Help me! The business department wants a new CRM!

WHITEPAPER
“Help me! The business department wants a new CRM!”
Field-proven recommendations on how IT and business department
can work together to find the perfect solution
Author:
Manuel Tächl, IBsolution GmbH

IB solution GmbH
Im Z uku n ft s p ark 8, 74076 Hei lb r on n , Ph one + 49 7131 2711- 0, w ww.i b solu ti on .c om
Cour t of Re gi st r ati on : St ut tg art HRB 108247, M anagi n g Dir ect or s : Olive r D on ne r, Loren H eili g, A nd re as M ayer
©2021 by IB sol u tion Gm bH , all r ig ht s re se rved
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Table of contents
1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................................3
2 The field of tension between business department and IT ......................................................................4
3 The “all-in-one solution suitable for every purpose”................................................................................5
4 Strategic importance of a CRM project.....................................................................................................6
5 The business department benefits from system integration....................................................................8
5.1 Minimized maintenance effort in different systems....................................................................8
5.2 Greater efficiency through comprehensive data.........................................................................9
5.3 Interlocking of sales and service................................................................................................10
5.4 Cross-departmental information flow and holistic reporting ....................................................12
6 Choice of platform..................................................................................................................................13
6.1 Coverage of the processes.........................................................................................................13
6.2 Operating model (cloud vs. on-premise) ...................................................................................14
6.3 Integration options and efforts..................................................................................................14
6.4 Flexibility, customizability and extensibility...............................................................................15
6.5 User experience, mobility and innovative capacity....................................................................16
6.6 Platform character and business models...................................................................................17
6.7 Updates and support .................................................................................................................18
7 Project procedure...................................................................................................................................19
8 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................................20

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1 Introduction
The abbreviation “CRM” makes many IT managers uncomfortable. They associate it with
a system that everyone in the company wants, that costs a lot of money, but is not
used by anyone. Management approves the introduction of a CRM system, releases
budgets, reserves resources and defines a tight project plan. Then the problems are
inevitable. Who drives the project internally and makes the necessary decisions? The IT
department? After all, CRM is an IT system. Or is the business department responsible?
After all, they have defined the requirements.
To clarify this question, it makes sense to look at the big picture. The goal of a CRM
implementation is not to reduce costs. Rather, it is all about maximizing profit through
optimized processes. In global, digital, and fast-paced times the customer experience is
vital to business success. The customer journey and customer concerns will always
cross departmental boundaries. On the contrary: Important competitive advantages can
be achieved due to well-coordinated, consistent and transparent processes at all
touchpoints. This applies equally to marketing, sales, e-commerce and service – from
the initial inquiry to invoicing.
A CRM project fulfills the goal of maximizing profit if the system is used. Accordingly,
the most important key figure for success is user acceptance. It is given when CRM
users do not have to maintain their data, but want to maintain it. To achieve this, the
CRM system must meet the following requirements:
1. Alignment of the system with the corporate strategy (important for IT and
business department)
2. Seamless integration into the existing processes, resulting in transparency in
process and among those involved (important for IT and business department)
3. Planned and structured project procedure including support tools (important
for IT and business department)
4. Good usability, performance, reliability (important for business department)
5. Smooth integration into the existing system landscape, maintainable and
expandable platform (important for IT)

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These critical success factors seem to be obvious. But what do they mean in practice?
Why do so many companies struggle identifying them?
2 The field of tension between business department and IT
One common reason why business departments and IT struggle to implement a CRM
project are certain reservations in the departments. The IT department, for example,
often accuses sales or service of aimlessness when it comes to formulating
requirements for new or existing systems. On the other hand, the business departments
claim that IT is not flexible enough – in terms of “That’s not technically possible”.
Both ways of thinking have little to do with today’s reality. Departments are in a better
position to assess and understand technical limitations and dependencies, because
employees have more and more contact with technolo gy in their private lives. Often,
ideas are created due to personal experiences of employees from business
departments, e.g. web portal for returns or a chatbot for the sales process. The
postulated inflexibility of IT also does not correspond to the facts . Cloud technologies
create a playground for applications that run in parallel to critical systems. In addition,
many IT employees are significantly more motivated to work on new topics than to
ensure ongoing operations. Moreover, the modern CIO no longer sees himself as the IT
manager who makes sure printers and networks are up and running, but as the person
who drives digitization in the company. Where can this better be realized than at the
interface to the customer, i.e., in a CRM project?
In addition to historical differences between business department and IT, however,
there are also points of tension that directly affect the CRM project. Many employees
in the business departments feel threatened by CRM systems along with the
accompanying transparency and automation. The new insights and data that CRM
gathers may lead to greater control or even to their own dismissal due to digital
workflows. This thought comes in mind, especially when CRM projects are driven by IT
and management, and the parties concerned are left alone. An important part of the
change process is to know and manage fears and anxieties in order to shift discussions
and decisions to the factual level. The strategy for this is to turn those affected into
participants, i.e. to involve all parties in a meaningful way and to clarify expectations
and requirements.

