Customer Relationship Management Systems †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Customer Relationship Management Systems. Answer: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems are the automated applications that optimize and automate all the customer related functions and operations. One of such widely used applications is the SAP CRM system (Santouridis Veraki, 2017). There are a few characteristics that are associated with the CRM systems as described below. CRM systems allow an organization to understand the customer behavior and expectations using the real-time data. This makes the organization an information-driven enterprise. It is; however, required for the organizations to control the access to the information sets. There are varied business operations and activities that are carried out in an organization. CRM packages allow the business executives to carry out all of such operations on an integrated platform. Distributed and multi-located tasks can also be easily carried out using these packages that result in the emergence of a global enterprise (Kale, 2015). CRM systems also allow the companies to have interaction with their customers using different mediums. It leads to the formation and implementation of an enhanced communication strategy. There are varied business goals that are targeted with the execution of the cross-functional processes. The required customer, product and organizational information is also retained for future references. It therefore, reflects the integrated nature of an enterprise (Bull, 2010). Traditional systems only capture and follow the data-oriented view of a particular process. However, CRM promotes the idea of parallel view comprising of data along with business rules and processes. Process-oriented enterprise can be created as a result of the same. Concurrent processing can be achieved with the aid of CRM systems that comprise of real-time processing and enterprise-level integration. Many different processes can be parallel carried out with this ability that may result in higher efficiency, throughput and productivity levels. It also provides additional benefits to the enterprise in terms of accurate Available to Promise (ATP) details, latest Capture to Promise (CTP) details and increased on-time delivery. The dynamic nature of customer requests can also be met by these systems leading to the formation of real-time enterprise (Khodakarami Chan, 2014). CRM can also be integrated with a number of Business Intelligent (BI) tools to form an intelligent enterprise. There are real-time decision making and processing systems that involve an event-driven hub, analysis engine and a rule-driven decision engine. CRM can be integrated with such systems for enhanced data management and data analysis along with real-time decision making and processing. Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS) are an integral part of the present day business units. The focus of these technologies and systems is now customer-oriented so that customer expectations and needs can be met. CRM also does its bit in the same by making sure that IT strategy is in line with the business strategy of the organization. CRM also includes multiple approaches for overall performance improvement. The hard approach of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and various soft approaches to achieve customer satisfaction can be achieved with the aid of CRM (Vanitha, 2012). The companies in the present era are deploying the software packages according to the need and domain of critical information management. The traditional software implementation suffers from a number of drawbacks, such as late error detection and risk resolution, a lot of rework, limited scalability etc. CRM has made it possible to implement new department store model with the implementation of the CRM systems. In case of CRM, the end-users are directly and actively involved in the business operations and activities. There are several advantages that it offers in terms of process focus, number of internal and external users, key business benefits, strategic and industry focus as compared to the traditional back-office automation technology. There are a few issues that need to be addressed in association with CRM systems. Application maintenance of the related systems in terms of application repository systems, fourth generation language development environment, query and report management system, configuration management, change management and version management systems along with Application Programming Interface (API) shall be evaluated. User Interface related systems comprising of Graphical User-Interface (GUI) Management System, Menu and Help Management system shall be assessed. There is also an overall management of the related systems that is necessary. These include database management systems, application administration and management system, software distribution, security and authorization management system, audit management, disaster recovery, archival management and communication management system (Trkman, Mertens, Viaene Gemmel, 2015). Application support shall also be considered in the areas of online and print documentation systems, online tutorials and training along with implementation project management system. The other areas of focus shall include office automation system and data warehouse systems. CRM systems are broadly classified in three types as operational CRM, Analytical CRM and Collaboration CRM. Types of CRM Systems The figure above showcases the relationship between the different types of CRM systems. References Bull, C. (2010). Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, intermediation and disintermediation: The case of INSG. International Journal Of Information Management, 30(1), 94-97. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2009.11.004 Kale, V. (2015). Implementing SAP CRM: The Guide for Business and Technology Managers (pp. 69-83). Taylor Francis Group, LLC. Khodakarami, F., Chan, Y. (2014). Exploring the role of customer relationship management (CRM) systems in customer knowledge creation. Information Management, 51(1), 27-42. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2013.09.001 Santouridis, I., Veraki, A. (2017). Customer relationship management and customer satisfaction: the mediating role of relationship quality. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 28(9-10), 1122-1133. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2017.1303889 Trkman, P., Mertens, W., Viaene, S., Gemmel, P. (2015). From business process management to customer process management. Business Process Management Journal, 21(2), 250-266. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/bpmj-02-2014-0010 Vanitha, K. (2012). Customer Relationship Management on Customer Satisfaction. International Journal Of Scientific Research, 3(4), 1-3. https://dx.doi.org/10.15373/22778179/apr2014/240