which customer data is entered. That information is then dissected into smaller subsets providing the company with the ability to track not only concrete statistics, but information on the motivation and reactions of customers. CRM is considered the glue holding together what customers want, when they want it, and how.

ERP and CRM are separated by their point of operation.  ERP collects all systems of operation, and CRM collects only information directly related to customers and customer satisfaction.  The two software systems store and process information in dissimilar ways and these differences often made them incompatible.

The ability to combine ERP and CRM was a technological step forward. Combining ERP CRM led to more specific tracking of customer activity and preferences across a variety of business processes. Being able to plot products’ inventory cycles to match customers’ needs and preferences began to maximize profit. Being able to give customers the products they want when they are ready to buy maximizes customer satisfaction, and studies have shown it costs five times more money to find and win a new customer than to keep an existing customer happy.

Integrating ERP with CRM has proven beneficial in many areas. First, the business processes are able to be fully optimized by using a single database. Secondly, the company-function data generated by ERP can be matched with CRM data to provide shareholders with reports on the progress of the business. Next, integration gives management a better idea of their customer base and, consequently, how to cater to this base. And, finally, the combined systems allow for customer history information to be continuously lined up at every step with information having to do with ordering, processing, shipping, billing, and collecting that specific order, as well as with information on all other orders being simultaneously handled.

Written by :

Amy Cruz