CRM activities are often related closely to ERP data and activities. New customers in the CRM require financial operations, new human resources and other resource management within ERP. The key challenge is to create business processes which connect CRM and ERP in such a way as to achieve a single unified system of operations. If not, there is a disconnect between systems and teams. This is not always an easy task. Many companies use middleware to run between the two systems, but such middleware often ignores the human, process-centric element.
Increasingly, organizations are finding that BPM software can bridge CRM and ERP gaps. BPM (Business Process Management) software can include both CRM and ERP actions as part of an end-to-end workflow. It can involve greater numbers of users in such processes, and perhaps most importantly, it can provide management with the visibility it requires to oversee, manage and improve business processes efficiently. In effect, you can create a better ecosystem for CRM-ERP activities.
We've seen several cases of successful CRM-ERP ecosystems with our clients. In some, the fact that we created processes using pre-built, wizard based connectors, was crucial. PNMsoft SCE is a BPM software that includes wizard based connectors to Dynamics CRM, SAP ERP, JD Edwards and various versions of Dynamics ERP (GP,NAV, AX).
So where would users operate such processes?
There are several possibilities:
- Within CRM
- Within ERP
- Within SharePoint
- On an external portal
Here, the organization must decide what platform will be the most conducive to highest adoption and most intuitive use. It could be that CRM users will operate within CRM, and ERP users within ERP. The key is that all users are accessing the same process.
Here's what an analytics dashboard for a Customer Service process might look like:
The SLA compliance widget might be calculated based on ERP data.
To summarize, BPM can act as a unifying, meta-solution for CRM-ERP ecosystems. The major elements of the system's health are:
- Creating workflows which span CRM-ERP processes.
- Connecting CRM and ERP systems as steps in those workflows.
- Enabling both CRM and ERP users and managers to access processes easily.
- Providing management with visibility tools to monitor and improve processes.
I would be happy to hear about your ERP-CRM challenges and success stories.
Eli Stutz
Head of Knowledge and Collaboration
PNMsoft