ERP and CRM integrations are becoming more and more popular for companies of all sizes. But why? What are the benefits? And what should you be aware of before making the decision to integrate your systems?
In this blog post, we will answer 10 of the most frequently asked questions about ERP and CRM integrations. We hope that after reading this post, you will have a better understanding of what an ERP & CRM integration can do for your business!
👉 Read 'How ERP and CRM systems work together'
Question #1: What is an ERP & CRM Integration?
An ERP & CRM integration is the process of connecting your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. This allows data to flow between the two systems, giving you a more complete view of your business operations.
Question #2: Why Would I Need an ERP & CRM Integration?
Both a CRM & ERP are critical components to streamlining your organisation's growth. It's pretty likely that you have different teams managing the two systems. So, why would you need the integration?
Let's look at an example.
Well, it's pretty likely that your Finance team (who primarily works in the ERP) needs information from your sales team (who primarily works in your CRM) on upcoming deals. As a result, it's also pretty likely that you have processes in place for each team to gather this information. Manual processes.
And, manual processes aren't scalable. They are error-prone. Can cause delays. And, leave your organisation looking into two different systems that have two different forecasts, two different records - two sources of truth.
So, why do you need an ERP & CRM integration? In simple terms - to create a single source of truth.
You can find more benefits of an ERP & CRM integration in this blog post.
Question #3: What pain points does an ERP & CRM Integration solve?
Our sales team is sharing forecasts that aren't always accurate. How do we improve our forecasting accuracy?
When you connect your ERP to your CRM, you are proving your sales team with a more accurate depiction of your organisation's financials, and as a result they can offer more accurate forecasting.
As a sales rep, I keep creating reports that the finance team has already created, but they didn't share them with me.
With a CRM & ERP integration, reports will automatically get synced within both systems. This way, everyone has access to the information they need without having to duplicate work.
I'm worried about data quality issues when we integrate our ERP and CRM. How do we ensure that our data is clean?
Believe it or not, an ERP & CRM integration is the best way to maintain data quality - especially in the long term. Here, data will be synchronized automatically.
As a sales rep, I need access to inventory in order to share more accurate quotes
When your sales team has access to the inventory levels and costs they can offer quotes that are based on data, not assumptions.
As a marketer, I need more information post-sale in order to offer a stronger personalised offering.
ERP & CRM systems contain a wealth of information that can be used to inform marketing strategies. This way you can gain access about the order history and tailor marketing campaigns accordingly.
As a CSM, I want to reduce response times when handling customer queries.
By integrating your ERP & CRM systems, you can offer your CSM reps immediate access to information used to resolve queries. This way, you can provide a better overall experience for your customers.
Question #4: What if my CRM doesn't offer integration to my ERP?
Here at Six & Flow, we love APIs. We're a HubSpot Elite Partner and considered one of the top agencies for Custom API Integrations, according to HubSpot.
APIs power you to connect disparate systems. In our experience, leveraging HubSpot's APIs and building custom code that bridges the 2 platforms is often the most suitable solution.
And in fact, custom development is often less expensive in the long term.
Question #5: Can I create invoices in my CRM as a result of the ERP integration?
Accounting and financial reporting software is often a subset of an ERP system. Looking at HubSpot's CRM platform, when you integrate HubSpot and your ERP system, you can invoice directly from HubSpot.
