Just started using SuiteCRM again after first dabbling not long after the fork from Sugar.
Like every CRM system, there are particulars in the way that it works and one of the first things I’ve noted is the absence of an order module.
I’ve done quite a bit of snooping round the forums and read some exchanges between members and the dev teams in relation to this and wanted to pose a few questions.
We buy and sell product, and keep a small and shrinking stock-holding. We have an inventory management system and that’s integrated with our finance system. The nirvana for us would be to have a solution that carries customers through our systems from the point they make an enquiry to the point that they’ve had their goods or service delivered, with added provisions for contracts, renewals etc.
As a fairly typical, uncomplicated business, a typical sale for us would involve quoting the customer, accepting a PO and then converting that quote to an order. That order is then fulfilled and then the customer is invoiced. It seems that anything order-related is considered the business of an ERP system, so I’m curious to know how other organisations manage the same sales process.
Once a sales person has closed a deal, I would expect them to convert their quote to and order and for the resulting order record to then be sync’d with an ERP/ordering/finance system which manages the ordering and fulfilment process and then produces an invoice on the back of it.
Whilst it may appear a shortcoming, I do understand the absence of an orders module and hte philosophy of ‘stick to what you’re meant to do’, but what I struggle with is why there’s a invoice module…? I don’t understand how invoices work without orders and am interested to learn about the use cases the invoice module applies to.
The proper home for order records in our case is our order management/inventory system, but a quote with closed/won status probably falls short of carrying the necessary information to pipe out to our third party system. Adding things like a PO number, expected delivery date, delivery details, end customer contact, etc. aren’t suitable for a quote record but would sit on an order.
Anyone got any food for thought in relation to sales process management with SuiteCRM?
