How is the pandemic changing the way businesses need/use CRM? Marianne Chikos, Group VP of Discrete Manufacturing Product Group at Aptean weighs in:
MC: “Amid the pandemic, businesses found themselves urgently needing to pivot and adapt to market turbulence, downturns and unpredictability. Manufacturers quickly looked to industry-specific, cloud-based systems for remote access and streamlined processes to boost productivity and reduce overhead costs.
This year’s challenges have called for a more comprehensive 360 degree view of the customer, better knowledge and insights into customer bases and lasting relationships to maintain or increase market share. The pandemic is also quickly forcing a shift to integrated systems, data sharing, empowered employees and automated workflows at expedited adoption rates.
Companies are realizing that CRMs with ERP integrations can address these problems and more. With the integrated tools, both food and beverage and industrial manufacturers can better anticipate customer needs, improve access to critical information and reduce manual and time-consuming processes. Centralized information is more important now than ever, and many ERP users are integrating their systems with CRM software to help remove data silos and optimize operations for enhanced efficiency.
Through these integrated solutions, manufacturing employees can perform tasks more quickly and easily, saving the time and hassle of entering data in multiple locations. Sales reps have better access to order statuses and holistic customer profiles, keeping them updated throughout the process. When systems are integrated, ERP users can receive properly priced and ordered sales from reps using CRM, while reps have updated and accurate availability of materials and pricing in one unified location.”
Aptean provides targeted ERP, supply chain management and compliance solutions that drive for greater results. For more information, visit www.aptean.com.
