INTRODUCTION

The customer relationship management (CRM) is essential and vital function of

customer oriented marketing. Its functions include gathering and accumulating

customer-related information in order to provide effective services.

E-CRM is a combination of IT sector but also the key strategy to electronic

commerce. e-CRM is a combination of software, hardware, application and

management commitment.

Aim of e-CRM system is to improve customer service, develop a relationship and

retain valuable customers. e-CRM is a concern for many organizations especially

banking sector.

The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the benefits e-CRM to

customers and organization in banking industry.

To justify the purpose two research questions have been addressed and on the basis

literature review, a frame of reference was developed which helped us to answer the

research questions and collect data.

IMPLEMENTATION OF CRM & E-CRM

Who? What?

A leading with two Swedish banks needed help on a complex project, which had a

fixed schedule and budget.

The project involved customization and integration of a packaged framework product.

With a track-record of delivery in the organization as well as strong capabilities in

Enterprise Architecture and integration, J2EE and Forte, Thought Works were

selected for the job.

Why?

The bank was using multiple customer service platforms. All of them were 'one-off'

solutions designed exclusively for a specific product line.

The client needed a common platform that was scalable both functionally and

technically as well as allowing them to use their customer service staff more

efficiently and offer consistent customer service across all product lines.

How?

The customer contact management system was based on Cordiant version 3.5. This

framework supported extensive customization using Java for the development of all

desktop, Web and CTI components and Forte for all data access, legacy integration

and workflow.

Thought Works' Agile techniques were used to provide a platform for all call centers

and to serve as the system of record for all customer interactions with the bank

regardless of channel type.

The Results?

Thought Works and the client team working together delivered the customer contact

management system on time, within budget and with additional functionality. Benefits

of the new platform include:

1. Enabled customer service personnel to support multiple product lines with

ease

2. Streamlined training of new staff

3. Contribution to more efficient customer service

4. Improved integration between front-line customer service personnel and back-

office personnel

5. Improved user experience.

The format of the project also served as a basis for improvements to the development

process for ongoing work within the client's IT department.

The new system supports several product lines and plans are in place for it to become

the default service desktop for the entire company.

A qualitative research approach was used for this study. Empirical data was collected

through in-depth interviews were conducted with two Swedish banks and a group of

their customers.

In the last chapter findings and conclusions were drawn on the basis on research

questions. Our findings indicate that Swedish banks are well aware of the benefits and

applications of the e-CRM and use the system to maintain good relationships with

their customers.

Our findings also indicate that with the implementation of e-CRM and the latest

technologies. We have found that both the banks seem to have same description about

the benefits of e-CRM.

We found that both banks have maintained good relationships with customers due to

the usage of e-CRM. Our finding indicates that with the implementation of e-CRM

and the latest technologies banks have ensured full security for the transactions of

their customer's.

E-CRM facilitates the organizations to provide one to one services and also maintain

the transaction security of the customers.

Benefits of CRM

Shared or distributed data

As companies realize that customer relationships are happening on many levels

(not just through customer service or a web presence), they start to understand the need

for sharing all available data throughout the organization. A CRM system is an enabler

for making informed decisions and follow-up, on all the different levels.

Cost reduction

A strong point in Customer Relationship Management is that it is making the

customer a partner in your business, not just a subject. As customers are doing their own

order entry, and are empowered to find the info they need to come to a buy decision, less

order entry and customer support staff is needed.

Better Customer Service

All data concerning interactions with customers is centralized. The customer service

department can greatly benefit from this, because they have all the information they need

at their fingertips. No need to guess, no need to ask the customer for the n-th time. And

through the use of push-technology, customer service reps can lead the customer towards

the information they need. And, most of the time, the customer can do this on their own,

as the CRM system (remember, the 3 P's) is more and more able to anticipate the need of

the customer. The customer experience is greatly enhanced.

Increased Customer Satisfaction

The customer feels that he is more "part of the team" instead of just a subject for sales and

marketing (the proverbial number), customer service is better, his needs are anticipated.

There is no doubt that customer satisfaction will go up. If the products sold exceed the

customers expectation, of course, no

CRM system can help you with shoddy products. In my opinion, the term satisfaction is a

contaminated. Many companies think that if customers are satisfied that this is a good

predictor for repeat business. However, this is not the case. Only delighted customers

have a great level of loyalty.

Better Customer Retention

If a CRM system can help to enchant customers, this will increase customer loyalty, and

they will keep coming back to buy again and again, hence customer retention.

More repeat business

The repeat business is coming from the delighted customers, who are turned

from doubting clients into loyal advocates.

More new business

If you are delivering the ultimate customer experience, this will seed the word-of-mouth

buzz, which will spawn more new business.

