The gap between ERP and CRM looks the same in most companies: the sales rep quotes in the CRM, and accounting opens the same customer a second time in the ERP.
01. Deciding Direction
Which system owns which data? The general rule: the ERP owns the customer record and product pricing, the CRM owns opportunities and activities. Synchronisation built without that decision has the two systems overwriting each other.
02. Customer Record Flow
When an opportunity is won in the CRM, the customer is created in the ERP and the account code returned is written back to the CRM. That single step largely ends duplicate account records.
03. Order Flow
A quote approved in the CRM becomes a sales order in the ERP. Price and discount validation must happen on the ERP side; the amount arriving from the CRM should not be accepted as is.
04. The Feedback Flow
When shipment, invoice and collection status are written back from the ERP to the CRM, the sales rep knows the situation before calling the customer. That's the biggest gap in one-way integrations.
05. Error Handling
Synchronisation errors must not stay silent. A failed record should be held in a queue, the responsible person notified, and the retry possible after correction.
06. Start in Stages
Don't try to synchronise every field on day one. Start with the customer record, watch it work, then add order and status flows.