We already understand the importance of sharing information between departments. That’s exactly why companies like Microsoft have developed a whole set of office tools under the Dynamics 365 umbrella. The interoperability of all these platforms is an intelligent way to streamline operations and sales by sharing data back and forth.
But what about determining whether to integrate your enterprise resource planning (ERP) software with your customer relationship management (CRM) software? What does ERP and CRM integration really mean for your business?
What Can ERP and CRM Integration Do for My Company?
We believe ERP and CRM integration is an important step to ensure that everything needed to improve the performance of your business is all in one place. The entire point of big data is that understanding the big picture of an organization will allow it to make better marketplace decisions to improve profitability. To do this, the walls housing legacy platforms and their data silos must be broken down. This is a primary argument in support of ERP and ERM integration. Also consider that:
- ERP and CRM integration will give you the full picture of who is buying your products and how they’re performing in the marketplace. While a CRM is designed to house records of all your customer interactions, an ERP is the workhorse behind the data. Taking CRM data and using the ERP engine to analyze it will give you a 360 view of everything from sales prospecting to customer upselling. You’ll be able to use the ERP to spot historical trends in sales or operations and flex your business accordingly.
- The key word in the phrase “ERP and CRM integration” is integration, but the practical effect of this process must be explored. For example, if your customer calls in about an order status, how many software platforms will your customer service rep have to access before providing a response? By integrating their ERP with their CRM, they can look at inventory, order history, customer comments, sales activity, pricing – and more. We’re talking about one big customer dashboard of information that’s available at the touch of a few keystrokes.
- ERP and CRM integration can also take many redundant manual processes and streamlines them. How could your business change if workflows became more productive? Imagine the additional time that each employee might have if you cut redundant tasks from their day? Data entry alone takes up a good deal of time. Integrating customer data with operational details cuts down on the busywork, freeing employees to focus in on what’s really important: growing your business.
IES would like to show you how eliminating legacy platforms through ERP and CRM integration could change your business for the better. We can talk with you about your goals and create a roadmap to get there, including an estimation of the costs – or cost reduction when we optimize and integrate your software. How could tools like Dynamics 365 ERP and CRM help your company move in the direction you’ve envisioned? Contact IES – we can help.
