ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVEL OF INFORMATION INTEGRATION IN CRM SYSTEMS FOR SMES FOR THE NEEDS OF OMNICHANNEL RETAILING

Abstract

The basic theoretical omnichannel paradigm is full information integration of all
retail channels. The authors try to answer the following research question: to what
extent are modern CRM systems adapted to support omnichannel retailing in the range
of information flow? The article aims to identify and evaluate conduct practices
related to the acquisition, storage and sharing of information in CRM system retail
channels from the perspective of possibilities offered by this class of software.
The research was conducted using a survey method. The subject of the study are
customer relationship management (CRM) systems for small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs). The research entity are logistic companies that use CRM class
software for multi-channel distribution. The result of the research is the assessment of
the usability of CRM systems in terms of business needs posed by global competition
in the field of multi-channel distribution. The authors point to the need to develop
CRM systems in terms of their systemic and functional integration with business
partners in the supply chain.
Due to the large number of CRM systems available on the software market, the
article focuses only on systems dedicated to SMEs. The results of the study include
conclusions for designers and distributors of CRM systems regarding omnichannel
information features of their IT applications. The authors' next research intention is to
carry out similar research on CRM systems for large enterprises (analysis of
similarities and differences).
Key words: omnichannel, information integration, customer relationship
management (CRM) system, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), surveys