Concerti and Lakhos: a synergy between Epicor and HubSpot

Uncertainty about the economic future is creating a climate of stress and anxiety within businesses. In this type of situation, some businesses lose sight of the primary objective: to serve their customers. Often, collaboration is the best option to meet the needs of a company, it is with this in mind that Concerti and Lakhos, leaders in their respective fields, have chosen to collaborate.

Presentation of the Two Companies

In this pivotal era, our businesses are joining forces to demonstrate how CRM and ERP integration can transform the efficiency of your business. Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let's introduce ourselves to:

• Concerti is an Epicor certified partner that specializes in implementing the solution Epicor Kinetic ERP designed exclusively for manufacturers. Supported by a team of around sixty people, many of whom come directly from the Quebec manufacturing sector, the approach of Concerti is distinguished by its personalization: it starts with an in-depth analysis of business processes and continues with sustained support at each stage. By combining advanced technologies and field expertise, Concerti is in a position to offer a complete solution, perfectly aligned with the needs and realities of its customers.
• Lakhos is a CRM consulting and integration firm, HubSpot solution partner, which optimizes processes between sales, marketing, and customer service teams, establishing clear and standardized processes to eliminate silos, promote collaboration, and increase revenue.

Understanding the Fundamentals: CRM vs. ERP

To understand the role of our businesses, it is crucial to understand the technologies in which we specialize.

• The CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a system that centralizes and optimizes interactions with customers and prospects. It aims to improve satisfaction, retain and increase sales through optimized lead management. as well as opportunities.
• In contrast, the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) focuses more on optimizing a company's internal processes. It aims to promote more fluid collaboration between departments by centralizing the management of finances, sales, purchases, production, stocks and much more on the same software. The objective of the tool is to increase productivity with the resources already in place, while allowing companies to have a global vision of their operations.

To draw a more complete picture of their relationship, we can summarize their functions as follows: CRM excels in managing external relationships, while ERP ensures efficiency and a global vision of internal operations. The integration between sales and operations thus allows for synergy, offering a complete and unified vision of the business.

Collaboration between the Two Companies

The collaboration between Concerti and Lakhos was born out of the desire to provide businesses with a complete and integrated solution. Recognizing that excellence often requires the combination of strengths, our two companies have chosen to surround themselves with the best. This synergy allows Epicor and HubSpot users to benefit from optimal integration, thus maximizing the efficiency and performance of their systems.

Epicor

On the one hand, Concerti has partnered with Epicor nearly 15 years ago and has since become a real reference in Quebec in the integration of the Epicor Kinetic ERP solution designed for manufacturers. This ERP solution is different from the others for several reasons:

• Expertise specific to the manufacturing sector: The solution offers comprehensive functionalities for managing production, inventory, supply chain, and finances, all adapted to the unique challenges of this business sector.
• Extensive adaptability and customization: Epicor Kinetic allows businesses to configure the system according to their specific processes, promoting maximum operational efficiency.
• Analysis and reporting tools: The technological innovations in the solution make it possible to streamline production processes, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.
• Recognized in the industry: Tier 2 ERP with over 2 million users around the world that takes advantage of the latest technological innovations such as AI and the Cloud.

The Epicor Kinetic Solution offers several basic functionalities and modules, including a CRM. The latter is designed to manage opportunities throughout their journey, taking advantage of operational data from the ERP for complete vision and increased efficiency. In a large number of projects, the CRM integrated with Kinetic suits the needs of customers.

However, this CRM has limitations and it can't be compared to HubSpot's nested solutions. In some cases, customers have specific requests and needs that require a CRM that includes more advanced functionalities in terms of customer relationships and the management of marketing and sales operations. This type of collaboration is therefore becoming important in order to obtain the best from each of the platforms as well as integrating partners.

In short, Epicor Kinetic excels in its ability to meet the needs of manufacturing businesses with formalized processes. Its distinctive data model combined with robust planning capabilities for dimensional inventory make it ideal for industries such as metallurgy, hardware, manufacturing, aerospace, medical devices, and other manufacturing sectors.

