Jul 18

I have often seen searches and terms for wanting the know the difference between a customer relationship managment (CRM) and an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The fact of the matter is it is like comparing chalk and cheese, these two solutions are not the same thing, not even close. CRM is typically focused on managing relationships with prospects, those that have expressed interest but not bought, quotations and opportunities. CRM can also have an after-sale element which is focused on customer service/support. ERP on the other hand is the process of managing the financial operations of a business. Typically ERP extends the normal accounting functionality such as sales and purchase order processing, accounts payable/receivable and adds support for project accounting and resource ledgers (time management).

Now there are instances where the two are joined; a prospect exists in the CRM who then becomes a customer and now exists in the ERP system. However most solutions only allow the traffic one way; CRM to ERP.