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3 The “all-in-one solution suitable for every purpose”
In essence, IT is looking for a CRM system in the environment of the IT vendors that are
already present in the company. The focus is placed on integration and standardization
– and this is where SAP often comes into play. The marketing, sales and service
departments are frequently not involved in the system pre-selection. Their focus is on
easy-to-use solutions that are positioned in the CRM market via sophisticated
marketing. Since the business departments generally associate SAP with old, slow,
overloaded interfaces and long project runtimes, SAP solution s do not appear on their
short list. On the contrary, business departments regard SAP as reinforcing their
prejudice of old and sluggish IT. The simplest solution to solve this problem in a
sustainable manner is to find a system that
1. can be integrated into the SAP landscape,
2. offers good usability for standard processes and
3. can be implemented fast and agile.
In terms of usability and design, SAP CX solutions are at least as good as the competition.

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Perhaps, neither the IT department nor the business department know that new SAP
products no longer look like Windows 95 and that the backend no longer has to be
operated in the data center itself. SAP’s CRM or Customer Experience (CX) software in
particular has become an equal competitor in the CRM market. Cl oud technology
ensures that SAP’s cloud CRM now looks like a hip Salesforce and can be rolled out just
as quickly. Combined with its ability to integrate with SAP and third -party systems, SAP
qualifies as a suitable candidate for the “all-in-one solution suitable for every purpose”
among CRM systems. But how can this be communicated to the business department
and management?
4 Strategic importance of a CRM project
From the management point of view, a CRM project is not about the cloud, attractive
interfaces or SAP integration. The CRM philosophy must be regarded as part of the
corporate strategy. Against this backdrop, the term CRM as “Customer Relationship
Management” comes off short. The term “Customer Experience”, which places the
customer at the center of all corporate activities, is much more appropriate. In service,
the strategic transformation to a service business model only works if the
corresponding processes and systems are also in place. These include:
 Ticket systems for customer inquiries and interactions
 Software for scheduling and execution of on-site operations
 Tools for creating (spare parts) quotations and calculations
 Invoicing of services and spare parts as well as their goods movements
 Financial flows and controlling

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Service business models require the corresponding processes and systems, for example
for the planning of on-site operations or for the creation of (spare parts) quotations .
All these systems and standard processes can come from one source (for example, from
SAP) or be painstakingly pieced together. The same applies to the sales process. During
a pandemic, if a company wants to rely more on digital channels and flexibili ty, the
following systems are mandatory:
 Web store with product configuration
 Pipeline and deal management
 Field service management and visit management
 Quotation management
 Order management, invoicing and logistics

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It should be clear that the CRM or CX project must be strategically underpinned. This
also includes end-to-end thinking. What is a fancy self-service portal and ticketing
solution good for, when I still have to send e-mails to trigger logistics processes? Of
what use are hundreds of online orders if I have to manually compile them in an Excel
sheet, so that they can be transfered in the SAP system? The strategic importance of
the project is a key factor in deciding on the technology platform and thus the
provider. Management trusts the platform recommendations of the IT department.
However, how does IT come to an agreement with the business department?
5 The business department benefits from system integration
The integration of the CRM solution with existing systems is
of course a technical issue. But is it exclusively so? Most
obvious is probably the integration of the CRM system with
the existing ERP system. This handles a multitude of business
processes in the company – from purchasing and sales to
logistics and finance, to name just a few. Clean integration of
CRM not only gives IT the advantage of homogeneous
systems, standardized processes and simpler integration
projects when SAP communicates with SAP, for example. The
business department also benefits, because the basis for optimal customer and service
management are holistic processes and information in real time. This includes, for
example, the synchronization of master and transaction data, which breaks down data
silos, avoids duplicate data maintenance and increases data quality. Admittedly, this
still sounds a lot like IT. However, the business department faces various challenges
that can be overcome with the help of a transparent system integration.
5.1 Minimized maintenance effort in different systems
In many sales processes, customer data must be maintained multiple times so that it
can be used equally in sales, marketing, service and processing. This is because each
department has its own tools and databases to which the processes are aligned. When
introducing a new CRM system, one question arises: Do we create another data silo or
do we take advantage of the opportunity to standardize processes and systems and
thus also the maintenance efforts? The same applies to product and price data as well
as calculations. They are often stored in the ERP system for order processing. Does the
Source: CRM in der Praxis 2019/2020

