CRM has been and continues to be a critical strategy for improving profitability, better productivity, lower costs, better customer retention and insight into behaviour and preferences of customers and prospects, no matter what the economic climate might be.  Some businesses, however, still struggle to get the return-on-investment that they anticipate with their new CRM system, despite CRM success rates having markedly increased.  So what are these reasons for CRM failures, and how can you avoid these problems?

Reason #1:  Having a Poor Definition, or Lacking a Definition, of Success

One would suppose that companies undertaking a major CRM project would be clear and decisive about what they want it to achieve, and what ROI they want to get from it.  The problem with not having a definition of success means that there’s no way to show that the initiative is giving the expected ROI, or even any at all.  So to avoid this serious pitfall, be sure to create a clear case for implementing a CRM system that is unique to your business, document your current CRM situation so you have a clear baseline for comparison, and most importantly, establish criteria for success, so you can observe whether or not the CRM implementation is achieving what you intended it to achieve.

Reason #2:  CRM is Viewed as an IT Project

A crucial thing to remember about a CRM implementation is that it is a business venture rather than strictly an IT project, and as such, requires as much guidance from the CEO of the company as the CIO.  The CEO’s concerns about a CRM system, such as driving sales, encouraging customer loyalty, or streamlining processes, whereas the CIO thinks about implementation deadline, communication with other data systems, and budget.  Both sets of concerns are equally valid, but frequently, once the CEO’s questions are adequately answered, they take a hands-off approach, and cause the implementation to be an IT project, instead of a business initiative that aligns with corporate strategy.

Reason #3:  Automating a Misaligned Process

CRM systems don’t do anything supernatural; they simply automate and streamline processes that would ordinarily be time-consuming, repetitive, or difficult.  They don’t alter or repair the processes if they’re misguided or broken from the start, so for a company to get a good ROI from a CRM system, the processes already in place have to be well documented and aligned with the corporate mission.  As such, process alignment is arguably more important than the software; well-aligned and documented processes often result in the technological needs coming naturally, whereas software can’t help a set of processes that are poorly thought out and disorganized out of the gate.  Rather than using software to impose processes that don’t fit the business, use a CRM initiative as a way of improving things like procedural clarity, alignment, and definition.

There’s a lot more than just software that goes into a CRM system’s success.  Change management, initial strategy, and procedural alignment are just as important as the software itself, and will help businesses get the ROI they expect out of their CRM systems without falling prey to these major pitfalls.

Evan Matthews

CRM Integration CRM Integration, dynamics crm integration, Salesforce CRM Integration

The BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 is a collection of tools and libraries that extend BizTalk Server 2009 capabilities of supporting a loosely coupled and dynamic messaging architecture. It functions as middleware that provides tools for rapid mediation between services and their consumers. Enabling maximum flexibility at run time, the BizTalk ESB Toolkit 2.0 simplifies loosely coupled composition of service endpoints and management of service interactions.

Click here for more on BizTalk and the ESB 2.0 Toolkit

Regards,

George

eBridge Software, Senior Developer – ePortal

EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series

EDI for MS Dynamics AX

Every once and awhile we like to remind everyone out there what we do and today is one of those days . Over the upcoming weeks I will be posting info about the various integration solutions we have to offer for MS Dynamics AX. I am going to begin with our roots, EDI.

The software as a service (SaaS) ePortal solution from eBridge Software is a web based product that eliminates the need to manage and maintain the software that is required for EDI. With the ePortal you receive the benefits of having a translator and mapper without the headaches.

ePortal not only takes care of the software that is required for EDI but it removes the need for 3rd party communications. ePortal has the ability to connect to any trading partner using the method that is requested by that trading partner. All communication methods are supported, whether the trading partner requires AS2, FTP or VAN communication.

When dealing in the EDI world, communications are always followed by charges to use those forms of communication. ePortal gets rid of all transaction fees, kilo-character charges and interconnect costs while allowing clients to send unlimited transactions for a low annual fee. That annual fee not only includes transactions but it also includes unlimited data storage.

Through ePortal documents can be viewed and printed at anytime from any PC in the world that has internet and web browser access. Not only does logging into ePortal give you the ability to print documents that you receive but it allows provides web forms that allow you to manually create outbound invoices, advance ship notices and purchase orders. The web forms are provided as a back up solution in case of technical issues with MS Dynamics AX.

eBridge for MS Dynamics AX is a client application that handles the import and export of the EDI documents to and from MS Dynamics AX. eBridge is scheduled to monitor ePortal for new EDI documents and, when received, the documents will be transmitted via FTP and integrated into MS Dynamics AX.

The adapter for MS Dynamics AX follows the same business rules and logic that are included within the ERP. For example, the adapter will verify customers exist, customer balances and terms, products and pricing. Once a document has been imported into MS Dynamics AX a log file will be emailed stating what occurred.

The bridge will also be scheduled to monitor MS Dynamics AX for any new invoices or purchase order acknowledgments and send the documents to ePortal to be sent off to the trading partner.

Features Snapshot
· Unlimited transactions
· No transaction fees or kilo-character charges
· Includes all map edits and changes by the trading partner
· Hosted EDI software (document mapper and translator)
· Includes all communication methods (AS2, VAN, FTP, SFTP, ETC)
· Unlimited data storage
· Web forms for creating and sending outbound EDI documents when needed

If you would like more information on EDI integration for MS Dynamics AX please give me a call or send me an email. My contact information is included below.

Sincerely,
Jay
Account Manager
MS Dynamics EDI, CRM, SCM and Webstore Integrations
1-800-775-6921 x269
jisaak@ebridgesoft.com
www.ebridgeconnections.com

EDI Integration, Integration

This weekend my laptop was having an issue, so I pulled out the manual and called the manufacturer. After half an hour on the phone I had been transferred three times and had yet to resolve anything.

I find not knowing who to call directly when I have a question, or issue is one of the most frustrating aspects of dealing with companies today.

At eBridge we have separate departments to deal with our customer needs in order to provide the best expertise. For this reason I have compiled a quick general list of who to call when our customers have a specific need:

1. Contact your Account representative if you:

Want to discuss an upcoming project, or you require information regarding your eBridge Account

2. Contact your Project Manager if you:

Have questions regarding an Open project/work order in our queue

3. Contact Our Support Desk if you:

Subscribe to our Support Plan and receive assistance that is covered by the plan

Or visit our Online Knowledge Base for common answers to questions

4. Contact our Finance Department if you:

Have a question regarding an Invoice you received

As a last resort, if you call and you aren’t sure who you need to speak to, simply explain what you are looking for to our Administrative Coordinator and they will be happy to point you in the right direction.

EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series integration support, online support, techincal integration support

If you are currently trading EDI with Boscov’s or just considering it you may find the following information useful. While working with a new prospect on an EDI integration project for MS Dynamics GP I came across Boscov’s EDI implementation guides and I have provided a link to all of their documents below.

212 Motor Carrier Delivery Trailer Manifest
214 Transportation Carrier Shipment Status
832 UPC Catalog
850 Purchase Orders
850 Purchase Order Pre-Pack
852 Product Activity Data
855 Purchase Order Acknowledgement
856 Standard Pack ASN
856 Pick Pack ASN
Shipping Container Symbol Marking
Contact List and Partnership Information
Store List

More information can be found at Boscov’s Vendor Area.

Cheers,

Jay Isaak

Sales Representative (MS Dynamics)

1-800-755-6921 x269

EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series

Choosing a new eCommerce provider is an extremely important business decision.  Here are 5 things to consider when looking for a new eCommerce provider:

1)  Have a Plan - You need to define your overall goals for your eCommerce business and ultimately for your eCommerce provider.  If you are new to selling online where do you want your online business to be a year from now?  What processes (accounting, WMS, CRM) do you currently have in place and does your new eCommerce business need to talk/integrate with those systems? These questions also apply if you’re already selling online but you also will have existing pains and frustrations with your current vendor that you can apply as well.  Having a good plan will help you quickly sift through all the possible eCommerce vendors.

2)  Automation  In business, especially online business, automation is key to turning a profit.  Make sure that the eCommerce vendor you choose works to automate as much of your online business as possible.  Automation = Less Manual Labor = More Profit!

3) Scalability You’ll want to make sure and choose an eCommerce provider that can not only accommodate the business you’re doing now but can also grow as your business needs grow.  The more your business increases, the harder it will be on you to change eCommerce providers down the road.

4) Be Willing to Learn It doesn’t matter if you’re new to online business or if you’ve been selling since 1999 be sure to explore as many solutions as possible.  Even if you think you can’t afford a solution, consider them anyway.  Take a demonstration of their product and listen to what they have to say. Worst case scenario you’ll learn something new about the eCommerce industry. 