More Profit!

More business at lower cost equals more profit.

CRM Infrastructure is like a complex factory set up to enable customer

transactions and record data.

CRM Infrastructure is complex, both in terms of gathering data and in terms of

delivering services. Examining both sides not only highlights the complexity, but also reveals

obstacles that prevent current infrastructure from providing Final Mile functionality.

On the data side, the CRM infrastructure has evolved from large-scale data management

projects including Data Warehouses and Data Marts. These projects have focused on

extracting data from sales order systems, provisioning systems, and customer service

systems, and placing the data in a neatly defined, easily accessed master database.

The requirements for handling data in this fashion are intricate and involve many steps. A

small army of information technology personnel must be used to access legacy systems,

create standardized "meta-databases" with data definitions, establish data conversion and

standardization procedures, schedule data loads, integrate query tools, and define processes to

analyze and report on the data.

All of this work generates a standardized, 360-degree view of customers that can by used to

service the customer through any channel. But this is an operational problem, not a

marketing problem. The Final Mile issue for marketing is to convert data to “business

intelligence” to support short term, tactical campaigns targeted at customers and/or prospects

Advantages and Disadvantages of the CRM

The main advantage that brings harnessed the implementation of the

Administration of the Relationships with the Clients in a enterprise is the increment of

the information that this have of its current and potential clients, what allows to

address the offer toward its desires and necessities, increasing this way the grade of

satisfaction and optimizing its cycle of life.

Other advantages that brings harnessed the implementation of the CRM is the

increases of the sales and the reduction of the sale cycle. The disadvantages are so

much related with the high costs that has the application of CRM, in terms of

economic Resources as likewise human, and with the difficulty that has the handling

of the given information the reticence of some sectors to share it and also to the risk of

to invade the client's privacy and to expose it to situations not wanted

The micro and small company’s have the advantage of having less clients and less

personal what facilitates him the handling of the information and makes difficult the

appearance of problems to share it.

The fact of managing a low flow of information also reduces since the costs many

times it is not necessary to acquire a special software to make it but rather you can

take manually or in simple programs as the Access.

A problem that you can sometimes present in the company’s of smaller size is the lack

of formalization of the procedures and the lack of the employees' interest for submit in

the importance that they have these and in the philosophy of work of the company.

Relationship betweenCRM,BPR&ERP

Customer relationship management (CRM):-

Customer relationship management (CRM) – involves managing all aspects

of a customer’s relationship with an organization to increase customer

loyalty and retention and an organization's profitability

Many organizations, such as Charles Schwab and Kaiser Permanente, have

obtained great success through the implementation of CRM systems

CRM is not just technology, but a strategy, process, and business goal that an

organization must embrace on an enterprise wide level

CRM can enable an organization to:

Identify types of customers

Design individual customer marketing campaigns

Treat each customer as an individual

Understand customer buying behaviors

customer relationship management generally denotes a company-wide

business strategy embracing all customer-facing departments and even beyond.

When an implementation is effective, people, processes, and technology work

in synergy to develop and strengthen relationships, increase profitability, and

reduce operational costs

Norm Francis, founder of Pivotal Software (1994), and a co-founder of Basis

Software Group (BSG) the company that developed ACCPAC, an accounting

software package (purchased from Norm by Computer Associates in 1985),

invented the concept of 360-degree customer relationship management, a

concept that continues to be used today to describe the unification of activities

across the organization by employees who play a role in the customer

relationship

CRM Overview

BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING(BPR):-

Business process – a standardized set of activities that accomplish a specific

task, such as processing a customer’s order

Business process reengineering (BPR) – the analysis and redesign of workflow

within and between enterprises

The purpose of BPR is to make all business processes best-in-class

Reengineering the Corporation – by Michael Hammer and James Champy -

recommends seven BPR principles

Business process reengineering (BPR) is a 'free marks' question for any management

student. Like every management article, I begin it with a definition, leading on to the

process and its pros and cons. Read on to find out if you're indeed efficient, or merely

just effective.

Hammer and Champy, its first proponents, define BPR as - "The fundamental

reconsideration and the radical redesign of organizational processes, in order to

achieve drastic improvement of current performance in cost, services and

speed."

For the non-management people's benefit, I'd define it as the difference

between efficiency and effectiveness. While effectiveness entails doing the

right things in a goal-oriented manner, efficiency is doing the right things in a

process-oriented way.

