* Revenue growthTo successfully move IT and SAP in the direction of revenue and profitability growth it is important to understand where technology fits into the puzzle--, technology is not magic. When SAP is considered in its proper context as a "change enabler" or "change lever" rather than a "change driver" it is easier to understand how and where it can properly fit into a revenue and profitability context. In other words, technology works best when the rules, metrics, criteria, and the means to acquire, process, or analyze information which supports revenue and profitability are understood and defined.
* Profit margins
* Customer acquisition and retention
* Sales conversion
* Customer profitability
* Product / product line profitability
* Incentive programs and monitoring
* Market penetration / market share
* Marketing program performance
* "Smart" growth (i.e. "good" customers vs. "bad" customers)
* Time to market
· Points loyalty program (ERP pricing and SIS or CRM)One of the things the companies that have implemented these solutions and others had in common was there were already reasonably well defined sales and marketing processes and programs in place. As a result, the SAP technology was used as a change lever to enhance and improve those existing processes and programs to achieve a measure of revenue growth, profitability, and competitive advantage.
· Trade Promotions Programs (CRM, bolt-on, or custom ERP app)
· Marketing Effectiveness (CRM, custom reporting, BI/BW)
· e-sales with catalogs and configurable products (R3 Internet Sales or CRM - they use the same backend)
· Sales or Marketing program budgeting (ERP CO and internal orders with SD user exits)
· Sales forecast to actual (ERP Sales and Operations planning, CRM, BI/BW)
· Order templates (Generic quotes as templates, ERP, R3 Internet sales, CRM)
· Potential Planning (customer potential buying and planning against marketing plan - ERP, CRM)
· Ticklers, Marketing, Sales activities and campaigns (limited ERP functionality or with CRM)
· Customer churn (standard ERP functionality, custom report, BI/BW, or CRM)
· Customer $$ sales growth, month over month, year over year (SAP ERP functionality, custom report, BI/BW, or CRM)
· Order frequency trends (standard SAP functionality, custom report, or with CRM)
· Upselling, cross-selling, product allocation, substitutions, free goods (standard SAP ERP functionality).
· Web based reports and mobile device sales support (ERP mobile device functionality or CRM)
· Commissions and incentives (SAP ERP functionality or CRM).