Square Peg. Round Hole. It's Not Going To Work.

By David Dorret

Traditionally both Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) have been billed as one-stop solutions. Organizations have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars investing in and implementing their new solution only to find, that when it comes to the service process, CRMs and ERPs are the proverbial square peg in a round hole.

CRM products are designed to track and predict sales, focusing mainly on the pre-sale-to-order process, while ERP solutions help coordinate your internal systems, from manufacturing to finances to engineering. Many times, these solutions are a series of siloed software packages designed to handle a specific departmental need.

But service is a whole new ballgame.

Why? Because service organizations and departments are inherently complex, distinctive entities. Labor and materials costs must be tightly controlled and every aspect of the service process needs to be analyzed with a micrometer. Service transactions are dynamic and companies must be incredibly nimble, to be able to respond to customers quickly and effectively.