Finding OPPORTUNITY USING BPR

Types of change an organization can achieve, along with the magnitudes

of change and the potential business benefit

Enterprise resource planning (ERP):-

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) – integrates all departments and functions

throughout an organization into a single IT system so that employees can make

decisions by viewing enterprise wide information on all business operations

ERP SOFTWARE

ERP functions offered by all ERP vendors include:

Finance, accounting, sales, marketing, human resources, operations,

and logistics

ERP vendors differentiate themselves by offering unique components

including:

CRM, SCM, and BI

According to Gartner, the average failure rate for an ERP project is 66

percent

The initials ERP originated as an extension of MRP (Material Requirements

Planning; later manufacturing resource planning) and CIM (Computer

Integrated Manufacturing). It was introduced by research and analysis

firm Gartner in 1990. ERP systems now attempt to cover all core functions of

an enterprise, regardless of the organization's business or charter. These

systems can now be found in non-manufacturing businesses, non-profit

organizations and governments.

To be considered an ERP system, a software package must provide the

function of at least two systems. For example, a software package that

provides both payroll and accounting functions could technically be

considered an ERP software package.

Examples of modules in an ERP which formerly would have been stand-

alone applications include: Product lifecycle management, Supply chain

management (e.g. Purchasing, Manufacturing andDistribution), Warehouse

Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Sales Order

Processing, Online Sales, Financials, Human Resources, and Decision

Support System.

This is common to retailers, where even a mid-sized retailer will have a

discrete Point-of-Sale (POS) product and financials application, then a series

of specialized applications to handle business requirements such as

warehouse management, staff rostering, merchandising and logistics.

Ideally, ERP delivers a single database that contains all data for the various

software modules that typically address areas such as:

Manufacturing

Engineering, bills of material, scheduling, capacity, workflow management,

quality control, cost management, manufacturing process, manufacturing

projects, manufacturing flow

Supply chain management

Order to cash, inventory, order entry, purchasing, product configurator,

supply chain planning, supplier scheduling, inspection of goods, claim

processing, commission calculation

Financials

General ledger, cash management, accounts payable, accounts receivable,

fixed assets

Project management

Costing, billing, time and expense, performance units, activity management

Human resources

Human resources, payroll, training, time and attendance, rostering, benefits.

Similarities between ERP and CRM

Attribute Similarity Significance

How these applications

help businesses

Companies have the same

goals pertaining to the

effectiveness and

performance of CRM,

and ERP systems

By synchronizing these

areas, companies can

expect to increase

profitability, become

more competitive, and

support ground-breaking

business techniques

(become more

modernized)

Effective application

qualities

CRM, and ERP systems

rely heavily containing

the following attributes:

flexibility; modular

(being able to support

many different

platforms);

comprehensive (the

ability to support a wide

range of organizational

functions); and beyond

the company (connecting

organizations with

partners and customers)

With these four attributes,

CRM, and ERP systems

are much more effective

in meeting the goals of

the business; if one

quality is missing from a

certain application, the

effectiveness of the entire

system consequently

decreases and is therefore

unsuccessful in achieving

the aforementioned goals

Difference between ERP and CRM o

ERP stands for “Enterprise Resource Planning.” ERP software is a

system that allows medium-to-large businesses to automate their

distribution, financial, human resources, manufacturing, marketing,

sales, and project management functions. When it comes to high-end

corporate software, ERP is often about as ambitious as it can be.

o CRM stands for “Customer Relationship Management.” CRM software

focuses on the interaction a company maintains with its customers. In

short, it’s all about the customers. The premise is simple: keep better

track of your contacts and you close more sales while maintaining a

happy customer base. If you take care of those customers, they’ll keep

coming back for more.

o While CRM focuses squarely on the customer, ERP takes in a much

broader view–it’s there to run the whole business, not just marketing and

sales. Many software vendors will integrate CRM within a corporate-

wide ERP system.

Attribute CRM ERP Significance

Use Managing the

aspects of a

customer’s

relationship to

an organization

Integrating all

departments of

an organization

into a single,

comprehensive

IT system

All of these areas

deal with the

effectiveness of

certain aspects of

organizations in

order to

accomplish goals:

SCM looks to

maximize supply

chain profitability;

CRM aims to

increase customer

loyalty and

retention; and ERP

strives to

universalize

organizations so

decisions can be

made by looking

at all of the data

Users Sales,

marketing,

customer

service

Accounting,

finance, logistics,

production

Even though the

users are different,

the applications

are

interdependent;

they rely on one

another to ensure a

successful

customer value

delivery system

Business Benefits Sales forecasts,

sales strategies,

marketing

campaigns

Forecasting,

planning,

purchasing,

material

management,

warehousing,

inventory,

distribution

All systems allow

for different

business benefits

which in turn add

to the

effectiveness of

the business itself;

its productivity

and overall stance

in the business

world

Leading Vendors Siebel, Oracle,

PeopleSoft

PeopleSoft,

Oracle, SAP

Because there is

not necessarily

one single vendor

that can supply an

organization with

software for all

three systems, the

goal becomes to

find a way to

synchronize all of

the systems; to

have them work

together for

maximum

efficiency

PRM (Partner Relationship Management)

Let us first look what do we mean by a partnership?? It defines that “people

who get together to achieve a common purpose”. Thus deeper the alliance, greater

value-add the partners can generate between them and plus greater potential for

profitability, new growth opportunities and so on. As we know Management is mainly

the task of reducing operational uncertainties. Let’s get to know now what thus PRM

stands for!

