Jobscope, a maker of ERP software for engineer-to-order and make-to-order manufacturers, has added a customer relationship management module to its Jobscope Enterprise Edition for Microsoft SQL Server.
Jobscope CRM is available now as part of the company’s flagship ERP software suite, a comprehensive platform of tools for engineering data management, production planning, quality assurance, material and shop floor control, and accounting for small and medium-sized job shops. The new CRM module adds the ability to track all customer and prospect information from a single interface, a critical element for order-driven manufacturers that require all customer activity, sales, and service notes to be readily available, the company said.
Previously, Jobscope ERP users were forced to bolt on a third-party CRM application. But, officials said, but there was no guarantee that the data would be fully integrated, and there was a learning curve associated with the new software. As a result, Jobscope customers asked the company to develop an integrated CRM application as part of the ERP suite.
“Our customers are building large pieces of capital equipment [which require] a lot of servicing of the initial product and a lot of business around spare parts,” said Jobscope President Hank Sanders in an interview with Managing Automation.
The integration of CRM boosts customer service, he said, a crucial competitive lever. “In the current environment we all live in, existing customers are the most important asset to the business,” Sanders said, noting that Jobscope CRM software can track all customer activity, from customer service notes, to accounts receivable, to the history of which products were sold to whom, payment history, credit standing, and more.
The CRM offering also helps track prospective business. “Now management can track what sales guys quoted or where they are in the sales cycle,” Sanders explained.
As part of Jobscope CRM, bill to and ship to addresses are included on single records, and multiple hold statuses are available for each account, including job hold, work order hold, and shipping hold. Users also can link documents to customer records to simplify access to engineering drawings, pictures, or other account and project documentation, according to the company.
Jobscope, which runs natively on Microsoft SQL and IBM iSeries/AS400 (DB2/400) systems, is making the CRM module available only to SQL users at this time, the company said.
Jobscope CRM is available now as a free upgrade to existing customers on maintenance, and is bundled into the ERP suite at no additional charge for new customers.