ERP vs CRM: Choose What is Best for Your Business?

Think of your business as a human body. Just as ERP and CRM are no less than two vital organs that keep your business alive and kicking. However, not many people are aware of the difference between CRM and ERP software. This article will help the readers understand the difference between CRM vs ERP, features and benefits to make it easier for them to choose the best fit for their business.

What is an ERP?

ERP stands for enterprise resource planning, and it is a software system that serves as a central data hub. It organises all business processes, best practices, and financial systems that form the contemporary corporation's various departments.

ERP software frequently consists of several modules that manage various aspects of business operations. An ERP system may include modules that handle money transactions, managing stock, and personnel management.

Each module in the system interacts with others to create a full perspective of the way the company operates. It leads to more effective data exchange and collaboration between departments. Moreover, before the ERP vs CRM debate starts gathering stream, it is time to know a thing or two about both CRM and ERP software.

Who can use ERP Software?

ERP is a one-of-a-kind solution for connecting all business processes. It can be used by businesses of all sizes (SMEs) or big enterprise businesses. However, the necessity and advantages of an ERP become evident as the firm grows leading to more complex operations. Today’s business is not about moderate success and traditional delivery but to unleash your full business potential to achieve double-digit growth and market dominance. ERP’s cloud-backed smart features help you in real-time business visibility t to have better control of your business. Its smart workflows automate the process to increase productivity and efficiency.

So, stop overthinking, no matter if you are managing a manufacturing, non-profit, healthcare, finance, trade & distribution, professional services, energy or others, switch to an ERP now to grow more.

Transform Your Business with ERP

Key Features of an ERP Software

Data-Driven Reporting and Informed Decision-Making

Without the need for manual reporting, an enterprise-class ERP system provides users with a full perspective of financial and operational performance, with configurable reports and real-time information. It can also minimise the time required to do various jobs by simplifying procedures and decreasing the duration spent searching for the information they require. This, along with automated procedures and linked systems, enables teams to quickly deliver correct information to decision-makers, allowing them to take accurate strategic decisions as per the changing business and economic situations to stay relevant and grow more.

Easy Integration to Boost Productivity

This ERP feature is an important aspect of what distinguishes this solution from other forms of software. Although many independent applications claim to be able to interact with other systems, nothing beats a suite of apps designed to function together. Easy integration of Dynamics 365 solutions and other Microsoft apps guarantees that the many capabilities provided by ERP systems function in tandem.

ERP software provides an entirely integrated, user-friendly platform for analysing, monitoring, and carrying out data-driven operations. ERP systems collect, store, and analyse information throughout every division to ensure that your organisation communicates effectively. Operating from a single source of information lowers the possibility of disparities, as well as the errors and expenses that come with them.

Empower Your Team with Automation

When asked, "What does ERP software do?" the response will almost certainly include automation. ERP software automates time-consuming operations including order access, payroll, accounting, invoicing, reporting, and more. Automation reduces the number of hours your team spends on these operations, enabling employees to focus on other vital tasks. Managing your workers' time effectively leads to more productive workdays.

Process automation can help to decrease human error. When your team spend most of their day performing repetitive duties, they are likely to make an error or two. Data may be transmitted from one section of the system to another using automation without the risk of mistakes. Even minor mistakes can cost your company money, so why not avoid them whenever possible?

Human Resource Mapping, Simplified Payroll and Skill Development

An ERP system's HR module serves as a one-stop shop for handling recruitment & hiring, payroll, onboarding, compensation, and other tasks. Complex HR activities such as tax deductions, and resource mapping are handled efficiently using automated and smart workflows and intelligent ERP features, saving both time and money while reducing mistakes.

Learning management is a component of an ERP solution's HR module that helps workers to learn appropriate skills for better job performance. Skilled personnel are more inclined to remain with the company for an extended length of time, improving the retention rate.

Optimise Supply Chain Management

Manufacturing companies work with a variety of suppliers and partners to get raw materials and resources to provide completed goods/products to customers.

The acquisition of raw materials and the selection of appropriate channels for products are all part of supply chain planning. It calculates the amount of inventory in stock, ensures replenishment, and optimises the manufacturing process to establish demand and supply ratios, as well as the shipping and delivery of completed items.

ERP systems are critical in fighting inefficiencies in supply chain processes. They enable organisations to acquire competitive supplier pricing, decrease waste by optimising manufacturing processes, and manage inventories while directing employees' efforts in the appropriate direction.

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What is a CRM?

A customer relationship management (CRM) system enhances and streamlines how businesses engage with current consumers, prospective clients, and new clients. CRM systems are designed for businesses of all sizes to improve the connections that are at the heart of a successful business.

Even the most basic CRM software provides many datasets to make inferences about consumers based on their contact history. Contact information, history of transactions, and correspondence records are examples of customer data acquired by CRM systems. The needed client information is collected through several channels such as customer service interaction records, online forms, and sales encounters.

Who can use CRM?