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data really have to be updated simultaneously in additional databases or Excel files?
Wouldn’t it be better to link the CRM system to the ERP system and continue to use the
existing logics?
5.2 Greater efficiency through comprehensive data
Customers order not just once, but several times. This results in historical data,
including correspondence, quotations, orders and purchase orders. It often is not that
easy to get access of this data. The correspondences are in Outlook, the contact
addresses in a separate database. Quotations are stored as Word files on a drive,
orders and purchase orders are stored in the ERP, where the sales department re lies on
the cooperation of other departments to view the data.
Integration of SAP Sales and Service Cloud with SAP S/4HANA ensures that the entire customer history
can be viewed.
Here, too, an integrated CRM approach provides a remedy. The system is linked to
Outlook so that appointments and correspondence are automatically linked in the CRM,
where the addresses of customers and contact persons are also stored centrally. Data
records are directly linked to the ERP system, so that quotations and orders from the
CRM also end up in the ERP and, conversely, historical data can be viewed. The same
applies to deliveries and invoices. Such integration scenarios are standard at SAP and
have an extremely positive effect on the acceptance of the CRM system, the lead time
of processes, and customer satisfaction.

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5.3 Interlocking of sales and service
One strategy that many sales and service managers have on their agenda is to interlock
the two departments. Regular meetings, joint appointments with important customers ,
or cooperation during escalations are considered suitable measures. All of these
activities have their right to exist, but there is an even better trick for promoting
sustainable collaboration: the use of a shared IT system with the resulting synergy
effects.
If sales and service use a common IT system, the departments grow closer together .
In the sales department, this results in holistic advice for the customer. Do I have to
get ready for the customer wanting to talk about open complaints in the next s ales
meeting? Can I sell the customer additional things because the warranty is expiring? Do
I see that his machine is constantly defective and he might be more satisfied if I sell
him a new one?

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Equipped with the right information, the service technician can generate additional sales
directly at the customer’s site
In this way, the sales department also becomes the contact person in the service
department. The same applies in reverse: the service technician becomes the new sales
employee. He may be able to enter a spare parts order directly on site, or he may
notice that a machine is running at the limit of its capacity and pass this information on
to the inside sales team as a sales opportunity. In addition, thanks to a mobile app, he
is able to provide information about the status of open quotations or deliveries when
he is on site with the customer.

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5.4 Cross-departmental information flow and holistic reporting
In both departments, sales and service, cross-departmental collaboration is a key factor
for the lead time of processes and the quality of the results. In customer service,
inquiries are transferred from the service desk to scheduling or to spare parts sales. In
sales, addressing the customer at a trade show or during a visit is often followed by the
preparation of a quotation or order processing in the office.
In many companies, handovers are analog or run with isolated tools, making tracking
and consistent reporting difficult. If CRM is only used for lead and opportunity
management without integration into quotation and order management, including
master data, these problems are exacerbated. The situation is similar in service, where
employees process customer inquiries via e-mail in Outlook, service technicians
schedule in an Excel sheet, and the order is created in the ERP system.
SAP Sales and Service Cloud offers meaningful reports that users can compile themselves
with just a few clicks.

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In an integrated system, system breaks between departments are reduced to a
minimum; at best, all process steps take place in a central system. This enables
transparent insight into the status of tasks, offers, requests and tickets. Internal
mailings or meetings to check the status are a thing of the past, because every
employee can obtain the information as a self-service. Proactive updates are also
possible via such a system, whether internally on overdue tasks and stagnant business
or to customers and partners regarding ticket updates or upcoming quote deadlines. An
intelligent system gives all parties the updates they need without overloading
employees with notifications and without the risk of missing something important.
Working together in a central system creates transparency about who is involved in a
topic and who is responsible for it – regardless of whether it is an appointment, sales
opportunity, offer or ticket. In addition, the effort required for holistic reporting is
reduced and the quality is drastically increased at the same time. How many hours of
effort does it take to build up a reporting system that provides information on how
much order volume was generated from which marketing campaigns? How long does it
take to analyze against which competitors the company regularly loses deals with which
products? How can the time be measured that elapses on average between a customer
inquiry for a spare parts offer and the offer’s arrival in the customer’ s mailbox? In
heterogeneous landscapes, such reporting often requires several part -time or full-time
employees plus IT resources. In a homogeneous landscape with similar domains – for
example, SAP Sales/Service Cloud with SAP S/4HANA – reporting is just a click away.
6 Choice of platform
Once management and the business department are convinced of a CRM solution that
can be harmoniously integrated into the existing processes and systems, it remains to
be clarified the choice of provider and the technological basis. These aspects are o ften
summarized under the term “platform decision”. Such a decision is of strategic nature
and should be evaluated from various perspectives.
6.1 Coverage of the processes
A CRM system should offer standard industry processes out of the box, which can be
adapted to company-specific conditions by means of customizing. Well-known
providers, such as SAP, have industry experience, so CRM systems contain many process

