End-to-end sales processes with CRM, CPQ and ERP
Optimise your sales process through a seamless integration of CRM, CPQ and ERP. The Ninox CRM as a central solution supports you in this.
What roles do CRM, ERP and CPQ play?
When talking about efficient sales processes for complex product and service offerings, three terms are often mentioned in the same breath: CRM (Customer Relationship Management), ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote). We have summarized for you which individual tasks the respective systems take over within the sales process:
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
- Capture and manage customer contacts, interactions and information
- Tracking sales opportunities and customer history
- Improve customer relationships and communications
- Automation of sales and marketing processes
- Customer analysis and segmentation
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
- Integration and management of enterprise resources such as finance, human resources, procurement, production, warehousing
- Automation and optimization of business processes
- Data consolidation and standardization for unified reporting and analysis
- Planning and controling of resource development and utilization
- Support in the fulfillment of compliance requirements
CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote)
- Configuration of complex products or services according to specific customer requirements
- Automatic price calculation based on selected options, discounts and pricing models
- Generation of detailed and accurate quotes
- Improvement of efficiency in the sales process
- Personalization of offers and increase of customer satisfaction
The advantages of an integrated approach
At first glance, the areas of responsibility of CRM, ERP and CPQ appear to be very different. However, if you take a closer look, it quickly becomes clear that the various processes merge almost seamlessly. This is precisely why the software solutions are often integrated with each other. This enables seamless collaboration and a smooth flow of information between the various corporate functions. While CRM focuses on customer relations and communication, ERP assists with holistic enterprise resource planning, and CPQ automates configuration, pricing, and quoting for complex products or services.
The benefits of an integrated approach are:
- Improve customer focus: By integrating these systems, companies gain a comprehensive understanding of customer needs and interactions. This enables a personalized customer approach and lays the foundation for long-term customer relationships.
- Streamline operations: Seamless integration of CRM, ERP and CPQ enables a smooth flow of information and efficient business processes. Data is shared between systems and can be used effectively to streamline workflows and increase efficiency.
- Improve communication: Integration facilitates access to relevant information and enables better communication both internally and externally. Employees can access consistent and up-to-date data, resulting in improved collaboration and more effective customer service.
- Create synergies: The integration of CRM, ERP and CPQ enables the systems to work closely together. This creates synergies as data and processes work together seamlessly. The use of information from different sources leads to a holistic view of the company and supports informed decisions.
- Intensification of customer relationships: Integration enables companies to offer individualized and personalized customer care. The interaction of CRM, ERP and CPQ takes into account all customer preferences and histories to provide tailored offers and services.
- Clear distribution of tasks: By integrating CRM, ERP and CPQ, tasks and responsibilities are clearly distributed. Each system has a specific task and contributes to the efficiency of the entire company. Employees can focus on their core competencies and use their working time effectively.
In practice: Process efficiency through an automated data exchange
Many companies still rely on siloed solutions: Customer data is even still stored in Excel spreadsheets, inventory is managed in a sparse ERP, and instead of personalized quotes, automated PDF templates are used. An efficient sales process definitely looks different. By integrating CRM, ERP and CPQ, all data is in one central location.
Customer information from CRM can be used directly in the CPQ module to create personalized quotes, while ERP provides the necessary resources and supply chain information. This automated integration enables faster order processing, more accurate inventory management, and more effective resource planning. In practical day-to-day business, data exchange not only saves a lot of time, but also customer churn. Open inquiries can be turned into deals much faster, leaving more time to focus on intensifying customer relationships instead of getting stuck in complex process chains.
3 in 1: A flexible data base for smooth sales processes
Why rely on many solutions when there is one that maps all processes?
With a flexible low-code CRM like Ninox you have the possibility to combine CRM, ERP and CPQ in just one system. The centralized database provides a single source of data for customer information, orders, sales opportunities and many other sales-related parameters. This eliminates communication gaps and data inconsistencies. Companies benefit from more efficient workflows, improved collaboration and a comprehensive view of their sales processes.
