Having CRM and ERP systems will help your business organize and optimize operations and sales processes. Although each has its own strategy, the CRM system focuses on customer service, sales, and marketing, and the ERP manages finance and logistics; operating them separately might bring missed opportunities and inefficiencies. In order to create a seamless synergy, CRM and ERP software integration will make you leverage both tools in the right way with endless benefits for your organization.
An enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a business system that manages and automates an organization’s financials, operations, supply chain, and overall business processes. This management software helps companies utilize a system of integrated applications between different departments while gaining insight and breaking down data silos.
Modern, fast-paced business environments demand visibility and adaptability to help drive business growth. Adopting a digital transformation strategy with modern ERPs benefits the way products are developed, empowers supply chain capabilities, and improves the customer experience while companies:
Furthermore, technological evolutionary changes have both simplified and improved modern ERPs to help connect your processes, systems, and data while getting the required intelligence and adaptability to optimize your operations. By implementing an ERP, your business will accelerate optimal performance, drive operational impact, and ensure your business agility.
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is the system in charge of managing every external and internal customer interaction with an enterprise. This system relies on technology to analyze, organize, and record contact data to elevate every business interaction throughout the sales cycle.
More organizations are witnessing the several benefits of CRM software to make real-time decisions while increasing profit, providing marketers, salespeople, CS representatives, and other stakeholders data-driven insights while supporting companies in the following areas:
Amongst many differences between both systems, the most crucial ones are the following:
Supply Chain Management (SCM), Human Resource Management (HRM), and more.
Although many businesses decide to deploy ERP and CRM systems individually to focus on each one depending on their area, keeping both systems in synch becomes cumbersome and exhausting if both systems have their own databases. Considering this constant update must be done manually, it will result in slower operations with a higher risk of database errors. For instance, a CRM user must transfer their customer service information to the other, while an ERP user from billing has to do the same update for a customer’s account.
Nevertheless, when a business decides to carry out a CRM and ERP integration, they ensure both systems share the same database to update both instantaneously without manual entry. That way, users save time, reduce risks, increase productivity and visibility, and customers can be billed faster while other operations are automated between systems. Modern solutions like Microsoft Dynamics 365 have proven to deliver these benefits and countless more for leading companies of any industry worldwide.
Dynamics 365 is a suite of cloud-based solutions that combines ERP and CRM capabilities designed to effectively connect, visualize, prioritize, and manage every area of your business, integrating disparate operations while bringing a user-friendly experience to your customers and employees. Every solution helps you meet core business needs across finance, supply chain, operations, sales, marketing, and more.
To delve deeper into the proven advantages of this integration, here are the top 5 ones you should know:
One of the most critical benefits of ERP and CRM integration is that it provides complete 360-degree visibility of your customer’s buying practices, general needs, and order history. These two systems provide you with better insight into your customer base, from sales and support to finance and accounting.
Additionally, this integration facilitates building solid and lasting relationships while analyzing where there is potential for future growth. You can also track changes in your customer’s profitability, loyalty, preferences, and more with consistent data, improved analytics, and reporting.
With these systems implemented, employees can quickly access relevant information in real time. That way, your customer service agents don’t have to go through a constant trawl for data through other systems or employees. Thanks to this unified customer information, there’s enhanced efficiency and reduced negative customer experience.
Therefore, within reach of a button, employees can easily retrieve information on inventory levels, customer financials, shipments, payments, subscriptions, pricing, and more, while providing exceptional customer experience without delays.
Besides seamlessly sharing information between CRM and ERP systems, this integration improves employee collaboration and production among teams. For instance, the company’s marketing campaign insights can provide financial teams with the same data to help them work together more easily without tossing the ball with separate information from other departments. Thus, both areas can simply work simultaneously, finding ways to thrust revenue from future marketing actions.
Additionally, by having everyone on the same page, your team will experience enhanced productivity when sharing up-to-the-minute data when working ERP and CRM together while reaching more effective results.
Since CRM focuses on support, sales, and prospects, and ERP focuses on warehouse, inventory, shipping, and related areas, having them interconnected will noticeably improve your business’s overall efficiency. With this integration, employees no longer need to duplicate data entry and thoroughly examine there are no errors.
Therefore, any adjustments made in the CRM database will be reflected in the ERP system and vice-versa. Also, for any custom field removal or addition, new entries, or alterations in the database.
Having said the previous top advantages, it’s clear that you’ll accomplish one of the most vital elements of business growth: boosting customer relationships. This not only means building relationships but also simplifying its pursuit, strengthening them and their trust/loyalty.
The CRM and ERP integration provides your team with the necessary tools to stay in touch with essential accounts and keep engaged with them as their needs develop. With the complete visibility of your customers, it’s easier to keep track of orders in progress, new leads, customer service history, proposals, interactions, and much more.
Microsoft Dynamics 365, the umbrella that encompasses the Microsoft Business Solutions Ecosystem, has proved to be a Leader in ERP systems for both small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and large organizations, utilizing different modern and intelligent business solutions.
Dynamics 365 helps you streamline your everyday financials and operations with upgraded cloud apps that go beyond conventional ERP and CRM systems with unified data and an adaptable platform for your business while providing a modernized workforce and business intelligence. Having the ERP and CRM within the same place, you’ll leverage endless possibilities to increase profitability, efficiency, and customer relationships while reducing costs and manual entry.
Among the top CRM systems worldwide, there’s Salesforce, Dynamics 365, Oracle, and HubSpot, which bring several benefits to large, medium, and small companies. Each has different capabilities that would work best for specific enterprise’s needs, so it’s important to check their differences and carefully analyze their downsides or lack of strength. That way, you’ll rectify the best CRM system according to your needs and goals.