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blueprints. Standard processes such as lead and opportunity management, creating
offers, or controlling activities run identically in most companies and therefore do not
generate competitive advantages. Controlling them efficiently, however, result in cost
savings, which is why it is definitely worthwhile to orient oneself to the standard.
Especially, if SAP processes for pricing, order processing, and logistics are already in
place in the back office, it can make sense to rely on the SAP standard for CRM as well.
6.2 Operating model (cloud vs. on-premise)
The decision if the new CRM software runs in the cloud or in
the company’s own data center should not be dictated by the
IT department. In addition to IT-related arguments, such as
operating costs and maintenance effort, the corporate
strategy and the needs of customers and users should also be
taken into account. Should the CRM system be rolled out
worldwide? Do sales and service staff need mobile access? Do
I want to open up the CRM to third parties as a platform?
Does the CRM need to scale according to demand?
In view of these and other requirements, many companies are opting for a cloud
solution. If there is skepticism in management and in the business department about
performance, data protection and control in the cloud, facts can hardly dispel these
concerns. Instead, companies should examine the existing doubts together with the
provider and partner.
6.3 Integration options and efforts
Even if it is clear to the project team that integration of the CRM system is important,
this does not mean that every platform enables integration to the same extent. In most
cases, the issue of integration is the biggest cost factor and the most common cause of
project delays. The technologies used, combined with ready-made, field-proven
building blocks, determine how reliably system integration works and how much it costs
to implement and maintain the integration. Where CSV files used to be exchanged,
today web services push data back and forth in seconds via APIs.

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The interaction of SAP Sales/Service Cloud and an SAP ERP system at a glance
Many modern CRM systems offer the technical interfaces, but the holistic processes
and data models are not really aligned. As a result, system integrat ion must be
developed as part of the CRM project, which affects both costs and project duration. If
you already own an SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA system or if you are planning to introduce
one, you benefit from ready-made integration scenarios when using a cloud-based SAP
CRM system. SAP delivers an integration platform (SAP Cloud Integration Suite) for this
purpose, via which ready-made connectors and mappings are imported. This accelerates
the project process and makes risks manageable. In addition, the data models are
similar, which significantly simplifies integration and leads to robust processes.
6.4 Flexibility, customizability and extensibility
Especially after the go-live of the CRM system, it is important to have a platform that
can be flexibly adapted to changing conditions. In addition, a suitable extension
concept is advisable in order to connect your own extensions to the system that are not
available in the standard scope. Especially in times of the Covid-19 pandemic, an agile
platform pays off. I may need to create an overnight way for customers to contact me
digitally without establishing new processes. It may be that my sales employees only
work from home and need digital activities like Microsoft Teams meetings for the sales
process. If I have to program additional functions on the existing system or even buy an

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additional CRM system for this, the wrong platform decision has been made. Simply
extending masks and objects, using workflows, or docking your own apps via interfaces
determine how quickly you become a pioneer in the competition.
6.5 User experience, mobility and innovative capacity
Especially in times of Amazon, Netflix, and Uber, intuitive
interfaces on different end devices are the central
acceptance criterion for users. Why should a user, who buys
privately with one click at Amazon and finds his favorite
series by voice command, operate an outdated, convoluted
CRM system via Internet Explorer in the company?
The change in expectations towards software pose a
challenge for many companies that can be solved sustainably
with the proper CRM system. SAP Sales Cloud is more like a start-up website than a
typical SAP interface: sleek design, role-dependent user guidance, and only a few clicks
to the goal, whether in the web browser or with the mobile app. The sales
representative wants to check her pipeline by voice in the car? No problem. The service
technician needs access to the service checklist, but is in a machine room in the
basement with no internet? Also no problem. UI and mobility decisions should be based
on user needs, but also be ready for the future. Who knows what Facebook, Google and
Co. will come up next?

