Silos of data

Data silos prevent businesses from making the most of their systems. ERP systems implemented years ago may be housed in legacy and on-premises data silos, whereas newer applications are hosted in the cloud. Data silos cause redundancy, inefficiency, and inaccurate data.

Manual Processes That Are Slow

Manual processes must move information between the ERP and other systems in the absence of ERP system integration. When a customer places an order, for example, the information is entered into a CRM. If the order must be manually entered into the ERP system, the workload on the workforce grows and operational efficiency suffers. The workforce required to perform manual processes is unable to perform higher-value work.Lack of Real-Time and Accurate Data.

Disconnected systems necessitate manual data updates, causing a lag in information exchange throughout the customer lifecycle. The rest of the company does not have real-time access to the order while manually processing a new customer order. Manufacturing may build inventory for a product other than the one ordered. The customer will not be notified of the order’s status. Accounting will not send the customer an invoice or record revenue. Everything is put on hold until the order is manually processed.

Failure to Implement Strategic Customer Experience Initiatives

If businesses are to deliver on customer experience initiatives, integration is critical. An ERP system stores critical financial, product, fulfillment, and customer-related data.

In the past, some businesses created custom integrations that were point-to-point with no reusable code. To add special features or connect more systems, these ERP legacy system integrations require changes or replacement. Companies will not be able to realize their strategic customer experience initiatives unless legacy custom-coded integrations are made extensible.

Type of ERP Integration

CRM-ERP Integration: Bridging Demand and Supply

Sales is concerned with increasing revenue through customer acquisition, satisfaction, upselling, and cross-selling. The CRM system stores customer contact and interaction data, but it must communicate with an ERP system for order management, fulfillment, and shipping. Salesforce Sales Cloud has the largest market share, but there are many others, including Adobe, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, and SugarCRM. CRM modules are available in some ERP systems.

Integration of E-Commerce and ERP: Making Front-End Data Available

The COVID-19 pandemic hastened the transition to e-commerce by forcing businesses to switch from in-person to contactless sales and services overnight. E-commerce platforms enable customers to browse, order, and pay and are frequently the first point of contact with the customer. To manage the order fulfillment process — checking or updating inventory and shipping the product — the e-commerce platform must integrate with the ERP. Amazon, BigCommerce, Magento, Shopify, and other e-commerce platforms are available.

Integrating ERP and CRM to Ensure Accurate Financial Data

Due to acquisitions, mergers, or departmental preferences, businesses may have multiple ERP systems. These ERP systems must be linked in order to function as integrated ERP systems and provide a consistent and accurate view of customer and product data. Many businesses use Epicor, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle NetSuite, SAP S/4 HANA, Sage, Workday Financials, and other ERP systems.

Customer Service-ERP Integration: Support Tracking Using Customer Service Systems

Excellent customer service increases customer satisfaction, decreases churn, and responds to customer needs more quickly and intelligently. Customer service, support, and field service are all handled by a variety of applications. Through predictive analytics and AI, customer service software handles omnichannel capabilities, self-service capabilities, and proactive interactions. Customer support software, also known as IT Service Management (ITSM), manages the IT desk and incident requests. Field service software handles warranty and contracts, returns and repairs, maintenance, and field service work scheduling. Companies must integrate all customer service applications with the ERP to ensure seamless customer interactions. BMC, Cherwell, Jira, Salesforce Service Cloud, Oracle Service, ServiceNow, ServiceMax, Zendesk, and others are popular customer service platforms.