ERP Career

ENTERPRISE Resource Planning, or ERP for short, denotes a software application that allows an organization (or enterprise) to effectively and efficiently manage its resources. The resource could be manpower, raw material, vehicles, equipment, and finances to name a few. Some leading software solution providers have developed ERP packages, Learn about various career options in ERP Domain.

ERP now forms the backbone of several large organizations. ERP packages comprise several modules that can be used either in a stand-alone mode or in conjunction with one or more of the other modules. SAP, Oracle, J D Edwards, and People-Soft are some of the popular ERP applications. 

ERP Roles – Technical & Functional:

The ERP scenario primarily offers two types of job options -- that of the Functional Consultant and the Technical Consultant. 

Functional ERP Consultant

Functional Consultants are the experts having an understanding of the business processes and data flow on one hand and have the capability to fit these business requirements in the vendor ERP product, analyzing gaps if any. Functional Consultants are generally domain-specific like Finance, HR, Manufacturing, and Procure to Pay, etc. They acquire ERP Product knowledge by undergoing a short training on ERP Module they are working in.

Technical ERP Consultant: 

Technical Consultants are the experts having knowledge of the code, coding standards, and implementation life cycle. Their main role is to do customizations, extensions, modifications, localizations, or integrations to the existing product and develop reports. They have educational background and experience in computer science as IT Experts, Engineers, or Software Developers. The typical ERP professional has the option of transitioning their career across the organizational functions (from customer support through to consulting to service delivery management to sales and business leadership). And choosing other well-known paths of specialization such as Finance, CRM, SCM, Distribution, Manufacturing, Financial Management, Project Management, etc.. 

Attributes for Successful ERP Career:

• Ability work in small teams with a greater responsibility towards the project success
• Ability manage a large portfolio of customers at any given time
• Ability to deal with clients who are much fewer systems /IT savvy and functional and Subject Matter Experts in their respective areas
• Ability to deal with staff/business owners, who have less time for the project but are more demanding
• Ability to work under aggressive timelines
• Ability to deliver as per the agreed milestones
• Flexibility to work on odd time zones
• Ability to work in large structured teams, comprising of very many specialists
• Ability to focus on one or two large projects/bids until completion
• Ability to recommend out of the box functionalities
• Ability to suggest work-around
• Ability to do Project Management 

Career Roles in ERP

Career options in the ERP market are really wide. In terms of career options, the following are ERP Job Roles:

• Project Manager - Implementation
• Functional Consultant
• Technical Consultant
• Consultant - Training
• System Administrator
• Application Administrator
• IT Manager
• Software Developer - Trainee
• 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 Consultant
• Database Administrator
• Program Manager
• CIO-ERP
• Systems Analyst
• Business Analyst
• Delivery Manager
• Business Relationship Manager
• Account Manager 

*The above list is only indicative and there are many more roles in the market. 

Roles of Functional Consultants in ERP:

• Business Needs Analysis
• Understanding the current IT and Business Landscape
• Gathering the requirements and preparing the requirements documents
• Documenting the existing IT and Current Business Processes
• Understanding the requirements from the proposed ERP System
• GAP Analysis – Identifying the areas where out of box functionality cannot provide solutions
• Data Migration: Gathering and reworking client data for input into the system
• Training of Super Users and End Users
• Functional Specification Documentation for customizations and reports
• Setup of system
• Testing
• Creation of CRP (conference room pilot) to demonstrate the system to a client
• Application project documentation
• Writing training manuals
• Responsible for delivery of a working system to client requirements
• Initial support after go-live 

Roles of Technical Consultants in ERP: Understanding the current IT and Business Landscape

• Understanding the development standards of the client organization
• Understanding the security policies and requirements of the client organization
• Understanding the requirements from the proposed ERP System that have to be customized
• Data Migration Scripts: Writing the automated scripts for data for input into the system
• Understanding the Functional Specification Documentation for customizations and reports
• Creating the Technical Specification Documentation for customizations and reports
• Writing the code
• Testing the code
• Creating automated test scripts
• Application project documentation
• Responsible for delivery of a working system to client requirements - customized
• Initial support after go-live