Search results

This chapter starts with the phenomenon of CRM systems being sometimes more considered as a burden than a support by salespeople. The main argument is that CRM tools do barely fit the needs of salespeople as their functions, most of all, are administrative, which leads to a resistance for using them.

The author shows how this kind of shortcomings are manifested in “real-life” operations and finds out that much of the problems seem to be due to the very architecture of extant CRM systems. Indeed, creative offerings and business development imply advanced cognitive processes for which there are no functions in traditional CRM tools.

Therefore, the core part of the chapter leads to a discussion on how genuine supportive CRM systems architecture should be designed. The sales process is made of three phases beyond the administration one, namely, a sense-making, a sense-giving, and a sense-acting phase. An adequate architectural design would take into consideration functions that support the whole process, which also includes informative links and a much more visual design to process information instantly.

Now customer relationship marketing (CRM) solutions might be the hottest topic in business world. CRM impelled the growth of both B2B and B2C markets. But the issue is how to apply the cutting‐edge CRM solutions. Do people really understand what CRM is and why they should install CRM? The mistaken concept of CRM may have disastrous effects on the company. This paper begins with the basic concepts of CRM, elaborates the characteristics, reviews its brief history and addresses the current status of CRM. Then it develops the extended concepts of CRM from micro‐ and macro‐ perspectives. In the “Implementation and tips” section, it concludes the proper steps to approach CRM and how to bear a right attitude towards CRM solutions. Related Government rules are also covered.

The pharmaceutical industry is in the midst of a fundamental transformation. For example, institutional regulations that have been in place for decades are being removed and competitive pressures force pharmaceutical companies to adopt customer‐oriented strategies. Information technology (IT) is a traditional enabler in this industry for the interaction with suppliers, wholesalers and pharmacies. This paper shows that internet portals yield new opportunities in accessing key customer segments, such as physicians and patients. The central message is that shaping these customer‐oriented systematic methodologies is merely a technological undertaking. Changes are required regarding strategy, processes as well as the systems architecture. To develop an integrated customer relationship management strategy this research draws on elements from established business redesign. The emphasis is on portals that bundle services for the patient's and physician's customer processes.

The paper pursues an action research approach where researchers have been involved in project work. The overall architecture framework has been generalized from projects with nine international companies between 2000 and 2002. One of these companies, the case of Pharma Corp., one of the largest pharma companies worldwide, is detailed in this paper. It shows how the three main architecture views strategy, process and system are used for the development of a customer‐oriented portal strategy.

Portals that support business processes have implications on the technical and business architecture alike. Existing architectures have an emphasis on individual architecture views, but rarely cover the “whole picture”. This paper argues that alignment is necessary of at least three architectures: the business architecture positions, the portal regarding the target customer segments and the (electronic) intermediaries. The process architecture identifies customer processes for each segment and derives portal services, which may also be sourced from external service providers. Thus, their configuration requires the alignment of all levels which are usually specified separately.

The architecture framework presents a first step towards a systematic methodology for re‐engineering customer relationships. It may support the project work in companies and stimulate future research towards inter‐organizational business process redesign.

In 1998 J.P. Morgan’s analysts forecast that the market for e‐CRM (customer relationship management) solutions would grow rapidly. Since then more than 700 e‐CRM firms have emerged. The convergence of information technologies caused enterprise information systems providers to add e‐CRM functionality to their systems, thus further increasing the number of e‐CRM suppliers. The proliferation of e‐CRM concepts, models and technologies causes significant confusion and uncertainty. Corporate executives question the economic benefits of investing in multimillion dollar e‐CRM projects, ponder about the right business and organizational models for e‐CRM, and are uncertain which e‐CRM models and technologies will prove both profitable and sustainable over time. With so many failed e‐CRM initiatives some executives wonder whether e‐CRM is not simply a hype. In the present paper what e‐CRM is, from where the economic benefits from investing in e‐CRM derive, and the evolution of alternative e‐CRM models are elaborated. It is also argued that successful e‐CRM projects are not narrowly departmental, but instead organization‐wide initiatives. The paper presents a conceptual framework for e‐CRM organizational architecture. The findings in the paper are based on e‐CRM industry analysis, evaluation and work experience with over 50 e‐CRM vendors, and on consulting experience with numerous corporations.

In a dynamic and uncertain business environment, with increasingly intense competition and vibrant globalisation, there is a growing demand by healthcare businesses for both internal and external information, to analyse patients’ information quickly and efficiently, which has led healthcare organisations to embrace customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Data quality and data integration issues facilitate the achievement of CRM business objectives. Data quality is the state of completeness, validity, consistency, timeliness and accuracy that makes data appropriate for CRM business exploitation. A good integration strategy begins with a thorough data assessment study, and relies upon the quality of these data. A framework is proposed for evaluating the quality and integration of patient data for CRM applications in the health care sector. Even though this framework is in an early stage of development, it intends to present existing solutions for evaluating the above issues.

Investigates customer relationship management (CRM) as a new concept. Follows the introduction of CRM in various settings, from departments to corporations, and the changes, commitment and support that are required to make the implementation of it a success. Points out that CRM is a strategy not a solution and can provide enormous competitive advantage if implemented in a co‐operative environment. Points out that the committed involvement of senior management is essential in promoting and supporting the concept of customer relationship management within the organization. Looks at what might be emerging in the future and how customer relationship management may be used in different areas of business, such as human resources.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how to achieve business improvement using clear organisational goals and well-communicated vision, together with a powerful process modelling technique and an analysis of the adopted e-business development stages.

Employing both business process modelling and improvement complement and reinforce one another. Among different business process modelling techniques, Ould's Riva method was selected to analyse the business processes and to improve the CRM business process in Incom Egypt. In order to get a deeper insight, seven-key decision makers at the case study organisation have been interviewed. E-business development stages have also been elaborated and analysed in the case study. This case study approach enables the researchers to get a complete picture of the problem.

It was found that Incom Egypt aimed to automate their business processes to solve these problems but they failed. Main reasons behind its failure are their unstructured business processes and employees resistance to improvements. Setting clear goals that follow the organisation's mission and vision can direct managers towards better decision making. Therefore, identification of business processes should be among the first steps to understand business structure, where inefficiencies in current activities could be detected, adjusted and improved. Improvements could then follow e-business development stages using Earl's technique.

The primary value of this paper is that business process improvement does not depend on one technique, but rather lies in the combination of process modelling, and e-business development together, which in turn helps decision makers successfully set up effective organisational plans via clarifying business processes. The improved system will provide a roadmap for organisations to make the proper transition to e-business.