Although organizations can survive with any choice of ERP, CRM, or KM systems, recent trends in customer service and logistics require the integration of all these processes into business operations.
According to Migdadi, successful companies integrate ERP into KM for improved customer relationships through CRM initiatives. In the case provided, the organization has been operating through ERP and CRM. These systems are based on internal business operations and improved customer relations.
The common factor between these systems is knowledge, which is generated through information systems. Although the above systems have been effective, there is a need to focus on implementing the knowledge gained into the firm’s decision-making processes.
In essence, KM complements CRM which is based on internal business improvement through ERP. Since these systems complement each other, the firm would not need to change its technology systems.
Knowledge is regarded as one of an organization’s intangible assets. In today’s fast-changing and ever-expanding globalized trade, effectively managing business information is essential. The integration of KM functions into ERP systems for intellectual asset management has been prompted by growing demands for extended enterprises.
Since the 1990s, ERP systems have been created and utilized primarily for managing a company’s physical assets. Because these assets must be effectively managed, the convergence of KM and ERP is a strategic approach for businesses to achieve a competitive edge.
ERP and KM constitute two complementing paradigms for knowledge-based business management, it is emphasized. The foundation of business is knowledge management, and the center of corporate leadership is ERP. Knowledge management (KM) develops tacit and technical knowledge that may be gained through an information platform, while ERP serves as a basis for capturing, creating, storing, and sharing knowledge.
The business world is dynamic, implying that businesses have to continuously adjust their operation strategies to remain competitive. In the research done by Samiei and Habibi, they emphasize the need for KM systems to be integrated into corporate systems to improve a company’s competitive advantages. Enterprise solutions, such as ERP, can offer an information system for gathering, storing, sharing, and innovating knowledge.
These functions require hardware, human, and software elements that cannot be replaced in an organization. Recent research draws on new phenomena providing different insights on the optimal integration of knowledge management into enterprise systems. Therefore, the case organization given should not replace its information systems but rather incorporate and integrate them into the company.
As businesses globalize and implement AI and other advanced technological solutions, there is a need to evaluate such systems for present and future applicability. In this case, the ERP and CRM systems are current solutions for organizational strategic management. Since the company is not shifting to an entirely different operation line, it would still need to follow its ERP system. In addition, the firm needs to improve its customer relations not only getting new clients.
Therefore, the CRM plans already in place will prove valuable for its sustainability. These inter-enterprise application interfaces are made possible by a corporate structure of information exchange and knowledge management. All trading partners will benefit from such contact and information sharing, according to Migdadi. Notably, all three systems use similar hardware and software resources, implying no need for a technology change.
Lastly, the organization will benefit more from incorporating all three systems than from replacing the available solution. Increased back-office performance, enhanced client closeness, strategic planning, better decision-making, fast and reliable supply chain management procedures, and other organizational benefits result from increased knowledge sharing.
Furthermore, business application integration can be performed by incorporating new technologies into ERP systems, including XML and intelligent agents, as fundamental technologies – a trend that can be seen in all of the main ERP systems. Consequently, the firm does not need to change its current technologies or information systems, but rather improve them.