Any business (small or medium) would want a host of delighted customers. With the ever-growing consumer demands, a company needs a business solution to analyse their customers’ needs, preferred choices, and buying behaviour helping them to do focused marketing and improve customer engagement. Customer interactions are not a minor aspect of your business. The relationships you develop turn your business into a roaring success, and a CRM system helps ensure that all your customer relationships are well-managed and organised.

Features of a CRM Software

Automation of Workflows

When a potential client submits an inquiry page on your site, the CRM software routes the message to the appropriate sales professional or department.

• When a sales professional gets a message, the customer relationship management (CRM) programme sends a predefined response to recognise it
• If a lead does not react to your message or proposal within a certain length of time, such as a period of 48 hours or two business days, the CRM software will send a follow-up message
• When a sales professional calls or texts a customer, the CRM software automatically tracks the hours and maintains track of all conversations
• The CRM software automatically submits completed tasks to supervisors and executives for reports on performance as sales representatives complete them

Third-Party Integrations Become Possible

Connecting your customer relationship management (CRM) software to existing solutions may save you a lot of time as well as cash. Third-party software connectors are available in most CRM programmes; the key is to select one that is compatible with the software you use and simple to apply. Salesforce, for example, offers its own AppExchange marketplace where customers can quickly link CRM to solutions, such as the likes of QuickBooks accounting software and Microsoft Teams. You can also easily integrate all Dynamics 365 suite of solutions and various Microsoft apps to increase productivity.

Here are some of the things you can do to make your life simpler with the correct third-party integrations

• Run CRM software directly from Outlook, Gmail, or other email clients to avoid moving between programmes
• To reduce human data entry, instantly synchronise sale and order data with your POS system and accounting software
• Generate mailing lists and execute email marketing campaigns automatically via your email marketing programme or CRM software, eliminating the need to open both
• Dropbox, Box.com, and other popular cloud backup storage services may be used to backup and sync data

Offers Enhanced Email Integration

Integration with email clients such as Microsoft Outlook or Google Mail leads to improved contact list management and categorisation. It also provides a centralised location for internal cross-collaboration. You should think about how your sales team interacts with your customers. If they are not information-sharing applications, you might choose to prioritise CRM software with email connection features.

Customisation Becomes a Possibility

Because no two organisations are identical, the finest CRM software can be tailored to your company's specific requirements. Some CRM solutions enable you to select what functions are offered in your subscription, and others allow you to customise basic areas, such as adding contact fields, selecting which data to display on your dashboard, and creating custom reports. You may also customise your programme by adding extensions, plugins, and other upgrades.

Many CRM software companies provide more complex solutions via APIs if you want even more customisation of the product as per your organisation. This allows developers to have access to all technical specifications and coding, allowing them to fully customise your software. The API also enables you to combine the programme with current business solutions used by your organisation to streamline procedures.

Enables Better Employee Performance Tracking

CRM software is an excellent tool for tracking employee activity and productivity. Choose software that allows employees to have separate accounts so they can log their hours, assignments, conferences, sales statistics, objectives, and other activities. Supervisors and senior management can have control over dashboards that show each worker's goals, accomplished tasks, and other productivity indicators. This can assist managers in writing employee performance reports, creating incentives, rewarding good employees, identifying those suffering, and addressing areas for improvement.

Manages Large Volumes of Data

CRM generates and maintains huge volumes of data, including consumer demographics, preferences, interactions with your firm, and purchasing history. This information may be used to improve different elements of the client relationship, such as invoice management and sales forecasting.

It may also provide development teams with information on client requirements and desires, allowing them to build better goods and services. Analytics is also used by the marketing and sales departments to create personalised messages that make consumers experience a sense of being heard and seen.

Tips For A Successful ERP/ CRM Implementation

A successful ERP/CRM deployment distinguishes between a business solution that just operates and one that gives an exceptional return on investment by supporting particular business objectives. Although ER/CRM software selection is independent of the installation process, selecting the ERP/CRM solution that suits your company's needs significantly boosts the likelihood of a successful ERP/CRM deployment.

CRM vs ERP: What's The Difference?

While the entire organisation is going to depend upon both. Let us make it simple for you to choose between ERP vs CRM. ERP and CRM systems, the primary distinction between the two is that ERP is largely for financial information used by the finance department, whilst CRM is for customer data utilised by the sales and customer support departments. The former is known as the rear office, while the latter is known as the front office.

Most employees resist ERP implementation as it drastically changes the way they work, which may sometimes degrade productivity levels, and spike the cost factor.

