Tuesday, December 30, 2008

How To Select The Proper SAP Module For Your Business

By Donald Howard

SAP is the short form of Systems, Applications and Products. SAP is not entirely the name of mankind one of the broadest software development enterprise but as well the name of the software product originated by this enterprise. SAP AG, the authorized name of the enterprise since it was made in Germany, in the first place thought of providing customers with a tool with which they can interact with a only master info base for each and every application necessary across the company.

The idea of the tool became practical in the process of a financial accounting system identified SAP R/1, the first version of SAPs iconic enterprise software. The better version of this application, SAP R/2, was founded towards the end of 1970s, which was mainframe settled business application software. Afterwards, SAP AG launched a client -server version of the software addressed SAP R/3, after the advent of divided customer -server computing.

SAP R/3 Functionality:

SAP applications, made round their latest R/3 system allows R/3 to treat accomplished operation and management tasks throughout the organisation. That implies, SAP R/3 offer the users with the instrument to supervise financial, asset, and cost accounting, production operations and materials, personnel, plants, and archived documents. It functions on Advance Business Application Programming (ABAP), which is a fourth generation programming language. The R/3 system is compatible with several platforms including Windows 2000 and uses the client/server model.

SAP R/3 Modules:

SAP R/3 is made up of whatsoever individual operational software modules. These modules combine to execute the functional and management tasks of any enterprise. Each individual working module manages particular activities on it's own, but is related to the others where applicable. The most wide used modules are - Logistics, Accounting and Human Resources.

Logistic Module:

Logistics is the method of completing a process from begin to finish on invite e.g. delivering a product at it's wanted location, on request. Individual tasks involved in this operation are Sales and Distribution, Production Planning, Materials Management, Plant Maintenance and Quality Management etc among others, all of which are integrated by Logistic module. The several components of this module and example of their functions are:

Logistic Module


Sales and Distribution module: Presales support, customer enquiry processing, quotation working, sales order processing, delivery working, billing and sales information system.

Material Management module: Purchasing processes, warehouse management, inventory, invoicing etc.

Production Planning module: Planning & organising production process e.g. transport and storage of raw materials, by-products and waste etc.

Plant Maintenance module: Repair of buildings, maintenance of tools used in the production operation, information about machine usage and possible downtime etc.

Quality Management module: Every operations linked to the quality assurance of the product.

Accounting Modules:

This module does every last financial and accounting actions or in another words this module plays every financial and accounting needs of the corporation. It is self-activating to cater management and reporting of ledger, receivables & payments etc. which in turn allows balance sheets and Profit & Loss (P&L) accounts to be self updated, ceaselessly. Consequently, the fundamental reward of this module is that the book reflects the real situation. The several factors of this module are:

Accounting Module Examples

Financial Accounting: Accounting functions example balance sheet, Profit & Loss statements, Compliance with accounting regulations etc.

Controlling: Controls cost as well as corporations aims, Provides information necessary for decision making and future planning.

Enterprise Controlling: Collates internal information with market info to bring out matters in marketing strategies.

Treasury: Corporate banking, Money, budget management etc.

Capital Investment Management: Assists finance organisations in their capital investments and tracking.

Project System: Project Management I, Project budgeting, Project execution/integration, Info system, Operative structures, Project planning etc.

Human Resources Modules

As the words itself determines, Human Resource Modules leaves a accomplished HR management system, dealing areas such as personnel planning and recruitment, personnel and salary administration, payroll and personnel development.

Beginning, SAP implementations as well as its training were coordinated along module lines. For instance, in a training class on Logistics, you would see many things about SD such as SD-MD, SD-GF, SD-SLS etc but not much about the remaining of the SAP system and how SD fits into it. So, the integration between modules was totally absent. This used to result to that, the results were optimise on the modules, but missed in integration. Therefore, to reach that integration, programs are nowadays being coordinated on the process lines such as:

Order to Money (including parts of SD, FI-AR and probably TY as well)
Purchase to Pay (including MM-Purchasing and FI-AP)
Record to Report (FI-GL etc)

With adaptation of process lines rather of modules for results, SAP nowadays are moving away from reporting their system as a set of modules, and nowadays are practicing the term answers. These Original Dimension Products can stand solely or be integrated with R/3. It's benefits include elimination of duplication, discontinuity and redundancy in data and gains the return on investment made on IT implementations. It presents quality info designed for the Organisation as a wholly Faster and cheaper which in turn presents quality information to make a quality organisation. These answers are:

Financials
Human Resources
Customer Relationship Management
Supplier Relationship Management
Product Lifecycle Management
Supply Chain Management
Business Intelligence

Conclusion:

SAP is an Company Wide Business Answer. This stands for that organizations functioning SAP can in effect integrate all of its business actions taking on finance, purchasing, sales, human resources etc. This integration enables each business proceedings in an organisation are available to each fields of that enterprise and there is no duplicate of information in separate systems. - 16738

About the Author: