Database Reference
In-Depth Information
4.5.2 Industry-Specific Functionality
Every industry has characteristic requirements that are specific (or even unique) to the companies
operating in that industry. As CRM implementations become more prevalent, industry-specific
functionality is becoming more and more important. Some examples of industry-specific func-
tionality are
◾
Promotion management for consumer goods
◾
Available-to-promise capabilities for manufactures
◾
Merchandising for retailers
No CRM system provides the full spectrum of features associated with the CRM strategy. Even
the most comprehensive of the packages will still require extensive customization (if it implements
a suit of applications) or integration (if it implements a best-of-breed solution).
SAP Industry Applications deliver comprehensive, out-of-the-box e-Business functionality that
is uniquely tailored to the specific business practices across a broad range of industries. Developed
in close collaboration with customers and partners, SAP Industry Applications enable organiza-
tions to manage, coordinate, and synchronize all customer touch points, including the Web, call
center, field, retail, and distribution channels.
With SAP Industry Applications, organizations can lower customization and maintenance
costs, shorten implementation time frames, and seamlessly access information residing in diverse
back office and legacy systems (Table 4.2).
4.5.3 Large Enterprises
*
This category comprises vendor solutions primarily targeted toward organizations with revenues
of more than
$
1 billion per year and/ or more than 1000 employees. CRM vendors focused on the
enterprise-class organizations typically offer a full range of functionalities, can scale to serve large
user populations, and offer support for multiple languages and countries. They offer their products
primarily through the traditional on-premise license model. However, hosted and SaaS (software-
as-a-service) deployment options are now offered by several of the leading players. Oracle offers
Siebel On Demand and SAP Business ByDesign. The typical cost paid by large enterprises for
products from such vendors as Oracle's Siebel and PeopleSoft CRM, and SAP CRM is about
$
2500 and higher per user.
SAP CRM strategy is closely linked to the success of its enterprise applications portfolio;
SAP CRM customers benefit from the enormous depth of industry expertise accumulated in the
past in its products and the group as a whole. Oracle's CRM product lines, specifically its Siebel
CRM, are market leading solutions in almost every aspect of the CRM technology. Oracle stra-
tegically positions Siebel CRM as the most fully featured solution with a breadth and depth of
functionality for many industry verticals. Both products offer strong capabilities across most of
the CRM functionalities including marketing, sales, service, field service, and partner channel
management. However, both SAP CRM and Oracle Siebel CRM implementations are character-
ized by comparatively lengthy time-to-value, relative inflexibility for changing business processes
and higher costs.
* These are only representative profiles; please update the same for the latest features and functionalities with the
respective vendors.