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SAP Sales Cloud provides fancy interfaces and intuitive usability .
6.6 Platform character and business models
Even though the technological basis of the CRM provider is colloquially referred to as a
“platform”, it is worth taking an additional look at the term “platform” during the
decision-making process. If, strategically, more customers and partners are to be
involved in the sales and service process in the future, it makes sense to open up the
CRM system as a platform through which the various parties can exchange information.
This can range from process improvement to a new business model.
Customer portals for services or partner portals for joint work on sales-related topics
represent typical examples. In the context of service 4.0, intelligent machines and the
Internet of Things (IoT) often play a major role, and their data is made available both
internally and externally via CRM functionalities. Classic scenarios such as e-commerce,
spare parts catalogs, or warranty queries are also common mechanisms for offering
customers an optimal experience and retaining their loyalty to the company in the long
term. A CRM system should therefore not only map today’s processes, but also form the
basis for how the company will do business tomorrow. Holistic solutions from SAP, for
example, link classic CRM with commerce functionalities , IoT services, or the sale of
“as-a-service” billing via subscription models.

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6.7 Updates and support
One topic that is not necessarily the top priority in system selection, but definitely
needs to be considered, is updates and support. While updates for on -premise software
have to be planned for a very long time, especially in the SAP world, and downtimes are
required for the import, it is easier with cloud solutions. In SAP Sales and Service
Cloud, users benefit from automatic updates every three months. This means that
companies get access to new functionalities four times a year without having to take
any action. Such updates include enhancements and bug fixes as well as innovations ,
such as suggestions by machine learning for activities based on notes taken, product
recommendations for upselling, or ticket classification. Critical issues and security
updates are additionally addressed via hotfixes. In addition to the automatic SAP
updates, own improvements and adjustments can also be implemented quickly,
resulting in weekly efficiency increases of productive process es, even after going live at
your own speed.
Support is an inconvenient topic. That is why especially small, low-cost CRM providers
tend to neglect it. In CRM operations, however, support capabilities can be critical, and
a lack of support can cause serious economic damage: Shortly before the deadline for
submitting a bid for a million-dollar tender, the system is offline and the bid cannot be
completed. A major customer has reported a machine downtime via e -mail for the third
time, but due to an error in the infrastructure, the request does not reach the CRM.
These and other use cases justify enterprise support structures that compa nies receive
with SAP software, even if the prices may be somewhat more expensive than those of
the competition. Trained experts, 24/7 access and a global network determine how
quickly any problems in CRM are resolved and users can get back to work
uninterrupted.

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7 Project procedure
During the decision-making process, IT and business departments agree that an
integrated CRM solution should be introduced. The system provider and the platform
have been chosen. How can the project speed up?
In the rarest cases, a company only implements a CRM system by itself or with the
manufacturer. The reason for this is the lack of skills regarding the product and project
management. The remedy is a trustworthy project partner, who is usually also
responsible for estimating the effort and the implementation. With regard to the
project approach, opinions differ on an agile methodology or a classic, rigid model to
be the better choice. A combination of classic planning and agile development is a
recommended alternative.
An agile approach with sprints for the implementation of the requirements keeps the project duration
manageable.
In such an approach, the rough functional scope, milestones and schedule are planned
classically. The requirements are implemented in agile loops (sprints), in which the
most valuable and important functionalities are jointly developed. Critical success
factors can be allocated in the inclusion of the various target groups and the
appointment of a responsible person (“product owner”), who prioritizes, makes and
realizes decisions.
In many CRM projects, the team loses focus due to the fact that details of the
implementation are discussed far too early. A better strategy is the 80 -20 rule, i.e.
focusing on 80% implementation, which often takes 20% of the time, whereas the
remaining 20% perfection often generates 80% of the effort.

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It is important to start testing as early as possible in order to identify and eliminate
incorrect or outdated assumptions during the concept phase. A proof of concept (PoC)
is often recommendable. Such a feasibility study can be used to test individual
processes on a platform. This makes it easier to de cide whether a platform fits the
company’s requirements. A test platform is provided by the partner and can help the
business department to get used to the new software. An agile project approach
ensures that the right (not the specified) functionalities are implemented and that the
skills and resources required for this are available. In addition, risks are managed early
and actively, making a nasty surprise at CRM go-live unlikely.
8 Conclusion
The facets described show that a CRM introduction is no
simple undertaking. However, the challenges can be mastered
very well if the IT and the business departments as well as the
management have a common view on the CRM project and the
associated goals. In times of increasing digitization, those
involved in the project must work together and not against
each other. In the context of a CRM introduction, the IT
department must also be familiar with the views of the
business departments and their acceptance criteria.
Conversely, the business departments should understand the
arguments of IT and develop a feeling for the topic of system
integration. Once this basis has been created, the next CRM
project is sure to be a success.

Contact person:
Manuel Tächl
Senior Consultant
manuel.taechl@ibsolution.de
+49 7131 2711-1466

Help me! The business department wants a new CRM!

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