The Benefits of Integrating CRM and ERP

In today’s modern manufacturing industry, many companies employ two systems to ensure their business and production processes run effectively – a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system and an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Often, these two systems run separately, but there are many benefits of integrating CRM and ERP.

What are CRM and ERP?

CRM systems manage valuable customer data and track their interactions with marketing activities, sales and customer support. This helps businesses better understand their customers and prospects by providing critical data on their activities, likes, and preferences.

An ERP system is comprised of multiple processes within a company necessary to manage both human and capital resources. The goal is to consolidate information from these separate functions – production, finance, purchasing, etc. – into a complete, integrated system. This allows companies to better manage their businesses, coordinate resources efficiently, and achieve greater productivity.

Disparate Systems

CRM and ERP both offer substantial benefits to businesses. However, it becomes difficult to track customer interactions and obtain accurate information when there are two different systems unable to communicate with one another.

For example, when Sales opportunities are handled in the CRM system, orders must be manually entered in the ERP system. Without integration, Sales is unable to track orders completely through the process. In addition, Forecasting and Production are unable to accurately predict what is coming down the pipeline because they cannot see opportunities and sales wins in the CRM system. This creates redundancies, manual processes and extra work on both ends of the process.

If Sales had access to ERP data, they could immediately address customer questions about product availability or review the status of orders without wasting time tracking down the information. CRM information would feed into the ERP system allowing for better forecasting and product planning.

The Benefits of Integrated CRM and ERP

Agility is extremely important in today’s data-driven world. To be agile, information needs to flow seamlessly through all parts of a business. Sharing information and providing visibility into both front-end and back-end systems increases productivity and simplifies business processes, leading to increased ROI. Synchronizing data from CRM and ERP applications allows businesses to automate and streamline processes. With the wall between CRM and ERP removed, information can be placed in front of those that need it most, eliminating countless undocumented processes that involve email, paper trails, and other inefficient ways to distribute information. Integration makes valuable data from both the ERP and CRM systems available to the right people at the right time through a single interface. Successful CRM and ERP integration enables real-time response to customer inquiries and market conditions, making a business more nimble. Many companies realize huge savings and increases in profit when they leverage the true power of their data by integrating their CRM and ERP systems.

Revolution Group helps companies gain insight into their businesses through integrated CRM and ERP solutions. If you would like to learn how Revolution Group can help you reach your business goals, give us a call at 614-212-1111. We would love to change the way you think about ERP.

For more information on ERP systems, check out our blog, “What is ERP?”