CRM A changing environment
One system to rule all
Today CRM can be the unifying system through which all of the business functions are viewed and even controlled, writes Leslie Faughnan
C
ustomer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) are always closely connected, not least because transaction history information is basic to CRM. But CRM is certainly not a sub-function of ERP. In fact, many experts believe that in the modern enterprise it is CRM and information management that should be regarded as the central systems. That is certainly the view of
Martin Commins, principal consultant and ERP specialist with Lumenia Consulting. Founded in Galway and with a branch office in London, this is a specialist management consultancy that works with its clients in the developing business systems strategy, particularly the selection and implementation of ERP and CRM systems. “What we want to do is give everyone dealing with the customer, sales and marketing,
accounts, service and support, that 360 degree view that is so often talked about but not always achieved,” said Commins. “So for a start CRM and ERP should be totally integrated and certainly dual maintenance is nonsense. Knowledge is power but it is only of value to the person dealing with a customer when it is accurate and current, whether out in the field with that customer or in the back office. “That is also fundamental to our newer business intelligence and analytics applications. You can easily sort and see what is relevant when all of the information is there. All of that rests in turn on proper
Martin Commins, principal consultant and ERP specialist with Lumenia Consulting
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implementation in the first place,” said Commins. “It has to ensure, for example, that every interaction feeds appropriately into workflow governed by business rules. Efficiency and accuracy, after all, is fundamental to serving customers well. If there is a mistake or delay or complaint, the systems have to ensure that corrective decisions are made and the customer looked after properly,” he said. “A well-prepared CRM solution is like a rich fruit cake. It matures and becomes better over time. But you have to bake it well and take time before adding the icing. There are very smart pro-active, analytics-driven capabilities today that can be added to CRM. But they will either only work or work better with a well-designed and proven platform system.” A specialist CRM house just coming up to its tenth anniversary, Dublin firm Enbu Consulting has worked with clients on five continents. It is a development and solutions partner for Sage CRM, with which managing director and chief architect Fran Meggs has worked since it was launched in 1997 when he was on the Dublin software team. Central to Enbu’s approach is the development of Sage CRM add-on modules, seamlessly integrated with Sage to help businesses manage key functional tasks such as project and even management, social media, custom mail merge, data migration and
Fran Meggs managing director, Enbu Consulting computer telephony integration (CTI). The name reflects this, since ‘Enbu’ is a martial arts term meaning broadly ‘adding refined creativity to a standard move or sequence’. “We have been seeing for years that well below the global hype and Gartner projects and all of that, what enterpris-
A well-prepared CRM solution is like a rich fruit cake. It matures and becomes better over time. Martin Commins, principal consultant and ERP specialist with Lumenia Consulting
es are actually looking for in CRM is local, practical help to make good use of the software that is available today,” said Meggs. “For example, we are currently focussing on integration, cloud and mobile. First step always is to work with the client to see what is actually necessary and of practical value. Integration is usually both self-explanatory and obviously valuable. It gives a single point of entry and holistic 360 degree view of your business and your customers.” The acid test, he said, is that a user should be able to enter the CRM system and go right through the complete workflow, processes and life cycle of the business. “To this day many management teams do not understand that is even possible and assume that someone may be logged in to four or more different systems to do their work. It is not just the data that needs to be de-duplicated,” said Meggs. “Our view is that CRM should be the central system for all users, in design and in practice. Then ERP, however complex, is the transactional and financial engine that is largely transparent and automated for users outside of the accounts function,” said Meggs. “ERP is based on hard data while CRM lets you manage and gain value from all of the soft information, from markets and prospects and sales through to quality control and customer satisfaction.”
24/02/2014 15:45
25/02/2014 16:18