5) Test, Test, Test This is business and choosing an eCommerce provider is as important as choosing the location of your brick & mortar store.  Make sure and ask the provider(s) you’re considering the tough questions and have them back up their answers with demonstration and examples.

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. is a leading provider of web based ecommerce software. Founded in 1999, the company`s unique ecommerce system is used by hundreds of clients in many diverse industries. Nexternal`s software features an always-on screen shopping cart with integrated marketing and fulfillment tools allowing merchants to maximize revenue while minimizing operating costs. Clients include Alcoa, USA Today, The Chicago Bulls, Weyerhaeuser, and Hershey. With locations in Carlsbad, CA and New Canaan, CT, Nexternal provides industry leading customer service. For more information, contact Nexternal Solutions, Inc. CA: 800.914.6161. CT: 866.436.8479. Web: www.nexternal.com.

EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series e-commerce integration, eCommerce, webstore, Webstore Integration

Companies used to think data was just bits and bytes of facts to be fed into silos. Now it is the collection of facts attributable to a single breathing customer that is key to business survival. The old adage has doubled around: If you don’t know the Whos in your customer data base, you’ve got nothing at all.

Read the full article here…

EDI - Our Customers Trading Partner Series CRM, CRM Integration, Salesforce CRM Integration

Hi,

I would like to say a couple of words about our main software as a service engine (ePortal) that we use to move business documents between your accounting package and business systems (CRM, EDI trading partner, Supply Chain Management, and e-Commerce) .

At eBridge we have  a team of developers who are responsible for developing, maintaining and enhancing our integration software.  Originally, we built our own transaction engine – one that handled various transaction sets.  The result was an engine that needed to be tweaked by our programmers.  Then the decision was made to move to Microsoft BizTalk server as our main transaction engine.  The early stages of the project had its bumps with an immense # of hours dedicated to research and frustration.  We realized the built-in EDI adapter was not sufficient to our needs.

Finally with the release of  BizTalk 2006, our own EDI adapter and many other adapters such as Amazon, eBay, PayPal, Nexternal, and MS CRM  we have very powerful engine that can process thousands of documents per day.  Overall our integration tools and the leverage of Microsoft BizTalk has been right choice and saves us lots of time.  And best of all, the entire system can be managed and monitor by almost anybody.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post – leave me a comment if you would like to discuss this topic further. 

Regards,

George Kredatus

Senior developer

Technology Corner, The ePortal Web-based Transaction Engine Integration as a Service, software as a service, The ePortal Web-based Transaction Engine, transaction processing

Using Accounting Software APIs: Pros And Cons

Nowadays many accounting packages provide you with a special tool called an API (Application Programming Interface) that can be used by external applications to retrieve and post data directly into your accounting package database.  In most cases utilizing the API functionality is one of the most efficient ways of implementing the import and export of accounting data in external applications.  It significantly reduces development time of inbound processes as there is no need for the long investigation of internal posting logic – the posting job is performed by the API.  It also ensures that the posted document in the accounting system is valid and its data is consistent in the database.

No wonder that many eBridge application adapters (adapters for QuickBooks, Axapta, Navision, Accpac, Microsoft Dynamics Suite, and Sage MAS 90 – 200 to name a few) utilize accounting system API, especially for inbound processes.

There are some cons in using an API though…  First, we become limited to what is supported by an API – it’s quite often when some documents or fields are not exposed and our adapter doesn’t have access to them.  Secondly, we have no control in our adapter on what’s going on inside the API when it’s posting or retrieving data. It becomes a problem when API returns an error when we try to post valid data or it returns successful operation result but posted document has unexpected data. The latter case is especially difficult to investigate and troubleshoot and normally requires involving technical support of the accounting package publisher.

Recently we had one of these situations with one of our clients. They run QuickBooks 2008 and use eBridge 2006 as EDI integration software.  One of the eBridge processes posts Inventory Adjustment transaction in QB through the QB API.  The Client noticed that in some cases a posted transaction affected the Opening Balance Equity account despite the fact that proper Inventory adjustment account was assigned in adapter setup and passed to QB API. This issue was critical because our client was on the eve of a required financial reporting to overseas investors. We checked, double-checked and retested the process but couldn’t find any issues on eBridge side.  The Client contacted Intuit, we provided all the debug info and finally Intuit was able to pinpoint an issue within the API and recommended a way to resolve it. So, the problem was resolved, but it took time and efforts of many people…

Integration, Integration as a Service, Technology Corner data integration adapters, data integration api