{"id":36628,"date":"2021-08-05T11:35:17","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T11:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/act.com\/what-is-the-difference-between-crm-and-erp\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T02:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T09:20:10","slug":"what-is-the-difference-between-crm-and-erp","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.act.com\/en-gb\/what-is-the-difference-between-crm-and-erp\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the difference between CRM and ERP"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column]<div class=\"actcrm-page-banner-container standard \" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.act.com\/wp-content\/themes\/act-crm\/assets\/images\/actcrm-hero-banner.jpg);\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"page-banner-row\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"page-banner-text\">\n\t\t\t\t<h1 style=\"max-width: 800px;\">What is the difference between CRM and ERP?<\/h1>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221;][vc_column][vc_row_inner css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1748944668912{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}&#8221; el_class=&#8221;container-sm&#8221;][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; el_class=&#8221;checklist&#8221;]A CRM and an ERP solution are similar in many ways, as both help a business in enhancing efficiency and maximising profitability. In some infrastructures, these two systems overlap with each other extensively, while in some, they are even used in tandem with each other; but for a business weighing its options regarding the two, it\u2019s best to review them as standalone applications.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CRM stands for customer relationship management<\/strong> which, in the most basic sense, provides businesses with a way to store, organise and track all the information regarding its customers. It can be used by sales, marketing, research and business development sections of a company throughout the life cycle of a customer. A CRM tool typically includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Marketing integration and automation:<\/strong> Be it managing prospective leads or sending email campaigns to various customer segments or analysing results of a marketing campaign, a CRM lets you do it all.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sales management and automation:<\/strong> A CRM gives you a real-time view of the contemporary sales pipeline and also lets you forecast sales.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Customer service automation:<\/strong> Some CRMs also provide IVR, call routing and call monitoring services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Support desk automation:<\/strong> By offering self-service and ticketing features.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Reporting and dashboard:<\/strong> A CRM software also allows you to create insightful reports and a customisable dashboard where you can view important business metrics and statistics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nOn the other hand, ERP stands for enterprise resource planning<\/strong>, which is a technology that combines all the operational aspects of a business including <em>customer relationship management,<\/em> accounting, human resources and inventory etc. into a single software to provide a unified solution to businesses. Some vendors allow you to build your very own customised version of an ERP software while some provide different product options with varying feature sets. An ERP system usually consists of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Accounting subsystem<\/strong> to handle financial transactions and invoicing etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Inventory:<\/strong> Real-time information regarding products and goods in stock.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CRM:<\/strong> ERP systems come with some of CRM features.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Manufacturing subsystem.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Business intelligence:<\/strong> Modern ERP systems also come with some business intelligence features.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Supply and delivery chain subsystem.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most of the time, an ERP system includes a CRM but it doesn\u2019t include some of the supplementary features that modern CRM have, including analytics, reporting and customisable dashboards. If you are not sure about the technology you should buy for your business, ask yourself this question: \u201cIs my workforce happy with most of the enterprise solutions including accounting, HR and supply chain?\u201d If the answer is \u201cYes\u201d, then all you need is a new CRM software. However, if the answer is \u201cno\u201d then it\u2019s better to go for a customisable ERP system that covers most of the needs of your business. If your ERP system lacks some of the features that you believe a CRM should have, then you can buy a CRM as well (if the budget allows) because most of the modern ERP systems integrate seamlessly with CRM systems.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Learn more about CRM:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/test-act-main.pantheonsite.io\/en-gb\/what-is-crm\/\">What is CRM?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/test-act-main.pantheonsite.io\/en-gb\/what-is-crm\/\">Who invented CRM?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/test-act-main.pantheonsite.io\/en-gb\/what-is-a-crm-database\/\">What is a CRM database?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/test-act-main.pantheonsite.io\/en-gb\/guides\/best-crm-software\/\">How to choose the best CRM for your business<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/test-act-main.pantheonsite.io\/en-gb\/customer-successes\/\">CRM testimonials<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1740410107751{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 40px !important;padding-bottom: 40px !important;background-color: #0B1031 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][vc_row_inner el_class=&#8221;solvemychaos-footer-cta&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1740410116505{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"white-text\" style=\"text-align: center; font-size: clamp(3.0rem, 2vw + 1rem, 5.4rem);\">Big results. Small investment.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"white-text\" style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 2.0rem;\">Ready to take the first step?<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1748944510176{margin-top: 30px !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"orange-button\" href=\"https:\/\/test-act-main.pantheonsite.io\/en-gb\/trial\/act\/\">Try it free<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row_content_no_spaces&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1781601607378{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221; el_class=&#8221;float-banner-space&#8221;][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1740042719753{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}&#8221;]    <div class=\"actcrm-float-banner-wrapper float-banner-with-text\">\n        <div class=\"actcrm-float-banner-content\">\n                            <div class=\"float-banner-text\">\n                                            <h2 class=\"float-banner-heading\">Want to see CRM in action?<\/h2>\n                                        \n                                            <h3 class=\"float-banner-secondary-heading\">Try Act! Growth Suite free for 14 days.<\/h3>\n                                    <\/div>\n                                    <button >\n                <a  href=\"https:\/\/buy.act.com\/en-gb\/trial\"target=\"_blank\" class=\"orange-button\" >\n                    Try it free                <\/a>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n[\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221;][vc_column][vc_row_inner css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1748944668912{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}&#8221; el_class=&#8221;container-sm&#8221;][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; el_class=&#8221;checklist&#8221;]A CRM and an ERP solution are similar in many ways, as both help a business in enhancing efficiency and maximising profitability. In some infrastructures, these two systems overlap with each other extensively, while in some, they are even used in tandem with each other; but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36628","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is the difference between CRM and ERP<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A CRM software helps a business in managing its customers, keeping a track of all the interactions it makes with them and other aspects like sales automation. An ERP system helps a business in almost all of its operational activities including accounting, HR and marketing. Read on as we explain the differences and the similarities between the two.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.act.com\/en-gb\/what-is-the-difference-between-crm-and-erp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is the difference between CRM and ERP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A CRM software helps a business in managing its customers, keeping a track of all the interactions it makes with them and other aspects like sales automation. An ERP system helps a business in almost all of its operational activities including accounting, HR and marketing. 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