Rental ERP firm wants new definition of CRM systems

Instead of being solely about managing sales activities, Rent-IT argues that, for manufacturers, CRM needs to be ‘communication requirements management’. Rent-IT managing director Guy Amoroso says that, as a result of this approach, users of 123mrp.Net across any department will have the ability to create processes based on current procedures and then define actions against them. These might include progressing sales leads, contract review, non-conformance reporting/corrective actions, handling of complaints, compliance issues and supplier audits etc, he explains. Actions can be either repeating functions or one-off items that need progressing, such as accounts queries or the involvement of a senior manager to contact a customer. “The complexity and inadequacy of generally available CRM systems has been a long-standing complaint among our manufacturing users. So we took a closer look, and they were right,” says Amoroso. “A major hole in nearly all these systems is that they fail to address the non-sales relationships – with suppliers, potential suppliers, other staff members within your company, business partners, regulatory bodies and so on – without which the customer can't always be given the best possible service. “Furthermore, many CRM systems take no account of the day-to-day routine tasks and procedures, which also need to be managed in a timely manner to help drive your business forward,” he adds. Rent-IT’s new CRM system allows for flexible mail shots to be created by outputting an Excel spreadsheet of contacts that match required criteria, and to record against each contact that a mail shot has been sent, he explains. All general communications and actions are then visible on a searchable grid on the contact record. What’s more, any type of document (PDF, Word and email) may be dragged and dropped into the note, so that the company record becomes the master record for all of the company’s communications in both incoming and outgoing directions.