SAP MM Training - SAP Introduction

What is ERP?

ERP software facilitates the flow of information among all the process of an organization's supply chain , from procurement to pay , including Accounting and Human resources . ERP software eliminates the common problem of multiple incompatible software systems and databases in use in the departments or functional areas of many corporations.

With one integrated comprehensive system (which could be distributed internationally ) with one database , whose process run more smoothly with up to date information availability throughout the corporation.

Various ERPs in the market

High End

SAP (Programming Language:ABAP R/4)

Oracle (Programming Lang:SQL)

Peoplesoft  (Programming Lang:People CodeNow Acquired by Oracle)

Mid Range

JD Edwards(Programming Lang:One word Acquired by Peoplesoft and then by Oracle)

BAAN(Programming Lang:BaaN Tools)

RAMCO

SAP as an ERP

Systems, Applications and Products in data processing

SAP AG at Glance

• SAP comprises of number of integrated modules which covers virtually  every aspect of business

• Founded by Hasso Plattner in 1972 at in Mannheim, germany

• Vision :Develop standard application software for real time business

• Market leader in Industry Enterprise Applications(IEA)
• About 25 % market share in the ERP market
• Worldwide presence in 50 countries
• 50000 Employees
• 100600 customer in over 120 countries with more than 10 million users
• 600 new installation per month
• Strength lies in its high Integration ,mainly for large, global corporate enterprises

SAP Evolution

The R/1 & R/2 Systems

R/1 -developed for tractor manufacture company & released in 1972 with SD  & MM,Discontinued after release of R/2 in 1975 - Added finance applications.First successful implementation is for ICI chemicals.

The system was developed to run on mainframe computers and reorganized as leading mainframe software for large multinational corporations.

This continued till 1993 i.e. the year of SAP R/3 system released in the market .

In 2000 , SAP renamed their solution mySAP and release the latest version of SAP, named as ECC or Enterprise Core Component, and the most recent release is ECC 6.0.

SAP’s current release strategy is to provide Enhancement packs with additional functionality instead of releasing new versions of the software.

SAP’s Enhancement pack strategy eliminates major upgrades and allows customers to choose with enhancements to apply to their systems.

SAP Milestone over 35 years

SAP R/3 Architecture -3 tier architecture

Advantages of SAP

• Integration of various modules
• Faster and cheaper
• Real time reporting
• Multiple languages(40+)
• Multiple currencies (200+)
• Multiple countries (225+)
• reduced Manpower

Customization Vs Configuration

The adaptation of application software to customer - specific needs is accomplished in two ways :

Coding :

Programming customer specific code that replaces or complements the components of application .

Configuration :

Rendering the application appropriately to a specific customer by specifying the data upon which the application operates  

Role Of Functional Consultant

• Customizing the respective business area/ application area and making sure the system reacts in the manner according to the constraints of the requested use case

• Documents the settings and prepares proper guidelines that allow other consultants to do further changes or repairs with due efforts

• takes care that proper training is given to the users and that the system is usable , performing appropriately and the business flow is complete and correct .

• Go Live assistance for the technical staff by testing the behaviour of the system .

• Post go live he guarantees that the procedures remain usable and consistent in real live situation and proposes enhancements.

• The main duty of a consultant is to transfer external know -how to the client.It os not manpower that counts but Intelligence , understanding of process , a feeling for defects and general a common sense.