Strategic Investments In The Right CRM Technologies, In The Right Amount, and In The Right Order

Although many companies have spent a great deal of money to adopt CRM (Customer Relationship Management) technologies, many have not seen satisfactory returns on their CRM installations. One of the reasons for such dissatisfaction and low ROI may be the lack of a comprehensive approach to evaluating the impact of CRM technologies, which are very different from traditional cost-cutting and quality-improving IT. To bridge the gap between the existing research stream on IT investment and firms’ dissatisfaction with returns on CRM technologies, we aim to analyze the optimal CRM implementation strategy and the impact of CRM investments on a firm’s profitability. For our analysis, we classify CRM technology into two broad categories, targeting-related CRM technology and support-related CRM technology. We find that the two types of CRM technologies are substitutive in generating firms’ revenue rather than complementary. We also find that firms’ investments in both targeting-related CRM and support- related CRM can decrease consumer welfare under certain conditions. We develop a model that not only considers different factors across industries and environments, but is also helpful in determining the right CRM technology, in the right amount, and in the right order

Emergence of ERPII Characteristics within an ERP integration context

It is widely accepted that Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can provide organizations with efficiency and productivity gains, in terms of aggregating and streamlining internal business processes. It is also well understood that embarking upon the implementation of such an IT project, also presents many risks and challenges to the incumbent corporation, as witnessed by numerous cases in the normative IS literature on this subject. Through the description of a case study organization’s ERP integration experiences, the authors highlight the emergence of those characteristics which define the componentization, and extension of ERP functionalities (i.e. so-called ERPII) in terms of a failed ERP-led, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) implementation within an industrial products organization. As a result of the exploratory research approach used, it is hoped that the definition of such factors will provide an insight into the development and management of such technology investments

Strategic analysis of the implementation of a CRM technology in a telecommunications company

Después de desarrollar una práctica de 6 meses el proyecto de implementación de una plataforma CRM en una empresa Italiana de telecomunicaciones, se identificaron los principales factores que afectan el éxito del proyecto y se desarrolló un análisis a nivel estratégico. La investigación parte del análisis del proceso de ventas (proceso directamente afectado por la plataforma implementada) y su interacción con el sistema, seguido de la aplicación de un modelo que posiciona el CRM de la empresa a un nivel estratégico y finaliza con el desarrollo de un sistema de medición para evaluar el rendimiento del sistema CRM.After a 6-month internship in an Italian Telecommunications Company, in the project management of the implementation of a CRM system, the main issues regarding it were identified and a strategic analysis was developed. The study begins with the analysis of the business process affected by the CRM, then a theoretical framework that positions the company s CRM at a strategic level is applied, and finally, a measurement system to evaluate CRM performance is developed.Ingeniero (a) IndustrialPregrad

Business intelligence as the support of decision-making processes in e-commerce systems environment

The present state of world economy urges managers to look for new methods, which can help to start the economic growth. To achieve this goal, managers use standard as well as new procedures. The fundamental prerequisite of the efficient decision-making processes are actual and right information. Managers need to monitor past information and current actual information to generate trends of future development based on it. Managers always should define strictly what do they want to know, how do they want to see it and for what purpose do they want to use it. Only in this case they can get right information applicable to efficient decision-making. Generally, managers´ decisions should lead to make the customers´ decision-making process easier. More frequently than ever, companies use e-commerce systems for the support of their business activities. In connection with the present state and future development, cross-border online shopping growth can be expected. To support this, companies will need much better systems providing the managers adequate and sufficient information. This type of information, which is usually multidimensional, can be provided by the Business Intelligence (BI) technologies. Besides special BI systems, some of BI technologies are obtained in quite a few of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems. One of the crucial questions is whether should companies and firms buy or develop special BI software, or whether they can use BI tools contained in some ERP systems. In respect of this, there is a question if the modern ERP systems can provide the managers sufficient possibilities relating to ad-hoc reporting, static and dynamic reports and OLAP analyses. A one of the main goals of this article is to show and verify Business Intelligence tools of Microsoft Dynamics NAV for the support of decision-making in terms of the cross-border online purchasing. Pursuant to above-mentioned, in this article authors deal with problems relating to managers´ decision-making, customers´ decision-making and a support of its using the BI tools contained in ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV. A great deal of this article is aimed at area of multidimensional data which are the source data of e-commerce systems.Business Intelligence, decision-making, e-commerce system, cross-border online purchasing, multi-dimensional data, reporting, data visualization

