Squeezing more out of ERP and CRM

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How might you get better ROI?

By Dale Vile, Freeform Dynamics • Get more from this author

Posted in Evolving Apps, 2nd December 2009 13:07 GMT

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Mini Poll One of the most common complaints at board level to do with IT is the amount of money thrown at ERP and CRM application deployments over the years. Some question the perceived returns that have been delivered in terms of value to the business.

With this in mind, we would be interested in whether you think packaged applications of this kind are being fully exploited in your organisation at the moment, and how more goodness could be squeezed out of them.

So, if you have a few minutes, please give us your feedback in the short poll below:

READER POLL: SQUEEZING MORE OUT OF ERP AND CRM

1. Which of the following types of package do you have in place?

	Single package, one instance	Single package, multiple instances	Multiple packages	Don't use
ERP
CRM

2. Thinking about what these systems are capable of, to what degree would you say they are being used to their full potential at the moment?

	Fully exploited	Reasonably well exploited, but know there is more we could get from them	Only properly exploited in selected areas	We really don’t exploit them well at all	Unsure	N/A
ERP
CRM

3. Could more value be unlocked through any of the following? (please tick all that apply for each row)

	Activation/implementation of currently unused functionality	Broader rollout to relevant users who don’t currently have access	Making better use of the information held in the system
ERP
CRM

4. To what degree are the following types of access exploited in relation to ERP and/or CRM systems in general?

	Fully, where appropriate	Partially, but could do more	Would be valuable, but not very well supported	Not that relevant to us
Full home office environment
More casual/ad hoc home working
Remote site/branch access
Hot desk access
Mobile access from laptop PCs
Mobile access from handhelds
Access via MS Office integration
Access via other desktop tools
Access via generic intranet portal

5. Approximately what percentage of the workforce has access to ERP and/or CRM systems at the moment?

	Less than 10%	10% - 20%	20% - 30%	30% - 40%	40% - 50%	More than 50%	No idea	N/A
ERP
CRM

6. Approximately what percentage would have access if these systems were fully exploited?

	Less than 10%	10% - 20%	20% - 30%	30% - 40%	40% - 50%	More than 50%	No idea	N/A
ERP
CRM

7. Any general comments on getting the most out of ERP and/or CRM systems?

8. How many employees are there in your organisation?

More than 5,000
1,000 to 5,000
250 to 1,000
50 to 250
10 to 50
Less than 10

9. Which of the following best describes your organisation?

Industrial (manufacturing, engineering, construction, etc)
Commercial (goods based) trading (retail, distribution, etc)
Financial services (banking, insurance, etc)
Business services (legal, accounting, consulting, PR, etc)
Utilities (energy, water, telecoms)
Travel and transport
Research and education
Other (please state)