Messi to Neymar and… goal!

Confused? No, you have not somehow been re-directed to a sports blog. This is indeed the blog of SoftOne! The sports reference is only intended to highlight the benefits that can derive from the integration of your ERP and CRM systems.

These two IT solutions may appear to have great differences, but in order for a business to effectively serve its customers – both as a whole and individually – and avoid any potential issues, integration and unification are a must. But, is it really possible for two entirely different systems that are seemingly worlds apart to actually work together? With the aid of modern technology that can make anything happen (anywhere), yes it most certainly is.

Why are integration and unification of the two systems necessary? Because this is how a business can share the data that is separately collected and transferred through these systems. What can a business gain this way? A more comprehensive view of each and every one of its customers, which translates into better insight, effective support of customer needs and requirements, better proposals, more sales and ultimately increased cash flow.

And since “well begun is half done”, the first thing you need to do when embarking on this new journey is determine your needs and requirements well in advance. What do you want to gain? Which factors are most important to your business operations? What degree of customization do you need? How much money and time are you willing to spend? What is the knowledge background and experience of the personnel that will handle data processing? What data format do you prefer? How is this going to affect the rest of your business operations and activities? Rest assured there are answers to all these questions.

One of the most crucial parameters as far as the unification of ERP and CRM systems is concerned is data, or to be more precise, data logging in the most thorough and realistic way possible. Missing information can actually cost a lot, both financially and otherwise. So, do take a moment to consider what kind of data your business has, where this data is stored and how important it is for your business daily operations. Think of the whole process as planning your journey from the moment you leave till the moment you finally arrive at your destination. In order to get the desired results, you first need to clearly set your goals. Don’t hang on to irrelevant, duplicate or useless data. Just do away with it. You’ll thank us later.

ERP and CRM systems actually are two faces of the same coin and this is why they should work closely together. They provide a comprehensive view of a business: front, middle and back-end; the internal reality and the effectiveness of extroversion. They can help you cut operating costs, streamline your operations, record your contacts and take advantage of them, determine the effectiveness of specific commercial and marketing activities and provide you with a number of other details.