What is the difference between CRM, ERP, and a B2B portal?
All three systems touch customers and orders, but each owns a different record. Without clear boundaries, the same data conflicts in three places.
· TankDev Mühendislik
CRM, ERP, and a B2B portal can operate in the same ecosystem. They are not substitutes. Confusion begins when no one defines which system owns each fact.
What does CRM manage?
CRM manages the sales relationship: leads, conversations, opportunities, quote stages, and sales activity. It can be the commercial memory before an order is confirmed.
What does ERP manage?
ERP manages resource and transaction records: products, inventory, purchasing, confirmed orders, shipping, production, and financial movement. Operational and financial facts usually live here.
What does a B2B portal manage?
A B2B portal is the customer's or dealer's transaction surface. Users see their catalogue and pricing, submit a quote or order, and track delivery. The portal starts the transaction; it should not recreate stock and financial truth on its own.
Example data flow
- CRM holds opportunities and sales conversations.
- Approved customer and commercial terms flow to the ERP under defined rules.
- The B2B portal reads stock and order status from the ERP.
- A customer order becomes an ERP record; status flows back to the portal.
How is the technical boundary drawn?
Write authority is assigned even for a shared field such as customer name. Systems connect through APIs or event messages. Retries, idempotency, error queues, and audit records belong in the design.
Read more about system integration and the authoritative data source. Tell us which systems you use, and we can map their boundaries.