The Relationship Between Customer Relationship Management Usage, Customer Satisfaction, and Revenue

Given that analysts expect companies to invest $22 billion in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems by 2017, it is critical that leaders understand the impact of CRM on their bottom line. The purpose of this correlational study was to investigate potential relationships between the independent variables of customer satisfaction and CRM utilization on the dependent variable of business revenue. The service-profit chain formed the theoretical framework for this study. The study population included 203 service branches for an industrial equipment manufacturer in North America. The service director for the subject organization provided the data for the study via data extracts from the company\u27s corporate database. Some branches were eliminated, leaving a total sample size of 178. The results of a multiple linear regression analysis showed that the proposed model could significantly predict branch revenue F (2,175) = 37.321, p \u3c .001, R2 = .298. Both CRM use and customer satisfaction were statistically significant, with CRM use (beta = .488, p \u3c .001) showing a higher contribution than customer satisfaction (beta = -.152, p = .021). This study provides evidence to business executives that CRM use has a strong positive influence on revenue. Additionally, this study supports the findings of other studies that show a point of diminishing returns in improved customer satisfaction. This study contributes to positive social change by allowing firms to make better decisions with their investment dollars and by increasing CRM utilization through cause-related marketing

Mining for Digital Gold: Technology Due Diligence for CIOs

How do CIOs decide which technologies to acquire and deploy? This paper presents a set of criteria used by CIOs to vet technology decisions and spread their technology bets. There is insight to be gained by defining, understanding, and applying these criteria. In fact, the more we understand the technology due diligence process the better our understanding of technology leverage becomes. Ultimately, the practice of solid due diligence processes is about the optimization of business technology. There are at least 15 criteria used by Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to perform due diligence on prospective technology investments. This paper describes these criteria and prescribes how they should be applied to technology investment decisions. CIOs benefit from a disciplined due diligence process; technology vendors also benefit since investment decision-making becomes repeatable and predictable - and therefore more manageable; and those who analyze technology decision-making benefit from disciplined due diligence which enables a systematic analysis of the drivers of technology acquisition and deployment, as well as the development of due diligence effectiveness metrics

Importance Of Technology Investments In The Logistics Service Providers: A Case Study Of UPS And Its Use Of Online Tools

Logistics service providers must become competitive in mail delivery, customer relationship management (CRM) strategies, and technological integration.  UPS, for example, uses a logistics service strategy to effectively manage the logistical requirements for its 7.9 million daily customers.  Within the competitive market of parcel delivery, logistics service providers must routinely invest in technology in an e-commerce environment in order to successfully develop strategies to meet the demands of B2B and B2C customers, while accomplishing customer efficiency and return on investments.  This strategy has helped logistics service providers to leverage their core competencies; in particular for UPS to become the shipping industry leader in e-commerce.  This research outlines the history, inner workings and culture of UPS, while simultaneously examining the subtleties, which have led to the company’s extraordinary success.  Throughout this analysis, the research will show that in fact there is a rather complex model, which allows UPS to function, as it incorporates B2B, B2C, investments in technology and on-line tools into an outcome of seemingly effortless customer efficiency

On the Role of Electricity Storage in Capacity Remuneration Mechanisms

In electricity markets around the world, the substantial increase of intermittent renewable electricity generation has intensified concerns about generation adequacy, ultimately driving the implementation of capacity remuneration mechanisms. Although formally technology-neutral, substantial barriers often exist in these mechanisms for non-conventional capacity such as electricity storage. In this article, we provide a rigorous theoretical discussion on design parameters and show that the concrete design of a capacity remuneration mechanism always creates a bias towards one technology or the other. In particular, we can identify the bundling of capacity auctions with call options and the definition of the storage capacity credit as essential drivers affecting the future technology mix as well as generation adequacy. In order to illustrate and confirm our theoretical findings, we apply an agent-based electricity market model and run a number of simulations. Our results show that electricity storage has a capacity value and should therefore be allowed to participate in any capacity remuneration mechanism. Moreover, we find the implementation of a capacity remuneration mechanism with call options and a strike price to increase the competitiveness of storages against conventional power plants. However, determining the amount of firm capacity an electricity storage unit can provide remains a challenging task