Exercise 22

Exercise 22.
Differentiate between software systems such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, Business-to-Business e-commerce programs and Supply-Chain Management (SCM) software.

CRM (customer relationship management) is an information industry term for methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help and enterprises manage customer relationships in an organized way. For example, an enterprise might build a database about its customers that described relationships in sufficient detail so that management, salespeople, people providing service, and perhaps the customer directly could access information, match customer needs with product plans and offerings, remind customers of service requirements, know what other products a customer had purchased, and so forth. (jean, 2007)

Business-to-Business (B2B) software is used to transfer data between businesses such as purchase orders and invoices. This decreases cost of employees to manually enter data, time for goods to ship as orders can be processed almost immediately if stock is available, and time to receive payment, as many businesses using B2B have payments automatically flagged to pay on their due date.

Supply chain Management: Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. Supply chain management flows can be divided into three main flows:
• The product flow
• The information flow
• The finances flow
The product flow includes the movement of goods from a supplier to a customer, as well as any customer returns or service needs. The information flow involves transmitting order and updating the status of delivery. The financial flow consists of credit terms, payment schedules, and consignment and title ownership arrangements. (anynomous, SCM, 2007)