Six entry points for the integration of CRM and ER

The six entry points for the integration of CRM and ERP

nowadays, the increasingly in-depth informatization process has brought customer relationship management system (CRM) and enterprise resource planning system (ERP) into more and more enterprises. Some old problems can be easily solved with the implementation of informatization, but at the same time, some new problems have arisen. How the isolated ERP and CRM work together makes the CIOs of enterprises worried

crm can improve customer satisfaction, seize customer purchase opportunities and make money for enterprises, which is mainly reflected in the management of customer information outside the enterprise; ERP can reduce production costs, reduce customer maintenance, reduce development costs, thereby saving money for enterprises, which is mainly reflected in internal resource management. Externally and internally, the two seem to be separated from each other, but the fundamental connotation of creating value for the enterprise makes the two seemingly independent systems fundamentally linked. The integration of the two systems also needs to stand on these connections. The author summarizes it as six entry points for the integration of CRM and ERP

entry point 1: customer mining and strong alliance

CRM has relevant tools that can help enterprises find high-quality customers. For example, it helps enterprises select customers through parameters such as the amount of customers' historical orders, the profit contribution rate of products, and customer complaints. ERP can also help enterprises summarize the order amount of customers over a period of time, the profit level of products purchased, etc. through relevant tools. Therefore, some functions between the two are interlinked. Moreover, most of the relevant data of CRM analysis comes from ERP system, such as gross profit margin of products, summary of historical orders, etc

the two systems are independent of each other, so each time an order is placed, it should be opened in the two systems respectively, and the profit margin of the product can only be based on the standard profit level, rather than the actual profit level of each order. This brings great trouble to the daily work of the enterprise

through integration, orders placed in CRM can be directly brought to ERP system, or order data in ERP system can be shared with CRM without repeated input; Moreover, ERP system can calculate the actual cost according to each batch of products and each order, and CRM can obtain cost data from ERP, so analyzing the profit contribution rate of customers can be more accurate and practical

entry point 2: customer management takes one as two

ERP and CRM all use some basic customer information, some of which are still sensitive information, such as customer contact, credit limit, payment terms and other information

relatively speaking, the function of ERP for customer management is slightly weak, because its focus is not on customer management, but on improving the management efficiency of the enterprise. CRM pays more attention to the management of customers. For example, in the tracking and handling of customer complaints, the customer information is also a comprehensive CRM system, which can record the historical communication with customers. Integrate the two systems to realize data sharing. The customer information only needs to be input once to realize the common call of the two systems, which greatly reduces the work intensity of business personnel and avoids previous complaints

entry point 3: product management leads CRM. ERP should implement the development strategy of efficient and green plastic granulator

the basic information of products should be used in both CRM and ERP systems. 2. Excellent low temperature performance, BOM of products, customized configuration and quotation of products, etc. In the CRM system, the historical quotation to the customer and the customer's reply information will be recorded. How to quickly generate basic product information according to the final reply of customers and prevent multiple versions of product information tables between business departments, production departments and R & D departments is a problem that many enterprises urgently need to solve

there are multiple versions of information tables between multiple departments. On the one hand, it is necessary to input data repeatedly, resulting in waste of work. On the other hand, the data is not shared, which is prone to errors. Moreover, due to data updates and other reasons, it is likely to lead to inconsistent data among multiple departments, resulting in inconsistent external caliber. For example, the customer made a small change to the packaging method. The business is only reflected in the CRM system, but not in the ERP system, which makes the production department unable to produce according to the new customer needs, and finally leads to customer complaints. Therefore, the unification of product database in CRM and ERP system is particularly important

entry point 4: order management avoids shortcomings with the length of the ruler

erp and CRM have order management, which can be said to be completely overlapping. In practical work, many enterprises do quotation and other related operations in CRM system, and put the operations after customers actually place orders in ERP system, and artificially separate the operations ordered by customers. This practice is inaccurate and easy to cause errors

before each order is placed, the salesperson has to negotiate with the customer for many times, ranging from the color of the product to the specification, size, function and price of the product. It is the inherent performance of the material that comes and goes. It needs dozens of times of communication. If ERP is used to record these communication histories, it will be a little cumbersome, while CRM is used to do these things, it will become easy. Put the two together, and let CRM do relevant preparations before the order. After the customer finally confirms the product information and price, it can automatically generate a sales order in the ERP system according to these confirmed information, so that both parties can complement each other

entry point 5: trace the source of marketing management

although both CRM system and ERP system have sales management functions, they have different focuses. CRM system emphasizes the process in sales management, emphasizing opportunity management, time management and contact management, while ERP system emphasizes more on results, sales plan and sales performance. The marketing tool provided by CRM is beyond the reach of Er who should first remove the remaining debris in the machine room. However, many parameters used by marketing tools in CRM are provided by ERP system

for example, CRM needs to analyze which products contribute more to the profits of the enterprise. As a key product to be promoted in the next year, the cost module of ERP can help CRM calculate and count the cost of products. For another example, if CRM wants to know which customers have brought much profit to the enterprise, whether some personalized needs of key customers have been reflected in the production of products, whether the delivery date can be met, etc., these data are derived from ERP system

if the two are not integrated, these data must be calculated from the ERP system first, and then filled into the CRM system, which is time-consuming and laborious, and prone to errors

entry point 6: customer satisfaction is combined into one

erp system because its focus is on the internal of the enterprise, for external customer satisfaction, it simply provides some customer lodging records and solutions, but does not record the detailed communication process with customers. CRM will comprehensively manage customers and emphasize customer care, so as to improve customer satisfaction. Therefore, the ideal result of the integration of the two systems is to achieve a unified information base of customer complaints, complaints, services and so on through unified customer satisfaction management, and the data required by the two systems can do what they need. (end)