CRM VS ERP

The difference is where each system looks: the CRM looks outward, at your customers, and the ERP looks inward, at how your company runs.

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) handles the relationship with customers before and after the sale. It records contacts, sales opportunities, prospect follow-up, emails and calls, marketing campaigns and support tickets. It is used mainly by sales, marketing and customer service. Its central question is: who are we selling to, and how is that relationship going? Examples: Salesforce, HubSpot and Krayin.

An ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) handles internal resources and processes. It covers accounting, invoicing, inventory, purchasing, production, payroll and human resources. It is used by finance, operations, the warehouse and administration. Its central question is: how does the company work on the inside, and what does it cost? Examples: SAP, Odoo, ERPNext and Aureus ERP.

Say a customer asks for a quote. The CRM records the customer, the opportunity and the follow-up until they accept. Once the sale closes, the ERP picks up the order: it checks inventory, issues the invoice, books the payment in accounting and schedules the shipment. That is why many companies connect the two, and why some systems such as Odoo or iDURAR bundle both.

In the case of Fararoni, an agent could query the CRM to serve a customer over WhatsApp, and the ERP to tell them whether an item is in stock or what the status of their invoice is.