J.D. Edwards Releases CRM 2J.D. Edwards Releases CRM 2

J.D. Edwards & Co. has released version 2 of its CRM suite, retooling the software to include new customer-service functions and to work better with other apps. The price of the software is set on a case-by-case basis, but a typical deployment will run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Whereas earlier versions of the software focused largely on sales automation, "this release really focuses more on customer service than any other aspect of CRM," says Karl Johnson, VP of strategic planning. The software now sports functions ranging from service-request submissions to the automated dispatch of service technicians, he says.

Other enhancements include integration with J.D. Edwards' supply-chain and enterprise resource planning software. And connections to the company's Demand Consensus supply-chain module are designed to help execs examine sales patterns and better plan the future, Johnson says. "Now instead of looking back in time, planners can also look forward and see what the sales force thinks they can sell and use that to better refine the forecasting of the product."

This is the biggest revision to J.D. Edwards' CRM software to date, Johnson says, and will probably be the biggest update for several years, now that technology from the company's 2001 purchase of CRM vendor YouCentric has been incorporated into the product.