Are you fed-up of paper documents or over-reliant on Excel for storing valuable customer data? Is the lack of accountability and shareability within your Sales team affecting overall business performance? Then consider integrating inventory to a CRM system to improve data accuracy and overall customer service performance. 

So, what is a CRM system and how can integrating your existing inventory management system with CRM software help improve the overall running of your business? Inventory management deals with stock information, shipping details, purchase order history, as well as other functional areas within your workflow, and CRM solutions deals with the tracking of sales, stock levels, managing sales pipeline, and other elements of your sales process like quoting and problem ticketing. By integrating both systems to one solution, you get the best of both worlds! 

Let’s look in greater detail at some of the key benefits of using an integrated CRM solution. 

1. Better understand buying behaviour

Your Inventory Management system will be packed full of order and stock information. This allows for your Sales team to have access to customer-specific information and a better understanding of customer buying patterns, sales history, special pricing, and so on. Having access to this range of data increases visibility of a customer’s buying journey and enables your Sales team to gather fruitful insights and better manage and track changes in spend habits – so that they can provide the highest quality of service possible. In turn, your business will benefit from more streamlined operations and improved business productivity.

2. Storage of critical customer information

Having insightful customer information at your disposal puts your company a step above the rest. With access to critical customer information, the sales process can be tailored to provide exactly what your customers need. 

Not only can the Sales team benefit from this, but Customer Service teams will also have access to all the customer’s critical data stored in the CRM, such as phone number and job title, so they too can instantly retrieve information without rummaging through paper work or sieving through spreadsheets; reducing response times and increasing customer satisfaction. Additionally, with one integrated software package, even if something unanticipated happens, company information and data will remain securely stored and the organisation can continue to run smoothly.

3. Automated processes reduce errors in data entry 

Before CRMs and high-level integration existed, companies were heavily reliant on paper documents. With an integrated CRM solution, however, businesses can now streamline operations to automate output and enhance productivity. This move to incorporate CRM software with Inventory Management is today becoming an imperative step for businesses to improve their teams’ understanding of various stages within their customers’ buying journey. 

The reduction of manual processes is achieved by replacing the error-prone and labour-intensive transfer of data from spreadsheets and apps with one integrated software package. Reducing errors in data entry will not only streamline business processes, but also improve customer satisfaction. 

4. Improved, long lasting customer relationships

Delivering great customer service within a product business is essential to retaining customers for longer. But with disparate systems, customer-facing teams can’t perform optimally in their role. Whether it’s advising a customer what’s in stock and what’s not, being prompted about a customer that hasn’t ordered in a while, or honouring special pricing for a quote to a regular customer, CRM integration can improve the customer experience at every touchpoint. 

Other key benefits include:

• Efficiency of operations: all of your data from order history to customer records is stored in one location, so anyone in your team can access it at any time, from any place.
• Allows Sales team to become stock-aware: stock-aware CRM systems extract crucial data from your Inventory Management system so your Sales team can make informed and data-driven decisions.
• Improved reporting: Integrated CRM solutions provide configurable reporting systems so you can keep on top of the most important metrics for your business.
• An overall increase in sales velocity: Integrated CRM systems are designed specifically for sales-driven teams to maximise sales growth and optimise their workflow.

Integrate your inventory management system with Prospect CRM to form one, seamless solution. Get in touch with our Sales team or start a 14-day free trial now!