Most successful businesses employ CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) as their major systems to make sure the business runs efficiently. CRM handles front-end information whereas ERP systems engages in critical back-end information. Salesforce is a revolutionary cloud-based SAAS CRM platform designed to add up growth, create and serve smarter markets and reduces man-power for both SME (Small & medium sized industry) as well as large industry owners. SAP ERP systems viz. SAP S4/ ECC/All in One, B1 etc. are essentially one of the most competitive and used by over 50,000+ companies over industries.
Generally, the diversified nature of CRM & ERP systems and the architecture behind them make it a very multifarious mission when it comes to integrating the two platforms. We have been able to achieve a successful line of communication between the two platforms. This has proved to be immensely rewarding for business owners.
Figure: The figure above shows the percentage usage of various CRM software with respect to the customer/vendor usage of Salesforce. Salesforce adoptiom has been on a high since it came into the market. It provides the best cloud based SAAS CRM platform in the market. Source: www.forbes.com
Top 5 scenarios where Salesforce – ERP integration is beneficial
The complex integration between the two platforms when achieved solves numerous business problems both operational and financial. Below are the top mentions where CRM/Salesforce – ERP integration is beneficial –
Scenario No. 1: 3600 view of Accounts/Contacts
Customer/Contacts details are essentially stored in both CRM front-end and ERP back-end which can be very confusing when it comes to visibility on both ends. Instead of updating customer information in both the platforms separately, this integration synchronizes the data entered in one platform into another without any loss of data. This gives a centralized 3600 view of the customers as a whole. This sync process is generally bi-directional and can be entered & updated from any end.
Scenario No. 2: Inventory Real-Time view
Inventory integration is an inherent part of online business. A right inventory can be 
very beneficial and help customers buy the exact number of products available in the warehouse whereas the wrong inventory can mislead customers and bring huge losses to the company.
Scenario No. 3: Better access to critical business information
A channel between ERP and CRM provides employees the ability to access important i
nformation in real time. You want your customers to be endowed with real-time information access. For this the employees should be able to retrieve critical information like quotations, orders, shipments, customer financial information, returns, order history, pricing, payments etc. in just a click of a button.
Scenario No. 4: Business process streamline
The ultimate aim for all businesses is to streamline processes and automating workflo
w with enhanced productivity. This solution provides a channel between ERP and CRM for business streamlining and automation. Moreover, the solution slashes down on the amount of duplication of data entry tasks and human manual entry error.
Scenario No. 5: Complete view of the sales order cycle
Sales order can be registered from both front-end CRM and back-end ERP depending on the business model i.e. B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Customer). The solution allows complete view of the order cycle that contains sales orders, opportunities and quotes, invoice and payments on both the platforms simultaneously.
Conclusion
Overall implementing this solution will definitely prove to be a win-win situation for your online business. Small to medium industry business owner have a lot to gain by investing less in human labour and in turn reducing the overall cost to business. Implement this solution to get hassle free, real time integration between your CRM and ERP for the following touch-points, contact, customers, business partners, products, inventory, orders, invoice, payments and many more.