CRM vs ERP What’s the difference between CRM and ERP?

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and CRM (Customer Relation Management) are two very different business management solutions. These are the two main software used by companies and, if the purpose is the same, have two different views on management. Here are some explanations.

For many of us, the comparison between ERP software and CRM was difficult to distinguish at first sight and that is why we are taking the time today to explain it to you. We know how mixed it can be.

Differences Between CRM & ERP

Be aware that they are opposed on all levels (or almost) and that if you need ERP software, you do not necessarily need a CRM and the reverse is also true. Technology, at the rate it advances, can allow you to do much more with your company, provided you know it well.

This is why you will know everything about the difference between an ERP and a CRM in order to understand their subtleties, their usefulness, but also the points where they complement each other.

What is ERP?

An ERP is a resource planner like no other. To be honest, it will increase your income, reduce your expenses, optimize your productivity and ensure the efficiency of all your processes. Does it sound a little magic? It is the beauty of technology.

So ERP, being a resource planning system, offers you centralized management for a better decision-making process. So, its usefulness really lies in your company’s processes and that is the big difference between an ERP and a CRM.

And what does it do, concretely? In short, an ERP allows you to:

• Enter data and find it instantly wherever it counts in your system: from inventory to orders;
• Optimize your departments and their organization;
• To link each department to automate the flow of activities;
• Centrally manage your business from a single database.

 

Thus, ERP allows you to worry less about each step, of each detail, of each order and to have rather a global portrait of the situation in order to make better decisions in the long term. When entrepreneurs enter our offices, we often see them being buried under a ton of simple and repetitive tasks that prevent them from implementing a long-term strategy for their company. Technology, through ERP well adapted to your needs, now offers you the possibility of automating these tasks to better see in general what is wrong or what works well in your company.

If you recognize yourself in this portrait, then you need an ERP.

ERP, Ideal Solution to Reduce Production Costs

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is an analysis software allowing to optimize the production costs of a company. Thanks to a key performance indicator (KPI Analysis), the company has essential data at its disposal to optimize its development process and centralize this strategy within all its departments.

ERP software includes several modules such as production, human resources, sales, inventory, supply chain, finance or even employee accounting and payroll. It is, therefore, a complete management software which makes it possible to use a single database for all the departments which however continue to operate independently of each other.

ERP and CRM, Two Compatible Solutions

ERP and CRM software solutions are compatible with each other, and their combination makes it possible to exponentially optimize the management of a company. In fact, the CRM software is specifically designed to improve customer management and thus increase sales, while the ERP software automates the processes between the different departments, which considerably reduces the costs of running a business. It is therefore interesting to combine these two solutions in a company.

What about CRM?

CRM, unlike ERP software, has absolutely nothing to do with your processes and production, but rather the sales, marketing and customer service side of your business. As a customer relationship manager, he will help you refocus on your customer.

We get along. If there is no sale and no customer to buy your product, it may be the best on the market, but you are quickly heading for failure. And since you must have a constant flow of customers or you must constantly nurture your relationship with them, a system to manage your customer relationship is essential.

So what does a CRM do?

• Register your customers.
• Support in the acquisition of new customers.
• Automate the tasks of your sellers.
• Nurture existing relationships with your customers.
• Recording of information in a database.
• Analysis of data, behaviour, etc.

 

As you can see, the big difference between an ERP and CRM is that the latter seeks to improve and facilitate the management of your customers while seeking to increase your sales. With its unique database and advanced analysis system, your CRM will help you make better choices for the future of your company.

By finding all the data in one place, you will have a better portrait of the situation by being able to identify specific behaviours based on geographic area, activity, level of interest, etc. You will then have all the lighting you need to make informed marketing plans and adopt successful sales strategies. This means that if you need to improve your relationships with your customers and increase your sales, you need CRM.

CRM, The Ideal Solution to Improve Sales

CRM (Customer Relation Management) makes it possible to considerably improve the sales of a company and plays a role in marketing and prospecting. The main objectives of CRM software are to automate sales processes, collect customer information, create one or more customer databases, and enable consistent business monitoring.

Thanks to CRM software, it is possible to optimize sales, to adapt marketing strategies, by studying precisely the customer database, which accurately identifies trends and behaviour of customers.

CRM software is mainly used to analyze the customer and thus improve the sales strategy of a company.

An ERP or CRM Don’t Stop There in Terms of Services

Depending on the ERP or CRM that you get, you can have access to different modules to complete your solution and make it the perfect software for your company. You will be able to find for example in your ERP, a module dedicated only to human resources and recruitment which will gather in a database all the information related to your employees and which will allow you to optimize their time as well as their skills.