Peugeot Citroën goes for PeopleSoft CRM

Automotive manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroën Group selected PeopleSoft’s customer relationship management (CRM) software at the end of last year in its bid to bring management of customer data in house as distributors move into the new era of brand openness. The news, just released, is something of a surprise given Peugeot’s considerable commitment to SAP at the enterprise software (ERP) level. Even more so given that sources suggest that SAP offered a “very reasonable” deal to the company, which clearly would have deleted any integration issues. Be that as it may, Charles Grover, PeopleSoft’s director of CRM marketing in Europe, says Peugeot went for its CRM because of the functionality and, specifically, PeopleSoft’s version of ‘pure’ Internet technology powering its CRM. And while that’s a common claim these days, he insists that PeopleSoft’s version has “no code on the client.” The significance of which is that the browser interface is HTML only – so there’s no downloading of Java applets, JVM (Java Virtual Machine), or ActiveX components, and no client machine configuration or clash issues to be concerned about. “Peugeot’s distributors will simply click on the IRL and they’ll have access to all the applications and reports – analytics, self-service applications – without waiting for software downloads or worrying about different operating environments, different Windows operating systems and so on.” Grover also claims that the overall lifecycle cost of PeopleSoft’s CRM in this instance was the lowest of the main competitors involved (SAP and Siebel), even including the integration aspects and related consultancy. Key to this, he says, is that system rollout to distributors and remote client management costs are essentially zero because of the total browser interface. Meanwhile, at the operational level, the CRM system, when it’s rolled out, will enable Peugeot to provide all relevant customer information consistently across all its distributor channels, unified for telephone, e-mail and the web. In fact, information covered will eventually include marketing, sales and customer support, so that Peugeot Citroën Group employees will be able to analyse customer data, communicate directly with customers and improve customer satisfaction.