Sunday, June 14, 2015

CRM atau ERP Software ?




CRM vs. ERP Software

APRIL 10, 2014 - BY 
erpEnterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software are not mutually exclusive; in fact depending on the business environment they complement each other by reducing costs and increasing profits.  Utilizing both CRM and ERP can keep management abreast of core business processes and effectively manage customer interactions.
ERP might be a great starting place for management to learn how the sales and marketing departments are performing but unfortunately ERP will fail to show key Indicators that are exclusive to CRM. Bellow we discuss and compare each system`s merits and uses.

CRM

Contrary to popular belief, CRM is not just a piece of software used to manage a company`s customer interactions. Customer Relationship Management is the name given to the methodology used to manage customer relationships in an organized fashion. CRM can be defined as “The tools, technologies and procedures to manage, improve, or facilitate sales, support and related interactions with customers, prospects and business partners.”
Traditionally, most people think of CRM as the software used by sales reps to maintain contact with clients and prospects. But in reality CRM can be used by most departments for different purposes. For example, sales management may use CRM to create accurate sales projections, while  support teams find CRM helpful as a tool to keep track of issues and tickets. Modern CRMs also have marketing automation functions that enable Marketing to send mass emails and monitor marketing KPIs. When it comes to CRM uses the sky is the limit, and almost every department can benefit from using or having access to CRM data.
In a nutshell, the goal of a CRM system is to provide a tool to easily sort and organize customer and prospect data as a way to optimize customer relations and ultimately increase the bottom line.

ERP

While CRM focuses on the customer or front office side of the business ERP systems focus on the business at large. ERP allows different departments to easily share information with the rest of the company with the goal of automating and improving the overall efficiency of processes. ERP integrates all business units and departments such as manufacturing, product development, finance etc.  Automating these processes and having this information helps leadership review crucial company metrics to make better strategic decisions.
In other words ERP is a back office application since it has no direct relation to customers.

CRM and ERP

Notice how the title of this section is not “CRM or ERP “. Both systems serve quite different yet very important purposes. CRM fuels the business by managing the customers or the “lifeblood” of every for profit enterprise.  At the same time ERP allows management to steer the business around any obstacles it may encounter.
Having both ERP and CRM systems in place is an efficient way for companies to increase profits (CRM) while at the same time better manage expenses (ERP).
Usually a business will first adopt a CRM system since it needs to have well established business processes and several separate departments before it starts worrying about optimizing them. If a small business is housed in a small one room office and all “teams” are within earshot of each other, why would they need ERP?
On the contrary a CRM system will aid in attracting customers (marketing automation) and improve relationships with clients (sales force automation) creating new business opportunities and ultimately helping the business grow to the point when an ERP system becomes a necessity.

Integrating CRM with ERP

Once a business has phased in an ERP system alongside its CRM it may be time to start thinking about integrating both systems and close any information gaps.
Lack of integration may mean there are information gaps within the company.  For example a manufacturer may keep accounting records within the ERP while the sales team is tracking opportunities and wins in the CRM system which requires orders to be manually entered into the ERP thus increasing the probability of errors. On the same vein, a sales rep might not be aware of a customer`s credit information and might be unaware of any credit holds or outstanding balances.
Before purchasing any type of business software, organizations should evaluate their specific needs and understand what software addresses their main pain points.  Here at Maximizer Software we recommend every business adopts CRM, but if your business challenges are more structural in nature it may be time to consider an ERP solution.