Diferences between CRM and ERP

• Scope: ERP encompasses all business processes in the same application.
• Price: ERP price is higher than CRM.
• Time: The time it takes to implement an ERP in a company is usually between 2 and 4 times longer than CRM.
• Out-of-the-box functionality: ERP software typically have fewer sales-related out-of-the-box features.
• Data Integration: By covering all operations, having an ERP avoids the problem of maintaining duplicate data through different applications: manual entry, human errors, incomplete copies and outdated data.

When is a CRM more convenient over an ERP?

If you are forced to decide between implementing a CRM or an ERP, in general we recommend choosing CRM when you have a tight budget and solving your sales problems is  more important, than the organization, expenses or expansion problems of your company.

• If you are starting a small company, usually it is better to prioritize your investment in growing by getting your first clients, while you can manage the rest of the processes manually without falling into disorganization.
• You are at risk of bankruptcy due to lack of sales. In this case, the best option is to be able to discover the reasons, and give a strong boost to follow-up and the shopping experience of your customers.
• If your sales process is very complex or long, it is advisable to focus on simplifying and automating this process before the others.
• If your product or service is very expensive, it is very important to be able to offer a personalized experience and not miss any sales opportunities.

When is ERP more convenient?

ERP software solves the problems that arise when your company begins to gain traction and grow: costs, disorganization, lack of control multiply and you hit a ceiling that ends up bouncing your growth down.

• You have a lot of sales, the ERP allows you to create a sales model with rules and validations that maintains control and systematizes the tasks to be very fast from making contact with the client to billing.
• If you have more than 15 employees or you are in more than 2 places, the ERP helps you to control the work and to know where resources are lacking and surplus to restructure them.
• If your company is expanding, the ERP helps to systematize your business model and transfer it to new markets and locations with ease.
• If you manufacture products, an ERP becomes essential to easily orchestrate the relationship between production tasks, stock forecast, sales, material forecast, purchases, quality control, packaging ...
• If you have communication problems across departments, the global nature of this tool makes the connection between employees more fluid by doing it from a common context. For example, a salesperson can notify a purchasing manager about a problem in a claim, in which both see all the related data and it is easier and faster to reach a solution.