J.D. Edwards Unveils CRM 2.0

J.D. Edwards & Co. this week launched CRM 2.0, a new version of its customer relationship management offering that focuses on integration with the company's supply chain management and enterprise resource planning applications, and adds mobile sales and service management functionality. Version 2.0, aimed at the mid-market, is designed to enable enterprises to increase internal and external collaboration, respond to customer needs quickly, manage costs, drive revenues and enhance customer satisfaction, according to Joel Reed, director of product marketing. J.D. Edwards defines the mid-market as customers with $200 million to $3 billion in annual revenue, but also those businesses where IT is not a core competency. Mitch Myers, vice president of operations for FWMurphy, a Tulsa-based manufacturer of instrumentation and controls for gas compressors, says he is planning on migrating more than 100 users from version 1.2 to 2.0 by the middle of February. FWMurphy, which is also a user of J.D Edwards's ERP software, previously used Siebel for its CRM solution, but when J.D. Edwards bought CRM provider YOUcentric more than a year ago, FWMurphy decided to move to an all J.D. Edwards solution. That means Myers is eagerly anticipating the back-end integration enhancements offered by version 2.0, including the integration of CRM and ERP to the Supply Chain module Demand Consensus. This enables sales representatives to provide their input into forecasts so that enterprises do not have to rely solely on past historical analysis, according to Robbie Herzig, senior product manager of CRM for J.D. Edwards. "CRM 1.2 was the beginning of our e-business strategy and every release going forward is adding more and more integration between the front and back office," Myers says. "This allows us to extend the enterprise out to the customers as well as our partners and distributors." Myers says that FWMurphy's mobile sales force is looking forward to the disconnected client capabilities that enable representatives to work offline and then have that information automatically synchronized with the system when they get back online. "Previously, our field reps had to sit in a hotel and dial up to enter information, now they will be able to fire up a laptop in their cars or on a plane and have that information synch as soon as they get connected," Myers says. "That gives us more flexibility and more productivity." On the service management side, CRM 2.0 combines Contact Center and Field Service to help users with the whole process of taking a service request, creating a service order, managing the warranty and agreements, assigning a technician, managing the installed base and billing can be managed easily by the customer service representative at the contact center.