CRM, CMS, ERP solutions explained

Content Management System (CMS), Customer Relationships Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) are just a few of endless custom solutions that make your job easier. You can do it all, from automation of the business processes to project management. 

Some companies implement them from the beginning, others grow first, and then, when it’s impossible to do everything manually, they decide to use technology. One way or another, that moment comes. 

Which software solution is right for your business? How to pick the one that will fulfill your business needs? 

Learn how custom software can help you grow your business, get to know CRM, CMS, and ERP concepts, and see our experience with these kinds of solutions.

What does every growing company need? 

Whether you run a startup or a well-established organization, you have different needs. But one is sure – you want to grow. 

Luckily, there are solutions for small businesses and scalable software for mid and huge organizations that can help you with that. 

CRM systems

Customer relationship management solutions are commonly used in business markets, especially those that are based on relations (such as sales teams). Thanks to them, you can store the data of leads and clients (with information such as their contact details or demographics) in an orderly manner.

CRM is a great source of information for buying patterns. Based on this, the marketing team can better target potential customers.

CMS systems

Content Management System allows you to create, manage and publish content on your website without engaging software developers.

In short, you don’t need any technical knowledge or skills to post there or customize the design or functionalities of your website. All of it, thanks to various templates and extensions available on the internet. One of the most known CMS solutions is WordPress.

Also, Content Management System allows you to spread the knowledge about your business without spending anything. It s allows you to build a website that grows with your business.

ERP systems

ERP software provides organizations with effective resource management and improves business functions – from data analytics and costs to enterprise resource planning.

Its main goal is to facilitate supply chain management. That’s why ERP technology is especially helpful for growing businesses with multiple departments in which the flow of information may not be that strong.

ERP system is complex and mostly serves as central data hubs for each branch of the organization that deals with the resources. It automates some of the processes that result in improved business communication and optimized cost management and production planning.

How to do it? 

Custom software

There are 3 ways you can go here. You can find a tech partner and create a custom solution from scratch. In this way, it’s personalized adapted to your underserved needs. You have exactly what you wanted, and, most of all – it’s yours forever. 

Ready-made software

You can also buy the off-the-shelf software for a subscription fee. Most of those solutions are cloud-based apps (SaaS model). These are personalized but to some extent (there may be different plans to buy, which give you some choice). Ready-made software is a great start for every business.

More about the topic of how custom software compares to commercial software is in the article by Leo, our business development manager. This time, in terms of e-commerce platform.

Hiring your own in-house team

Lastly, you can try and do it yourself by building a development team on your own. However, this process may take a lot of time (first, you have to hire the inhouse team, and then they’re ready to get into the process). In short, that’s the least beneficial option for you. 

Our experience with CRM and CMS solutions

At Gorrion, we had the opportunity to create with our clients many great custom digital products. Below you can find our CRM and CMS projects.

SITS

For SITS, a snowboard training school, we delivered a CMS to communicate with the users and CRM software to manage schools as well as trainers working with SITS. The system was very extensive, it involved many levels of different areas of expertise, such management or examination process. Thanks to this, our solution simplified the work of our client who could be much more efficient.

More about SITS cooperation in our portfolio.

Spin Brands

For Spin Brands, one of the best UK social media agencies, we developed a CRM system for customer flow management in the form of MVP.

During our cooperation, we carried out during a discovery workshop which we got to know the client’s business as well as users and their needs. We also did 2 usability tests and after 3 months of work, the MVP came to life. 

Learn more about the cooperation from Spin Brands case study.

How we contributed to SaaS solutions

FireCloud365

FireCloud365 is one of the projects we’re working on SaaS solutions. The cloud-based was to automate the whole fire compliance process. Thanks to the app and near-field communication technology, the app users can manage everything relating to a business fire safety system.

At first, our job was to perform a code review and fix the security issues. Once we did that, we moved on to improving the platform by adding a QR and NFC scanning feature as well as creating an intuitive interface. As a result, the cooperation shifted from code review to app redesign and creating a brand new app and website. 

Learn more about our cooperation with FireCloud from our case study.

Bioledger

Bioledger is a SaaS startup that aims to facilitate biofuels compliance and create more transparent supply chains. In this project, we’ve come from code review to rewriting the app from scratch. We transformed a simple MVP to a production-level app that’s ready for market use. 

Learn more about our cooperation from Bioledger case study.

Nevaka

Nevaka is a SaaS company that provides management solution for electrical contractors. Our goal was to build a responsive web platform from the ground up.

What does the cooperation look like, and what did we achieve? Read the Clutch review and get to know the perspective of Mark White, Managing Director at Nevaka.

All in all

As you can see, CRM systems, CMS, and ERP solutions are great for every growing business. They make the work much more efficient and allow you to focus on other areas that can’t be automated.

Such systems impact business processes, project management, and resource planning. It’s a must for every modern enterprise.