Improving visibility and sales control through customer relationship management system implementation
Puustinen, Ville (2019)
2019
Industrial Engineering and Management
Tekniikan ja luonnontieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2019-05-23
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201905211690
http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201905211690
Tiivistelmä
Customer relationship management (CRM) has a variety of different definitions. One widely accepted point of view to CRM is that it is a strategic approach to business focusing on the importance of creating better value for both the customers and the company’s stakeholders through managing and improving customer relationships. The strategic approach to customer relationship management highlights the role of the whole organization wide participation in the customer-oriented business processes. CRM systems are technological solutions that support the processes related to customer relationship management. CRM systems can range from a simple database used for storing customer data to wider systems automating business pro-cesses, collecting customer data from different touch points and refining the data to infor-mation that can support decision-making.
The objective of this study is improving sales control and visibility through CRM system im-plementation. It consists of literature review of sales management’s challenges and the differ-ent control methods that can be used. Customer relationship management, CRM systems and their implementation are also reviewed. A framework of CRM system’s effects on demand visibility and sales control is formed. In the empirical part, a CRM system is implemented to a Finnish manufacturing company.
The study finds out that CRM system implementation can increase demand visibility (1) through improvements in external visibility through improved data gathering and information creation capabilities and (2) through improvements in internal integration by enhancing meth-ods for cross-departmental communication and coordination. CRM system implementation can also improve sales management’s control methods by giving the management better visibility to sales force’s actions and outputs during the sales process.
As the result of the study a CRM system is implemented in the case company. As a result of the CRM system implementation sales management gained improved visibility to the sales pipeline and sales force’s actions. Internal integration regarding the sales opportunities be-tween departments was also improved. Additional ways of improving both demand visibility and control systems are recognized and suggestions for improvements are made.
Keywords: Customer relationship management, CRM systems, sales management, sales control, visibility
The objective of this study is improving sales control and visibility through CRM system im-plementation. It consists of literature review of sales management’s challenges and the differ-ent control methods that can be used. Customer relationship management, CRM systems and their implementation are also reviewed. A framework of CRM system’s effects on demand visibility and sales control is formed. In the empirical part, a CRM system is implemented to a Finnish manufacturing company.
The study finds out that CRM system implementation can increase demand visibility (1) through improvements in external visibility through improved data gathering and information creation capabilities and (2) through improvements in internal integration by enhancing meth-ods for cross-departmental communication and coordination. CRM system implementation can also improve sales management’s control methods by giving the management better visibility to sales force’s actions and outputs during the sales process.
As the result of the study a CRM system is implemented in the case company. As a result of the CRM system implementation sales management gained improved visibility to the sales pipeline and sales force’s actions. Internal integration regarding the sales opportunities be-tween departments was also improved. Additional ways of improving both demand visibility and control systems are recognized and suggestions for improvements are made.
Keywords: Customer relationship management, CRM systems, sales management, sales control, visibility