By now, chances are you understand the benefits of CRM and ERP individually. But have you considered the benefits of integrating both? Maybe you are just used to the status quo, or maybe you have a legacy CRM solution in place and just don’t want to go through learning something new. The benefits of CRM and ERP integration are myriad, however, and as a business leader, you don’t want to miss out. Let’s dive in.
#1 Reduced IT Spend
The math is simple. When two systems integrate into one, there is less time spent on maintenance, and that can only translate into reduced spend. Your team will also spend less time on building interfaces between the two systems. As a result, they can refocus those energies on development and innovation that create additional revenue streams for your company instead. Win, win.
#2 Increased Visibility
Integrating your CRM and ERP also gives you increased, end-to-end visibility of your supply chain, orders, business processes, and more. Plus, these data points are integrated into one place to give you better ways to assess and make informed business decisions that improve relationships with customers and increase efficiency in your company.
#3 Anytime Access
Integrated ERP and CRM means that your employees can access the customer data they need from anywhere, any time of the day or night. For sales teams or companies that maintain field teams, this is an inarguable advantage, and means your employees can make better and more informed decisions on the fly based on product availability, order information, purchase history, and more.
#4 That “Single Pane of Glass”
You hear it said a lot, but enough can’t be said about viewing all your company data through a single pane of glass. Departments will break free from their silos. Because anytime someone enters data, it will update across your company, so everyone is always working with the same metrics.
#5 Increased Profit Margins
What’s the result of all this cohesive data and increased efficiency? Increased profit margins, of course. One of the major benefits of CRM and ERP integration is that your company will run better, make customers happier, and manage orders more efficiently. That can only lead to increased sales and eventually increased profit margins, making a CRM and ERP integration well worth the time and money.
# 6 No Duplicate Data
Duplicated customer data is one issue that makes managing business on digital platforms so problematic. Sales might manually enter customer information, only to have accounting create another, similar entry once a customer query reaches them. Integration between CRM and ERP eliminates this frustration, maintaining clean data and ensuring data cohesion across departments.
CRM and ERP integrations are not only useful, but very possible, when you work with the right ERP consultant. Tell us all about your own thoughts on the benefits of CRM and ERP integration in the comments below and explore popular solutions.
