The lovebirds! We are not writing about countless films with this name, nor about the cute yellow-green bird species. We are talking about two terms from the world of software: CRM, i.e. customer relationship management, and ERP, the management of business and operational processes.
We have implemented CRM and ERP solutions in numerous small and medium-sized companies in recent years and have found that using data from BOTH systems has significantly increased teamwork. It allows a comprehensive perspective on your customers and increases your business opportunities. More information on how to create a dream team from CRM and ERP can be found here.
Imagine the following scenario: two of your employees – let’s call them Sissi and Franz – work with the same customer, but since Franz doesn’t know about the customer’s unpaid invoice from the previous month and signs a new contract, there are unwanted expenses.
If the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, it can have annoying consequences. In this case, the sales department does not know the important data from the ERP system and, contrary to what the management, production and financial planning departments think, nobody has any information about what the sales department has recorded in CRM about customer relationships.
CRM and ERP – roles and benefits
Many companies start with ERP. The ERP solution then contains data from the areas of controlling, human resources, materials management or procurement. With ERP, business processes are processed faster and more efficiently. The customer normally only appears under the customer number and their address.
In CRM, everything revolves around the overall view of the customer: Ideally, the entire contact history is updated every day and used for sales, marketing or service activities.
Both systems have their advantages and cannot replace each other. The ERP stands for the “machine house” of the company, the CRM represents the “sales store”, so to speak. What is largely missing is intelligent teamwork between CRM and ERP. This needs to change because in an increasingly digital world, nobody can afford silos and isolated solutions in which B2B customers also think and act like consumers.
Know everything about customers
Customer expectations are changing rapidly. If you want to keep up with this pace of development or be faster, you always need a complete, up-to-date view of the data, regardless of your location.
The advantages are obvious:
A 360-degree view of the customer: Many synergies can be achieved through well thought-out interaction between CRM and ERP. No duplicate data maintenance required. Sales staff with access to stock or accounting data can advise customers more effectively. In general, the risk of using different information in different departments is minimized. The company speaks to customers in a unified voice and always understands their status.
Improved corporate management: ERP is not responsible for customer management, but it does contain valuable data. In combination with sales data, comprehensive evaluation and visualization can be carried out in CRM. This not only increases the chance of a successful sale, but management can also recognize important trends at an early stage or compensate for possible negative developments.
It is recommended to use at least a bidirectional interface with existing ERP systems. In this way, systems can be easily connected. On the one hand, this makes data entry easier and, on the other, ERP-related data can be processed in CRM. This is not only more convenient, but also saves on license fees.
Example: By connecting with CRM, the sales employee can centralize information in one place and access it at any time.
Important CRM and ERP integration steps
If you are lucky enough to set up both CRM and ERP in the “green field”, you can think of these two worlds from the start. In real life, however, it is usually more common to implement ERP first and then CRM. Or the two systems work side by side for a long time without any connection. It is often not easy to link them carefully without losing valuable data or incurring high costs.
The following aspects should therefore be on your work list:
Plan well: Are the most important requirements correct? Is your customer base sufficient to explain the project? Which stakeholders do you need to support the success of the project?
Evaluate the software carefully: Modern software providers such as 1Tool have agreed both ERP and CRM modules. When choosing software, opt for a solution that includes both modules right from the start. This will save you expensive integration costs later on.
Targeted data selection: To what extent and in which direction should data be exchanged between ERP and CRM? Under what circumstances can both parties access the information?
Example: Sales employees can view the current delivery time and even call up the delivery status in CRM. In addition, the clerk can automatically retrieve important customer data from the CRM.
An integration of ERP and CRM offers you several advantages:
Cost savings
If you use a software solution that includes both CRM and ERP, you save costs. You don’t have to integrate different systems and have expensive interfaces developed.
Efficient working
Data maintenance and entry become easier. Benefits and information are combined. Every user can find everything in one place without having to change the system.
Example: If a customer request is created in the CRM via a service ticket, a service order is created directly from this data. This saves the user time without having to re-enter it into the ERP system.
When done right, CRM and ERP are a real dream team.
We would be pleased to inform you about the advantages of 1Tool CRM and ERP modules. Get in touch with us!
