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360 degree customer visibility
Enabling users to view combined financial and non-financial customer information within a
single application, regardless of where the information is generated or stored is another key
requirement for front-to-back-office integration.
360 degree customer visibility is particularly useful for account managers, that may require
access to a customer’s purchase history or for customer service representatives that may
need to update a customer on the status of an order.
Providing these users with access to both financial and non-financial information eliminates
the customer data ‘blind spots’ described earlier.

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In the quote-to-cash example cited previously, these capabilities would enable the account
manager to verify that their customer had not exceeded their credit limit prior to placing a
new order. If an issue exists, it is flagged with the customer immediately rather than at a later
when the order reaches credit control. Again, this helps to eliminate errors and process
duplication downstream.

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In the quote-to-cash example cited previously, these capabilities could automatically
generate an order in the ERP system as soon as the account manager promotes a quote to
an order within the CRM system. This means that the order can be processed without delay,
and the customer benefits from a speedier turnaround. As the quote is generated using ERPsupplied
pricing and tax calculations, the potential for error due to out-of-date information is
eliminated and workflow automation ensures that an order does not have to be re-created
manually in the ERP system, removing process duplication and ultimately reducing cost.

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In the quote-to-cash example cited previously, these capabilities could automatically
generate an order in the ERP system as soon as the account manager promotes a quote to
an order within the CRM system. This means that the order can be processed without delay,
and the customer benefits from a speedier turnaround. As the quote is generated using ERPsupplied
pricing and tax calculations, the potential for error due to out-of-date information is
eliminated and workflow automation ensures that an order does not have to be re-created
manually in the ERP system, removing process duplication and ultimately reducing cost.

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The challenges of front-to-back-office application integration for
SMBs
Front-to-back-office integration can help companies to dramatically reduce administrative
cost, speed up order fulfilment and improve customer service. While this may seem like a
real win-win scenario for all involved, it is not without its challenges.
Undertaking point-to-point, retrospective integration can be a costly, complex and risky
proposition for SMB organisations, and even when a company manages to achieve its short
term integration objectives, there is no guarantee that future CRM or ERP upgrades will not
render the integration inoperable.
The availability of CRM solutions with out-of-the-box, easy-to-deploy product integrations to
market-leading ERP solutions, therefore, represents a highly compelling proposition for SMB
organisations seeking to leverage the benefits of front-to-back-office integration costefficiently.

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The front-to-back-office integration capabilities of Sage CRM
Sage CRM provides out-of-the-box integration with leading Sage ERP products including
Accpac ERP, Accpac Pro, MAS 90/200 (US), Sage 1000 and Sage 200 (UK), Sage 100
(France & Spain), OfficeLine (Germany). This means that companies that have previously
invested in Sage ERP products can quickly and cost effectively leverage their back-office
data and functionality within the front-office environment of Sage CRM.

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Front-to-back-office data consistency
Sage CRM’s out-of-the-box ERP integrations provide for bi-directional synchronisation of
customer information, both financial and non-financial, between the Sage front-office
environment and back-office environment, ensuring that:
1. Information is captured once at source and then automatically propagated to all
relevant fields throughout the Sage front and back-office environments without having
to wait for it to be re-keyed and re-validated as it passes from one system to the next.
2. The most accurate and up-to-date customer data is available to front-office and backoffice
employees at all times.
3. The most accurate and up-to-date pricing and inventory information is available to
front-office staff at all times, meaning that quotes and orders are correct and that
customers are accurately advised as to the lead-time of their orders according to realtime
information rather than guesswork

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360 degree customer visibility
Sage CRM enables front and back-office employees to discover and share deeper, more
meaningful customer insight based on a combination of CRM-derived and ERP-derived
intelligence. Sage CRM’s ‘trading account’ entity facilitates the mapping of multiple accounts
contained within the Sage ERP system, to their appropriate company record within Sage
CRM. This provides an ERP-empowered CRM user experience with customer transaction
information delivered through the native CRM user interface. It also allows ERP-based
customer data to be surfaced within dashboards, reports and tabs, and used within groups,
lists and workflow automation

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Sage CRM’s true customer visibility enables:
1. Sales teams to maximise their revenue potential through the identification of latent
cross-sell and up-sell opportunities within their customer base.
2. Sales representatives to book orders correctly, first time, every time, by providing
them with access to the account, pricing and stock information they need to do their
jobs effectively.
3. Customer service representatives to address customer queries with confidence by
providing them with the shipping, invoicing and returns information that they need to
do their jobs effectively.
4. Customer service managers to ensure that their customers are current on
maintenance and service contracts, and that their service level agreements are
delivered on a profitable basis
5. Marketing executives to carry out detailed financial segmentation on their customer
base to support highly targeted and effective go-to-market programmes
6. Marketing managers to calculate ‘real-world’ return-on-investment based on actual
revenue yield from their marketing programmes.

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Facilitating ‘straight-through’ processing
Sage CRM’s out-of-the-box integrations allow companies to implement “straight-through”
business processes that provide the workflow and automation capabilities that manage the
entire customer lifecycle seamlessly across all interaction and transaction types. Specifically,
Sage CRM’s quotes and orders functionality bridges the process automation capabilities of
the Sage front-office environment and the Sage back-office environment, and, as a result,
removes the need for manual intervention as orders generated within the CRM system are
passed automatically through to the ERP system for processing and fulfilment. Additionally,
front-office staff are equipped with the data and functionality they need from the back-office
system to carry out complex pricing and VAT calculations, as well as being provided with
real-time inventory information to ensure orders are fulfilled on a timely basis and in line with
customer expectations.