These are the functions of SAP ERP in your company

Business management today requires decision-making based on data analysis practically instantaneously, so the use of an ERP that comprehensively manages core operations is essential.

SAP's solution has the largest market share globally in the ERP field. What is it and what are its functions? We will explain it to you in this article.

If you are considering implementing SAP Business One or another SAP product for small and medium-sized businessescontact our professional consultants who will provide you with specific solutions for your business.

 

What can companies do when implementing an SAP system?

SAP is a solution that comprehensively manages your business. SAP customers know that they have a enterprise resource planning using this software.

SAP users have financial accounting, management accounting, personnel management, purchasing management, production management, inventory management, logistics management, and sales management in perfect communication with each other. All in one. All through modules.

Since the management status and financial information of the organization can be captured in real time using this software, it is easier to make decisions quickly.

Furthermore, by managing tasks in an integrated manner, information can be shared in real time throughout the company and collaboration between departments can be achieved, leading to a greater operational efficiency and cost reductions throughout the organization.

 

Benefits of implementing SAP in a company

The greatest benefit of introducing SAP is the improvement of process efficiency throughout the company regardless of the industry.

Since SAP is developed based on the business processes of the best companies around the world, when it is introduced into an organization, it standardizes to the level of the largest companies.

Cost reduction is one of the most important benefits of introducing SAP. In an optimized system for each department, it was necessary to assign human resources for coordination within each department and information exchange.

When introducing SAP, the data aggregated by department can be integrated, shared, and managed in real time, eliminating the need for personnel costs.

 

These are the most used SAP modules

The SAP platform consists of four main modules; however, these modules can be modified according to the needs of the company for quality improvements. Increasing or integrating submodules.

Accounting Module

Responsible for the functions of financial accounting and management accounting. Financial accounting performs external accounting and system accounting, and collectively manages the financial data of other modules.

Management accounting performs internal accounting and manages and adjusts expenses within operations.

Logistics or Materials Management Module

Responsible for the functions of sales and inventory management. There are many data entry tasks that are prone to errors when performed manually. The use of this module reduces human errors, such as typographical errors.

Human Resources Module

SAP helps the personnel management related to all human resources corporations. From hiring to retirement of human resources within a company, it helps to centrally manage human resources information even if there is a transfer or consolidation of departments.

Other modules

In addition, there are functions of production, project, and plant maintenance. Production is responsible for business management in production activities, the project is responsible for the checks and data exchange necessary for project progress, and the plant is responsible for equipment maintenance in manufacturing.

The work of a consultant and what the implementation process is

People who are not familiar with SAP often think that it is enough to install the program and perhaps train the users. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, such a thing only happens when very simple and highly functional programs with a small number of users are "implemented," for which even the most primitive ERP system certainly does not apply.

 

What does a SAP implementation project look like?

An implementation project is a process designed to achieve the objectives established within a company that wants to install SAP.

The objectives are usually:

• Improve knowledge about the current state of each department of the company. Remember that the boss can see everything they want, almost in real time if they use SAP.
• Improve business processes. For example, before the implementation of the system, to issue an invoice for the shipment of goods, authorization from the "accounting department" was required, to avoid giving something from the warehouse that was not in the required budget. When using a system where this data is available, documents are automatically checked, so that physical authorization becomes useless.
• Reduction of management costs.

 

Objectives that SAP consultants should have

Consultants must achieve the objectives established within the specified timeframe. For this it is necessary:

1. Investigate the company's activities (if not already done separately).
2. Develop and agree on proposals for its improvement.
3. Implement the organizational structure for the modular system.
4. Train the users (sometimes, in projects, consultants do not teach users or only teach key users, and they in turn teach the end users).
5. Achieve a competent and consistent user experience to achieve the established goals.
6. Adapt the system to the specific needs of the client's business.

 

How does SAP technically work?

A small SAP GUI program is installed on the user's computer, whose function is to display the data received from the server and transfer data and commands from the user.

The server is a specialized, powerful, and reliable computer designed to store and process data transmitted through the network by various users.

Access to the database is generally performed using a special SQL languageIn addition to the business data itself, the database stores all system configurations, and the program texts in the ABAP/4 language.

The application server requests from the database a part of the ABAP/4 program that must process the user's action and begins to execute it. An ABAP /4 program can, for example, extract information from the database, according to the number received, and then transfer it to the SAP GUI for it to be displayed to the user.

 

This is what you should keep in mind when introducing SAP.

If SAP is implemented correctly, the business situation will improve greatly from the start; but there are points that must be taken into account when introducing it.

Costs related to SAP include software license fees, server fees, and system build-up fees.Even with the cloud version, an initial cost of around $70,000 must be anticipated.

Furthermore, SAP is only effective when every employee can master it. It is important to provide opportunities for education and training on how SAP works and how to use it before the introduction.

It should be noted that maintenance of "SAP ERP" and "SAP Business Suite" is scheduled to end in 2027, which is one of the points to consider when implementing it in your company.

 

Important considerations for the transition to SAP S/4HANA

When a company has SAP implemented, but has decided to migrate to SAP S/4HANA to have a better technological implementation future, there is a series of preliminary tasks that must be completed.

SAP provides several tools for this, such as SAP Readiness Check for SAP S/4HANA, which verifies the existing ERP system to determine the suitability of S/4HANA for existing data, processes, and functions and provides technical information about the activities to be performed.

An important aspect of the migration is to thoroughly review whether the functionalities used in SAP ERP are available in SAP S/4HANA so that the migration events are of quality.

In addition, data cleansing is recommended so that old data or data that is no longer needed is not transferred, with a positive effect on its quality and the database processes are much more efficient.

 

Business decisions

In addition, it is in this process that companies must decide to what extent they want to use Fiori applications in SAP S/4HANA. For example, SAP Fiori creates a modern user interface and provides role-specific data for users to access specific movements.

Companies must pay sufficient attention to this topic so that users in the departments are not slowed down by access problems immediately after the migration and startup of SAP S/4HANA.

 

In conclusion, why should companies use SAP?

As SAP providers, we can say that one of the greatest advantages of SAP ERP is that the system is currently familiar to many users. The enterprise resource planning must be a priority at this time because improvements in operation are proven.

A large number of users know exactly the functions and applications of the system. And how they positively transform any business.

In addition, SAP ERP has a very wide range of modules and main applications and it can be improved and automated with numerous SAP add-ons. An SAP ERP software is a necessity that should be covered in small and medium-sized companies.

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