Why is using an integrated suite better than 10 independent apps?
All business leaders want to see their company grow from year to year. But with company growth also comes the recruitment of numerous employees and the use of applications at all levels of the company to maximize the efficiency of all internal processes.
Indeed, as a company grows, it discovers many new needs, in project management, human resources, marketing and much more. When a company's digitalization process is progressive, it often results in an accumulation of third-party applications.
For example, a company might use application X from company X for project management, but use application Y from company Y to issue quotations and invoices.
In addition to slowing down a company's growth through the hassle of integrating these applications, this behavior adds new barriers, such as arduous communication, or needs that can only be met by purchasing yet another independent application.
So wouldn't it be better to use an integrated suite? And why are these integrations vital to the future of a growing business?
Information accessible by everyone, everywhere
Opting for a suite of integrated applications, such as Odoo for example, means ensuring continuous, real-time communication between all applications, and therefore between all departments in your company, at every level.
So it's perfectly possible to harmonize CRM, sales applications, project management and other tools together.
Thanks to the integration between your CRM and your sales application, you can issue invoices to your contacts in just a few clicks, or you can simply automate the creation of a project when a quotation for a certain type of service is issued.
All the information linked to these workflows can then be accessed by the whole company, according to the rights and needs of each individual. The recurring presence of discussion channels across the various applications, as offered by Odoo in particular, also enables direct discussion within a project or a project group.This saves time and prevents information from being lost, as it is saved on the server.
Complete, customized reports in just a few clicks
In addition to sharing, the presence of all information on a single database also means complete traceability of all data, across all modules installed on the system.
Indeed, if it's useful to track a product outwards, it's equally useful to track a product inwards.
With integrated applications, all this can be easily tracked.
Example: A purchase is triggered, and a request is made to the inventory department for the product to be prepared.
The customer's name and address are, of course, already known thanks to the CRM application, enabling complete synergy between CRM, sales and inventory.
And if the product is no longer in stock? Well, a few rules can be used to automate an order from a supplier, leading to the integration of another application.
Everything works in harmony, with each action automatically triggering another. And, when all is said and done, a couple of clicks reveals the entire route taken by the product. Problems later?
Thanks to integrations and traceability, recalling a product has never been so easy.
Tailored to your needs, they enable you to draw up comprehensive and precise reports, taking into account information relating to each department, at any point in the workflow. This in turn facilitates the implementation of corrective and preventive actions.
From interested visitor to satisfied customer
The automation of workflows and the horizontal nature of communication made possible by integration between applications have positive effects not only for the company. It also has a significant effect on current and potential customers.
Firstly, automation makes every action faster. A few clicks are all it takes to conclude a sale, then a purchase, and finally inventory actions (reserving a product, printing a packing slip, calling in the carrier).
What's more, everything can be done from within the applications, without ever having to open and close the various software programs, at least that's what Odoo allows. Another major time-saver.
And if everything is faster, who wins in the end? The customer, of course. Their orders can be processed more quickly, and they receive their purchases much more quickly than would be the case in an environment where applications are not integrated, and where each employee has to physically tell his or her colleagues what needs to be done.
What's more, no sales-related information is lost, since everything is available within the applications' internal documents.
What's more, when a problem arises at the customer's premises, the high level of traceability offered by integrations means that the customer can contact the company and have his problem dealt with more quickly.
No need to search through scattered or lost documents. A simple search for the buyer's name is all it takes.
Not to mention mass-produced products that may need to be recalled. With traceability, each buyer concerned can be contacted personally and the problem resolved before it arises. This significantly increases customer satisfaction, making them more inclined to try again with the company concerned.
So if you're looking to boost employee productivity and automate part of your workflow, you'll want to look no further than a suite of integrated applications.
Article translated from French