How Sage ERP Integration Transforms the B2B Customer Experience
3 min read ● Silk Team
How Sage ERP Integration Improves the B2B Customer Experience
It is time for the manufacturer to move beyond price. As customers have become increasingly frustrated with slow and inaccurate response times from suppliers, it is now time for manufacturers to provide customers with access to their products and services through a variety of digital and traditional media, including e-commerce sites, social networks and mobile devices.
To achieve this objective, manufacturers need to integrate their ERP system(s) with other systems used by their organization. Examples of systems that may be used in conjunction with a manufacturing company’s ERP system include:
- eCommerce site
- CRM
- Customer Service Portals
- EDI Systems (used for communication between the manufacturer and its trading partners)
This integration will allow the manufacturer to present a seamless experience for its customers, and to provide the level of service that its customers expect. Manufacturers also need to recognize that the customer experience extends far beyond the point of sale and encompasses the entire lifecycle of the product or service.
There are several reasons why most manufacturers do not currently have a fully integrated customer experience system. Some of the main reasons include:
- The cost of implementing an integrated customer experience system is high.
- The complexity of integrating ERP systems with other systems used by the manufacturer is high.
- There has been a lack of awareness regarding the importance of having a fully integrated customer experience system among some manufacturers.
- Many organizations do not have the IT resources to implement and maintain a fully integrated customer experience system.
- Some manufacturers believe that the benefits of having a fully integrated customer experience system outweigh the costs of implementing such a system; therefore, the manufacturers are willing to incur the costs in order to obtain those benefits.
- Some manufacturers have implemented components of a fully integrated customer experience system, but the components have not yet been fully integrated.
In addition to improving the quality of the customer experience, there are several additional benefits that manufacturers may realize by implementing a fully integrated customer experience system. For example:
- Improved customer retention rates.
- Reduced transactional costs.
- Reduced costs associated with manual data entry.
- Increased customer satisfaction.
- Increased revenue.
- Improved ability to analyze customer behavior and preferences.
- Improved ability to identify new opportunities and to develop new marketing strategies.
- Improved ability to respond to changing customer needs and preferences.
- Improved ability to compete effectively in the marketplace.
A number of the above-mentioned benefits result from the increased efficiency and productivity that a manufacturer realizes once it implements a fully integrated customer experience system. In turn, the increased efficiency and productivity enable the manufacturer to reduce transactional costs and to allocate more resources to other areas of the organization, such as marketing and product development.
Manufacturers should use the benefits listed above as a guide when deciding whether or not to implement a fully integrated customer experience system. Each benefit represents a potential opportunity for the manufacturer to increase efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, and generate revenue. Manufacturers should consider each of the above-mentioned benefits and evaluate how likely the manufacturer is to realize each benefit if it were to implement a fully integrated customer experience system.
Ultimately, the decision to implement a fully integrated customer experience system depends on the specific goals and objectives of the manufacturer. If a manufacturer is interested in creating a positive customer experience and generating revenue, then implementing a fully integrated customer experience system may be a good option. However, if the manufacturer is not interested in either of those activities, then implementing a fully integrated customer experience system would not be beneficial.