ERP and CRM Systems: Should I integrate them?

When companies undergo a new systems project, they are typically trying to streamline and improve critical business processes while gaining clear visibility into those processes.

Companies invest in software technologies such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to help improve these processes. In a previous blog we covered what these systems are and how they can benefit your business, you can read that here.

Can your CRM be integrated with your ERP system?

Yes, they can.

In fact, CRM and ERP systems work best when they are fully integrated and regularly sharing data with each other. This integration gives you a complete and focused view of what is going on within the business. Your CRM is handling all your customer interactions, while your ERP system is  managing  all your business processes.

These systems offer companies plenty of benefits individually, however, there is a real value to be gained in being able to have end-to-end visibility of all your business processes, just some of which are:

• Having a complete picture of your customer accounts

Departments such as sales, support, marketing, or finance will have all the information they need to make more qualified decisions, which can then help towards improving your customer relationships.

• Providing accurate quotes and improve forecasting

Improve your sales team’s quoting accuracy by allowing them access to the most up to date data on warehouse quantities, up to date costings and more. By doing this you will have a more accurate sales forecast and pipeline view.

• Improving your knowledge of buying behaviours and trends

Integration allows for a complete picture of your customer such as their order histories, support calls and previous opportunities. This gives your teams the capability to proactively anticipate your customers’ needs and actively start targeting them with sales and marketing for cross sell of products.

• Reducing communication barriers

Allowing your teams to work seamlessly together, reducing duplication of effort, and improving communication flows between teams by having access to the same updates and information.

If you would like some advice on your current ERP and CRM setup, and to check if you are able to integrate them, feel free to reach out to one of our business consultants.