Things to Consider when Integrating ERP and CRM Systems

Running a business with ERP and CRM as a standalone systems can be extremely annoying. Your sales reps will have to enter data manually in both the systems and face a hard time keeping track of sales. On the other hand, integration will provide greater insights into your processes and enable you to manage your business more effectively.

Here’s what you should consider before integrating both the systems:

No Conflict of Business Rules

Contact and account records are present in both ERP and CRM applications. Customer information in ERP comes into picture when an order is placed. ERP keeps track of purchase history, billing and shipping details. On the other hand, CRM is more into understanding and storing prospect and client data as well as in managing sales pipeline. So the business rules of both the systems should not interfere or conflict with one another while integrating the applications. This is critical to ensure smooth flow of data between systems.

Ensure Smooth Flow from Sales Quote to Order Fulfillment

With CRM integration with ERP, the quotations that are created in CRM should be saved as orders in the ERP application with a single click of a mouse. You certainly don’t want to manually enter orders in ERP, once the quote is confirmed in your CRM system. So the integration should automate the process and ensure seamless flow from quote to cash.

Supports Customization

You may want to add custom fields that are important for your business in either or both the CRM and ERP systems. So make sure the ERP-CRM integration supports your customization needs at every level.

Type of Data

The main purpose behind ERP integration with CRM is to allow data to be easily accessible to users of both the systems. For instance, when your sales team is using CRM system they would like to access specific information such as billing information, order status etc., from ERP systems. So before integration, decide what kind of information should be easily visible from both the systems.