What is Customer-Centric Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)?

What is customer-centric enterprise resource planning? What benefit is it to your business? A new white paper available from the IWI Consulting Group entitled Customer-Centric ERP: Integrated Systems for Satisfied Customers is available at no charge to help demystify the concept of customer-centric enterprise resource planning and to help you consider the many benefits to your business.

Enterprise Resource Planning Explained

Enterprise resource planning is a systematic approach to connect siloed data. Instead of separate and discrete systems for accounting, operations, customer relationship management and so on, these systems feed into one ERP system that provides a comprehensive overview of a company’s business. You can still drill down into each system for details, but the big picture is now available through a companywide dashboard that makes it easier to view and use data.

Why Focus on Customer Satisfaction?

Companies derive many benefits from enterprise resource planning. Customer satisfaction is perhaps the least recognized, yet the most important benefit, among them.

Customers today are empowered with more information than at any time in the past. The internet puts vast resources at their fingertips for instant fact-finding. With so much information so readily available, companies that wish to attract and retain customers must go to greater lengths to offer exceptional service. Such service is facilitated by a good ERP system.

Yet, according to the white paper available from the IWI Consulting Group, only 35% of companies have a unified view of customer data available to all relevant stakeholders. One assumes that the remaining companies still dig into separate databases, with varying levels of access to departments and employees.

Such a siloed approach is time-consuming, and time is money, especially when it comes to customer service. The longer you must make a customer wait for an answer, the more time he has to consider taking his business elsewhere.

Customer data kept in multiple, separate databases can also make it more difficult to offer personalized service to customers. Without that big picture view, it’s easy to focus on one aspect of a customer’s business without understanding how it fits into the big picture of his needs.

Customer-Centric Technology for Best in Class Businesses

“Best in class” businesses, when it comes to ERP systems, distinguish themselves in several areas. All embrace technology to form a customer-centric mindset and operating guidelines for their companies. Business solutions that integrate and streamline data enhance this customer-centric approach.

These best in class companies are more likely to rely upon ERP systems and use those systems to enhance customer service and satisfaction. According to the white paper previously cited, 51% of best in class companies use their enterprise resource planning systems to improve customer satisfaction.

Preventing Common Customer Complaints

Customers are often frustrated by companies who cannot access their complete records. Receiving a call with an offer for an add-on sale when the first sale was returned due to dissatisfaction is both frustrating for the customer and unproductive for the sales team. Customers complain that companies do not care about them, but only seek to get more revenues out of their account.

When ERP systems are used for customer care in a customer-centric way, such complaints can be reduced or completely avoided. A customer-centric approach to ERP can reduce customer care costs by 12% while improving service and satisfaction.

Get the Facts on Customer-Centric ERP

Customer-centric ERP is a new and better way to manage your accounts using enterprise resource planning software.

IWI Consulting offers ERP consulting and systems to help you manage your data efficiently. With the right ERP system, you’ll never feel as if you’re drowning in data. We can help you select the best system for your needs and learn how to use it for maximum benefit. Call IWI Consulting at 1-866-916-3851.