"The step-by-step creation of our CRM landscape minimizes our risks and helps us reap the benefits of smaller projects sooner. The implementation of SAP CRM in 14 weeks confirms this strategy." Alois Eckert Business Requirements Analysis Manager Cherry GmbH, Germany

SAP CRM provides a Web-based application to manage partner relationships and enable channel partners to sell more effectively. Personalized portals help brand owners manage their partner relationships, collaborate with channel partners, and optimize channel operations. Plus, you can provide channel partners with portal-based access to all the information they need to market to, sell to, and interact with end customers.

With SAP CRM, you can optimize your partner channel management processes including:

• Partner management
• Manage channel partner relationships throughout the entire partner life cycle.
• Recruit new partners, plan and forecast channel sales and revenues, segment your partner base for more effective partner programs and management, manage partner compensation plans, and track partner training and certifications.
• Channel marketing
• Motivate partners to sell your products and services rather than competitive offerings.
• Provide relevant information to partners, maintain consistent branding, engage in joint marketing campaigns with partners, and manage channel marketing funds and partner incentives.
• Use functionality to manage content, catalogs, collateral, campaigns, and leads – as well as personalization features and a partner locator – to drive demand for your products through channel partners.
• Channel sales
• Give your partners and direct sales force the same knowledge, tools, and expert advice.
• Gain insight into demand across all selling channels to effectively forecast future business.
• Enable a full range of channel sales processes, including account and contact management, activity management, opportunity management, deal registration, and pipeline forecasting.
• Partner order management
• Optimize partner ordering processes and include partners in collaborative selling across organizational boundaries.
• Enable a complete set of channel order management processes including quote and order management, interactive selling and configuration, pricing and contracts, and point of sale (POS) and channel inventory management.
• Empower end customers to order products and services across your demand network and support distributed, order-management scenarios.
• Channel service
• Ensure consistent and timely service to end customers by providing your partners with the tools and expertise to manage problem resolution and ongoing service relationships.
• Enable a range of channel service business processes, including knowledge management, service resource planning, service order management, live partner support, warranty management, and complaints and returns management.
• Partner and channel analytics
• Get a broad range of standard reports and analyses to determine partner coverage and gaps, partner and channel performance, revenue and sales statistics, the return on your partner investments, your gross margins with partners, and partner utilization.
• Provide channel partners with reports and analyses relevant to their business.

In addition, SAP solutions and applications support a wide range of business processes related to customer relationship management, including category management, multichannel retailing, price management, and sales order management.