HubSpot

For their part, Lakhos turned to HubSpot for its integrated platform that covers all aspects of customer relationships. HubSpot highlights include:

• An all-in-one platform: HubSpot combines CRM, marketing operations and its automations, sales operations, and customer service operations (ticket management) providing a unified view of the customer.
• An intuitive user experience: Its usability facilitates adoption by teams and optimizes process efficiency.
• Powerful automation and personalization tools: HubSpot makes it possible to create personalized customer experiences and automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time for high-value interactions.
• A rich integration ecosystem: Hubspot offers numerous integrations, which allows it to be linked to many tools, which maximizes its potential.

This combination of features and flexibility makes HubSpot CRM a powerful tool for all businesses looking to develop lasting customer relationships and stimulate their growth, regardless of size and sector.

Although the two platforms do not share the same main mission, both have the characteristic of having a CRM solution. The difference between these two solutions is that Epicor uses a primary CRM system with the primary purpose of supporting their ERP system. HubSpot, on the other hand, focuses exclusively on CRM, thus offering a system that is more versatile and adaptable to various types of businesses that integrates harmoniously with ERP.

When should you Choose an ERP?

Identifying ERP or CRM needs depends on the challenges faced by the company: ERP responds to internal operational efficiency problems (manual processes, inventory management, production), while CRM targets external issues related to customers (loss of customers, follow-up of prospects, personalization). ERP is often crucial to supporting the growth of a business, while CRM is relevant from the first customer interactions.

Customer Relationship Management:

Any Questions you need to ask yourself?

• “How do you track interactions with your customers and prospects (emails, calls, meetings)?”
• “Do you have a centralized view of each customer's history and preferences?”
• “How do you measure customer satisfaction and loyalty?”
• Do you have opportunities that are lying on the table due to a lack of rigorous follow-up?

To identify an ERP need:

• Internal Process Analysis:
  
  • “What manual processes consume the most time and resources in your business?”
  • “Are you having trouble coordinating information between different departments (production, inventory, accounting)?”
  • “How do you assess the current effectiveness of your daily operations?”

Connecting CRM and ERP

When teams start struggling to get a consistent view of information, when processes are duplicated, or when data silos isolate departments, the time is right for the company to merge its CRM and ERP

The Benefits of CRM-ERP Integration

After doing most of the article to delineate the differences between the two tools, let's tackle the most important one; that is, the strategic union of a CRM and an ERP. This union propels businesses to new heights of performance. Together, they form a robust digital backbone that can radically transform operations and customer experiences.

A Symphony of centralized Data

Imagine a space where every piece of information, whether it concerns a customer, an operation, or even demand forecasts, converges at a single point. This is the promise of CRM-ERP integration, reinforced by the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) approach. This merger eliminates information silos, providing a unified and up-to-date view for all teams. Data, synchronized in real time, becomes a strategic lever, making it possible to identify trends, measure the impact of marketing actions on sales, and generate accurate reports to inform decisions.

Increased Operational Efficiency

Automation is at the heart of this synergy. Repetitive tasks are given to machines, thus unlocking human potential for missions with higher added value. Centralizing data reduces errors, speeds up processes, and streamlines internal communication. Imagine the savings in time and resources, propelling your business to unparalleled productivity.

A revealed Customer Experience

CRM-ERP integration offers a thorough understanding of each customer. Purchase history, preferences, and past interactions to name a few. All this data converges to allow a thorough personalization of the customer experience. Armed with this information, customer service teams can respond to requests with unparalleled accuracy and speed, increasing satisfaction and loyalty.

Adaptability and Sustainability

In a world in constant evolution, agility is king. CRM and ERP systems, designed to adapt to market growth and changes, guarantee unwavering relevance. Their flexibility makes it possible to integrate new functionalities, thus ensuring a step ahead of the competition. The addition of accounting integration to this strategy improves centralization for smooth management.

Towards harmonized Growth

In conclusion, the strategic collaboration between Concerti and Lakhos offers businesses a powerful and comprehensive solution to optimize their operations and customer relationships. By combining the expertise of Epicor Kinetic for manufacturing management and the strength of HubSpot CRM for customer experience, we enable organizations to thrive in an ever-changing economic environment. Contact us to find out how this integration can transform your business.

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