Tailoring ERP Systems to Meet Business Size Needs

Key differences between CRM vs ERP:

CRM	ERP
CRM increases profits by giving rise to higher sales volumes	ERP is used for reducing overhead costs through automation
CRM software helps automate customer interactions with organisations	ERP software solutions assist organisations in managing complex business operations efficiently
CRM is a centralised platform helping teams for converting prospects into new clients	It is a centralised system that automates all procedures
CRM systems are concerned with the company's relationships with its customers	ERP systems are primarily concerned with organisational expansion and cost minimisation
Doesn’t have AI capabilities	They assist with back-office operations

To put things simply, Many ERPs have CRM functions, however, CRMs do not include ERP features or deal with transactional data. CRM and ERP are both vital parts of an effective business system, and one cannot be used in place of the other. Remember these differences the next time you are asked to participate in the ERP vs. CRM debate.

CRM vs. ERP: What Does a Business Require?

All growing firms, from SMBs to enterprises, will ultimately require both an ERP and a CRM solution – or just one platform for both. Companies that operate their finances using basic accounting tools like QuickBooks or even Excel frequently can move to an ERP system when they discover that those methods are limiting their development.

The same can be true for organisations that handle their customer interactions through email clients, spreadsheets, or contact management systems used by individual sales agents. The business model of a firm will determine whether it invests initially in CRM or ERP. A firm with a small number of customers of significant value and complex accounting records may be more likely to invest in an ERP system first, whereas an organisation with a relatively simple accounting process and a huge client base that is required to connect with its customers might opt for a CRM solution.

Integrating CRM and ERP

A corporation and a client have dozens, if not hundreds, of contacts that take place across multiple departments with distinct charters and aims. The ideal scenario is to provide fruitful interactions across all touchpoints, providing customers with a cohesive experience. Companies must link their CRM and ERP systems to successfully communicate data to provide that type of contemporary, seamless experience, rather than keeping two different sets of data.

Consider online sales. The back office (financial) captures the transaction data and income when a consumer pays for items and services in the front office (online). If the CRM and ERP systems do not share a consistent set of data, errors can occur, orders can be lost, and earnings can be unrecorded.

Companies may better understand consumer patterns, enhance budgeting and forecasting, deliver quicker, more personalised customer experiences, and anticipate future demand by connecting and analysing the front-end CRM data with the back-office ERP data. In real-time, salespeople may also track new prospects, create quotation requests, and combine fresh proposals with existing accounts. Also, you can opt for CRM and ERP in cloud if you do not wish to invest heavily in hardware while setting up a business of your own.

Advantages of CRM & ERP Integration

Customers' perspectives from every angle

Integration of CRM with ERP provides a single view of your customers. It may be the most important reason why you require it. When your ERP and CRM systems are integrated, you will get a comprehensive view of your customers. It provides complete visibility and accuracy in all areas of accounting, finance, sales, and support.

Provides Information that is Consistent

ERP and CRM systems both retain comparable information about customers. As a result, ERP and CRM solutions frequently include duplicate customer data. The issue arises when both systems operate in isolation. If you have two independent systems, you will most likely modify the record in each of the platforms separately. Ideally, changes made in ERP should be reflected in CRM and vice versa. Otherwise, teams will have inaccurate information about a consumer and their transaction.

Enhanced mobility through ERP and CRM connectivity

Real-time data enables the sales and operational teams to handle client contracts with greater efficiency. It enables them to speed up deal approval procedures and potentially achieve immediate contract signing. As a result, a centralised system will aid in the reduction of critical process cycles. Cloud-based CRMs also make it simple to access and update information from any place. It accelerates time-to-revenue and expands commercial prospects.

Enhanced Efficiency

A system that is siloed may force you to spend time on manual, tedious chores. Integration facilitates the automation of workflows and the management of processes. This allows your staff to free up critical time and resources by eliminating manual, time-consuming processes. They will be able to devote more time to critical activities that affect your bottom line. At the press of a button, they may also enter transactions, edit, or update information. Finally, CRM/ERP integration saves your business time and money in labour expenses. It lowers data duplication, making your and your teams' lives easier.

Why Go for CRM and ERP in Cloud?

There are several compelling reasons for users to go for CRM and ERP in Cloud:

• Easily Scalable: It does not matter how big or small the business venture is, you will be able to scale up and down as per your business needs and fluctuating customer demands.
• Cost Effective: It would eliminate a business’ requirement to invest in million-dollar hardware. If everything is available on the Cloud, you can work on it collaboratively with your co-workers and partners.
• Easily Accessible: This is the best part of using a cloud-oriented storage solution. You can access your documents and reports from anywhere. All you need is a working internet connection.
• Enhanced Security: It goes without saying that cloud-powered solutions employ better security standards than an on-premises software solution. Well, that is because a cloud-powered solution has robust security standards in place. Furthermore, updates are also carried out automatically.

Simply put, all of these are good enough reasons for you to go for CRM and ERP in Cloud

ERP vs CRM or Both

If you are still confused about whether to go for a CRM or ERP or both. Contact our expert team of consultants who knows in & out of ERP and CRM solutions to do your free system assessment for identifying your growth areas and provide you with need-based enterprise solutions at get a competitive price of ERP or cost of CRM tailored to your business model and needs to make a difference.

The world is evolving, when will you join the club? It’s high time to take the next step.