“Partner relationship management (PRM) is a business strategy for improving

communication between companies and their channel partners.”

Web-based PRM software applications enable companies to customize and

streamline administrative tasks by making shipping schedules and other real-time

information available to all the partners over the Internet. Several CRM providers

have incorporated PRM features, such as Web-enabled spreadsheets shared through an

extranet, in their software applications.

PRM is often compared to customer relationship management (CRM) and there

is some argument over whether the complex relationship of channel partnerships

makes it necessary for PRM to be a separate entity, or merely a component of CRM.

Partner Relationship Management solutions include key features for selling,

commission, opportunity, marketing campaigns, inventory access, and other features

designed to facilitate the relationship between manufacturers and their channel

partners. However, in many cases, partner relationship management is a term

specifically applied to relationships between businesses.

Partner relationship management can take a number of different forms. In some

cases, delivery of a product is needed during specific times of the day. For example, in

some shipping and receiving departments, suppliers must deliver within a certain time

frame. In the busiest of locations, that window could be as little as 30 minutes. When

traveling across a large geographic region, that can be a hard target to hit.

Using software and other communication tools often provided through a

partner relationship management strategy, suppliers, shippers and the end users can

keep in constant contact with each other. This means the end user will be able to know

where each item is each step in the process and when to expect it. Depending on the

situation, this may allow a factory to adjust production so that the entire operation

does not shut due to supply concerns.

Partner relationship management is also important for a manufacturer and

reseller or retailer. On this side, software allows the producer to understand when a

certain product is in demand and allows that producer to adjust his processes likewise.

Without this benefit, a manufacturer would need to wait for an order from the retailer

or reseller. That could delay the process and thus allow both sides to miss out on

valuable sales.

In addition to communication, partner relationship management can also

provide services in other areas. For example, it may include a partner loyalty

component, which provides a benefit to both companies. As those relationships are

solidified, it provides a good customer base on which both can depend.

PRM strategic thinking:

PRM strategy is similar to CRM strategy; PRM needs more than just an

internal strategy effort. Its stakeholders don’t only include the CxOs and power users;

it includes the partners, more than just an opinion givers. So when we talk of a PRM

strategy, we are talking about channel strategy for the value change. You can’t ever

think of CRM implementation before you plan for a successful effort with your

channel. The purpose of this strategy, and please pay close attention here is to utilize

partners to provide a satisfactory brand experience end to end for the customer.

That means enriched products and your customers in this effort are your paying

clients and your partners. You may be the brand holder with the keys to the kingdom.

But your partners are your generals and supporting armies that will provide you with

the scope and strength to provide the great customer experience you need for your

business to survive.

Features and Functions of PRM

Lead Management: This is the place where the sales pipeline opens. Lead

generation and distribution start from this module. Actually this is an extremely

important and well thought-out part of most PRM applications due to the

complexity of the workflow associated with proper partner lead distribution.

Opportunity Management: It is not just a simple jump up from the

Management but also encompasses metrics to measure and the means to

monitor active sales. This provides visibility for the brand holder into the

partner pipeline.

Marketing: Co marketing funds distribution and closed loop campaign

Management get complicated when you are dealing with thousands of partners.

Again, notice here the additional richness of the classic application.

Planning: Planning for partner networks is aligning the business and revenue

goals one partner at a time with the overall revenue goals. It requires an

understanding of each partner’s business model and level of participation in

your partner program and their ability to align them with your corporate

objectives.

Reporting: This is one of the mission critical features of PRM, as much as

“standard” CRM. Improper reporting means missed opportunities, lost revenue,

unreaped reward for the partners.

Analytics: Demographic and partner analysis are essential features. e.g. by

segmenting MS partner base, it knows which partners are available for what

and how to weigh their value in any particular opportunity so that the

opportunity is provided to the best team for maximum chance of closure and

success.

Service and Support: At one level this means automated and other centralized

call centers and technical helpdesks. The value to partners for both internal

purposes and for their customer is incalculable.