The use of CRM and ERP has become standard for medium-sized and large companies. But why does it make sense to use both systems? How do they complement each other? And how can the two be combined? In this article, we provide you with answers and highlight important facts about the combination of CRM and ERP. Our experience from 35 years of CRM practice.
The focus of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems is on the integrated management and optimization of operational processes. The central ERP platform, on which the various company areas such as finance, human resources, production, sales and logistics are linked, enables the optimaluse of resources, which leads to improved profitability. An ERP therefore serves as the basis for controlling and decision-making in your company.
The differences between CRM and ERP lie both in their objectives and in their functions. In contrast to ERP, where the view of customers is purely process-oriented, CRM systems focus on the management and optimization ofcustomer relationships. They support companies in collecting, analyzing and managing information on prospective and existing customers in order to strengthen customer loyalty and increase sales.
CRM software primarily supports your business areas by capturing customer communication and soft facts that cannot be captured with an ERP system. Here are the advantages for the 3 areas
However, a CRM system is not limited to use in these three business areas: suppliers, partners, personnel or objects such as real estate or car parks can also be managed with a CRM. You can expand your CRM system to xRM. The meaning is already reflected in the name: the x in xRM stands for the English word "anything" and means "everything". This means that you can map supplier evaluations in xRM as well as application procedures.
As already described, CRM software offers employees support in customer communication and processing. It provides direct access to customer and prospective customer data and thus ensures that employees can provide competent and needs-based advice. The CRM system also provides important key figures for managing the company that cannot be determined using an ERP system. These include, for example
The ERP cannot provide this customer data - but it can provide important key figures on stock levels or for finance and accounting, which are not recorded with a CRM.
If an ERP system is already in use, a CRM system should by no means be dispensed with. Linking the two systems brings considerable benefits, as your teams receive a more complete picture of their customers, as illustrated in these examples:
You can count on these added values when integrating CRM and ERP:
Gedys CRM supports integration with any ERP software such as Proalpha, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics NAV or Infor. The bidirectional interface offers the option of displaying any data from the ERP system in the CRM or automatically transferring data from the CRM to the ERP system.