CRM – master data

You must define the following master data to be used in customer relations management ( CRM):

  • The parameters for customer relations management.
  • The definition of addresses and address formats.
  • The sessions for working with business partners, contacts, and employees.
  • The sessions with basic customer relation management information.
  • The set up of attributes, which are used to record distinctive information on business partners, contacts, activities, opportunities, letters, and reports.
CRM parameters
CRM Parameters (tdsmi0100m000)

This session displays the following group boxes:

  • Opportunities
    Contains parameters for opportunities.
  • Contacts
    Contains a default attribute set for contacts.
  • Default Attribute Set for Business Partner
    Contains attribute sets for business partners. You can link a default attribute set to various business partner roles.
  • Default Attribute Set for Potential Business Partner
    Contains attribute sets for prospects. You can link a default attribute set to various potential business partner roles.
  • Miscellaneous
    Contains general parameters that are used throughout CRM.
Note

You can enter default settings for a user or a group of users in the Defaults by User (tdsmi0520m000) session. The settings made in this session overrule the settings specified in the CRM Parameters (tdsmi0100m000) session.

COM Parameters (tccom0000s000)

You can define the following CRM parameters in this session:

Addresses

To communicate with persons and organization in CRM, you must define:

Business partners, contacts, and employees

In CRM, you work with business partners, contacts, and employees that you can specify in the following sessions:

Optional sessions

The following sessions are optional. Each session includes basic CRM information:

  • Salutations (tcmcs1120m000)
    Use this session to define salutations that can be used for introductions on letters addressed to contacts.
  • Phases (tdsmi0103m000)
    Use this session to define phases, which enable you to keep track of a particular stage or phase in a sales process.
  • Opportunity Types (tdsmi0107m000)
    Use this session to define opportunity types that can be used to classify opportunities.
  • Sales Processes (tdsmi0108m000)
    Use this session to define sales processes, which are standard sales methodologies that must be followed when working on an opportunity.
  • Phases by Sales Process (tdsmi0109m000)
    Use this session to define the phases for a sales process.
  • Attentions (tcmcs1122m000)
    Use this session to define attention codes, which are messages that you can link to any contact, opportunity, or activity.
  • Promotions (tcmcs1123m000)
    Use this session to define promotions, which can be used to represent items given to contacts to show appreciation for their business, or to indicate what type of promotional activities have been used in conjunction with a given business partner.
  • Sources (tcmcs1124m000)
    Use this session to define sources to keep track of where business partners are contacted. For example, a company that goes to trade shows might want to know how many new prospects they received by going to that trade show.
  • Industry Codes (tcmcs1125m000)
    Use this session to define industry codes, which are used to classify business partners by type of business for the purpose of, for example, segmenting customers for territory management and campaigns.
  • Buyer Roles (tcmcs1126m000)
    Use this session to define buyer roles, which are used to classify a contact's decision making powers in an opportunity.
Attributes

You can link attributes to the following business objects:

  • Business partners
  • Contacts
  • Opportunities
  • Activities

In addition, you can use attribute information in reports and letters.

You must complete the following steps to define attributes and attribute sets:

Step 1. Create attributes

Create attributes in the Attributes (tdsmi0550m000) session.

Notes

  • The fields on the Reference tab are optional. You need not fill them if no reference or zooming must occur.
  • Attributes are very similar to the LN fields. For example, a calculator can be used on both the integer and fraction attributes, the same way as in standard numeric LN fields. The calendar can be used on date attributes as well.
  • If an attribute is of the Option type, fill the options in the Options by Attribute (tdsmi0151m000) session.
Step 2. Create attribute sets

You can create multiple attributes to link to a business object. If you want to attach the same attributes together, use the Attribute Sets (tdsmi0152m000) session to create attribute sets.

Step 3. Link attributes to attribute sets

Link the attributes to the attribute set in the Attributes by Attribute Set (tdsmi0153m000) session. An attribute may appear in more than one attribute set.

Attribute sets can be added to the following sessions:

  • Attributes by Business Partner (tdsmi1101m000)
  • Attributes by Opportunity (tdsmi1111m000)
  • Attributes by Contact (tdsmi1123m000)
  • Attributes by Activity (tdsmi2101m000)
Step 4. Link attributes to business objects

Attributes can be linked to business objects as follows:

Step 5. Enter values for attributes

On the Additional Attributes tab of the Business Partner (tccom4100s000), Opportunity (tdsmi1610m000), Contact (tccom1640m000), and Activities (tccom6100m000) sessions, you can enter values for the attributes.

Based on the type of attribute, the calculator or calendar can be available when you enter values. It is mandatory to enter a value if the attribute is set up that way.

Example
  • Attribute linked to a business partner
    A company has decided to check whether or not their suppliers are ISO 9000 certified. By creating an attribute called ISO 9000? and linking this attribute to each of their suppliers, the company can track this information. The company sets the default value for this expression to No.
  • Attribute linked to an activity
    A company has created an activity used to track complaints from the warehouse to suppliers. Attached to this activity is an attribute set called COMP = Complaints, which lists the information that they wish to track each time an issue comes up. One of the attributes is a field in which the warehouse person rates the supplier's response. The available values are Great, Good, Poor, and Unacceptable.
  • Attribute set
    Each year a company conducts a customer satisfaction survey. Each of the survey questions is created as an attribute and all of the questions are grouped in an attribute set.