Written by Super User on . Posted in ERP Domain.
ENTERPRISE Resource Planning, or ERP for short, refers to a software application that enables an organization (or business) to efficiently and effectively manage its resources. The resource could be manpower, raw materials, vehicles, equipment, and finance, to name a few. Some of the leading software solution providers have developed ERP packages. Discover the different career options in the ERP field.
ERP is now the backbone of many large organizations. ERP packages include several modules that can be used either in stand-alone mode or in conjunction with one or more of the other modules. SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards and People-Soft are some of the most popular ERP applications.
ERP Roles – Technical & Functional:
The ERP scenario mainly offers two types of job options – that of the functional consultant and that of the technical consultant.
Functional ERP Consultant
Functional consultants are the experts with an understanding of business processes and data flow on the one hand and have the ability to address these business requirements in the vendor’s ERP product, analyzing possible gaps. Functional consultants are usually domain-specific like finance, HR, manufacturing and procure-to-pay, etc. They acquire knowledge about ERP products by following a short training on the ERP module in which they work.
ERP technical consultant:
Technical consultants are the experts who know the code, coding standards, and implementation lifecycle. Their main role is to make customizations, extensions, modifications, localizations or integrations to the existing product and to develop reports. They have computer training and experience as computer experts, engineers or software developers. The typical ERP professional has the opportunity to move their career between organizational functions (from customer support and consulting to service delivery management, sales and business leadership). And by choosing other well-known specialization tracks such as finance, CRM, SCM, distribution, manufacturing, financial management, project management, etc.
Attributes for a Successful ERP Career:
- Ability to work in small teams with greater accountability for project success
- Ability to manage a large portfolio of clients at any given time
- Ability to deal with clients who are significantly less systems/IT savvy and functional and subject matter experts in their respective fields
- Ability to deal with staff/business owners, who have less time for the project but are more demanding
- Ability to work under tight deadlines
- Ability to deliver according to agreed milestones
- Flexibility to work in odd time zones
- Ability to work in large structured teams, made up of a large number of specialists
- Ability to focus on one or two major projects/deals through to completion
- Ability to recommend out-of-the-box features
- Ability to suggest workarounds
- Ability to do project management
Career roles in ERP
The career options in the ERP market are really wide. In terms of career options, here are the ERP job roles:
- Project Manager – Implementation
- Functional consultant
- Technical consultant
- Consultant – Training
- System administrator
- Application administrator
- IT manager
- Software Developer – Intern
- Software Engineer – Programming
- Software Engineer – Testing and QA
- Software Engineer – Reports
- Software Engineer – Support
- Accounting clerk (for different modules)
- ERP end user
- Solution Architect
- Pre-sales advisor
- Database administrator
- Program manager
- DSI-ERP
- systems analyst
- business analyst
- delivery manager
- Business Relations Manager
- Account Manager
* The list above is only indicative and there are many other roles on the market.
Roles of ERP Functional Consultants:
- Analysis of business needs
- Understand the current IT and business landscape
- Gathering of needs and drafting of specifications
- Document existing IT and current business processes
- Understand the requirements of the proposed ERP system
- GAP Analysis – Identify areas where out-of-the-box functionality cannot provide solutions
- Data migration: collection and reworking of customer data for entry into the system
- Training of Super Users and End Users
- Documentation of functional specifications for customizations and reports
- System Setup
- Test
- Creation of CRP (conference room pilot) to demonstrate the system to a client
- Application project documentation
- Writing training manuals
- Responsible for delivering a working system to customer requirements
- Initial support after commissioning
Roles of technical consultants in ERP: understanding the current IT and business landscape
- Understand the development standards of the client organization
- Understand the client organization’s security policies and requirements
- Understand the proposed ERP system requirements that need to be customized
- Data migration scripts: writing automated scripts for data to be entered into the system
- Understand functional specification documentation for customizations and reports
- Creation of technical specifications documentation for customizations and reports
- Write the code
- Test the code
- Creation of automated test scripts
- Application project documentation
- Responsible for delivering a working system to customer requirements – customized
- Initial support after commissioning