Defining CRM ERP
The acronym CRM ERP pertains to Customer Relationship Management Enterprise Resource Planning. Customer Relationship Management or CRM is an area in the broader software industry of Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP. There are other parts of the ERP field as well that, like CRM, used to be stand-alone or independent ERP applications. But for now, let us focus on Customer Relationship Management in its entirety. When Customer Relationship Management is being talked about, it refers to the processes and concepts adopted by corporations when it comes to providing service to customers. CRM ERP is inclusive of data capture, data storage, and analysis of data gleaned from internal processes, partners, vendors and of course customers as well. With regards to CRM ERM implementation, it is possible to implement its three main aspects independently of the other factors. These three are the operational, collaborative, and analytical aspects. When we talk about the operational aspect, we are concerned with how customer service processes are automated and then supported with emphasis on processes where service or sales representatives of the company participate. For the collaborative aspect, the organization is involved with direct communication with clients or customers, with processes not passing through service or sales representatives of the company. In the analytical aspect, as the term implies, the information about customers is analyzed for different reasons. These three aspects make up the CRM Ecosystem as was described by the Meta Group back in the latter part of the 1990s.
It should be understood that CRM ERP is actually a holistic way by which an organization will deal with clients and customers. Thus, CRM ERP should not be focused on technology only, but also on other organizational processes such as marketing, employee training, frontliner customer service, organizational policies and processes and of course systems and information management. For a CRM ERP strategy to be able to meet organizational objectives, the specific circumstances of the organization should be balanced with the demands and expectations of clients and customers. This does not mean, however, that the CRM ERP technology becomes less important in any way in fact, CRM ERP technology is quite vital and has extensive, not to mention complicated, effects on organizational processes. CRM ERP technology has the following components: a customer information database which may be in the form of either an enterprise data warehouse or a database actually geared for CRM ERP; customer agent support software for the operational aspect; customer interaction systems to meet the demands of the collaborative aspect; statistical analysis software, as well as marketing campaign management software for the analytical needs of the CRM ERP effort. The organization may either choose a quality yet complex installation, or simply implement the ERP applications in as simple a manner as they want. The CRM ERP system can be implemented using multiple communication channels, which are called Direct, the one through the Internet dubbed the Online channel, and through fax or phone lines for Call Center use. These may permit Service, Marketing and Sales to be satisfactorily conducted. |
