Integrating enterprise resource planning with your customer relationship management software can boost agility for manufacturing enterprises. Both are mature technologies that have shown value for many years by helping to capture, update and act on business intelligence. It's only natural that these two platforms should integrate and provide streamlined solutions for enterprises that are seeking optimized workflows. 

CRM obviously provides benefits to any company through sales and marketing tools. But what about manufacturing enterprises? An integrated CRM and ERP can improve many functions for manufacturers. 

Quality control
The CRM module of an ERP system can track customer feedback, helping manufacturers to better understand the how the customer views quality. Obviously, no manufacturer wants to have to recall an item, and no one wants to ship an incomplete or defective one. Providing insight into customer feedback can help improve efforts on the manufacturing end, ensuring the customer and the manufacturer share the same definition of quality. 

Data analytics
Companies have access to more information than ever thanks to trends like Big Data and The Internet of Things. Customer data is high on the list of critical business intelligence, and both ERP and CRM tools make use of this data. In addition to customer feedback, this data can also include insight into a competitor's products. If you need to know what you're up against and whether or not it's working, this is a major benefit. 

Demand planning
Planning for demand is always a challenge, particularly for manufacturers. Producing too many units is a waste of time, space and other resources. Under-producing will draw the ire of supply chain partners and end users. ERP provides great tools for demand planning, but this is still challenging if the manufacturer is just one part of a large and diverse supply chain. How can a manufacturer understand demand planning if their goods are not final products? 

An ERP with an integrated CRM system can help. While CRM provides valuable information on customers, ERP allows the manufacturer to view the whole supply chain. By integrating the two systems, users can view not just their customers, but their customers' customers as well, providing valuable insight into their end users. 

For an ERP solution built for modern manufactures, Microsoft Dynamics NAV meets all of your enterprise's needs. At Accent Software, we help growing businesses implement Dynamics NAV, because we understand the importance of manufacturing business software. If your legacy system isn't keeping up, contact us to see the difference a modern, integrated ERP system can make.