Enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) are cross-functional and enterprise wide management information systems that integrate and automate many of the business practices associated with the operations or production aspects of a company. Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP software can aid in the control of many business activities, like production, logistics, distribution, inventory management, quality management, shipping, invoicing, accounting, sales, delivery, billing, and human resources management.
Because of their wide scope of application within the firm, ERP software systems rely on some of the largest bodies of software ever written. Implementing such a complex and huge software system in a company used to involve an army of analysts, programmers, other computrer and business specialists and users. To implement ERP systems, companies often seek the help of an ERP vendor or of third-party consulting companies.
There are a few major reasons why companies undertake ERP system implementation. Usually they need to integrate financial information, integrate customer order information, standardize and speed up manufacturing processes, reduce inventory, standardize HR information.
The most popular ERP software available on the market today are:
Founded in 1972 in Germany, SAP is the recognized leader in providing collaborative business solutions for all types of industries and for every major market. Over the years, it has grown and evolved to become the world premier provider of client/server business solutions for which it is so well known today. With 12 million users, 100,600 installations, and more than 1,500 partners, SAP is the world’s largest inter-enterprise software company and the world’s third-largest independent software provider overall. Today, SAP employs more than 34,000 people in more than 50 countries. The SAP AG has a rich history of innovation and growth that has made them a true industry leader.
SAP R/3 is a client/server based application, utilizing a 3-tiered model. A presentation layer, or client, interfaces with the user. The application layer houses all the business-specific logic, and the database layer records and stores all the information about the system, including transactional and configuration data.
SAP R/3 is arranged into distinct functional modules, such as Sales & Distribution, Finance, Human Resources, Plant Maintenance and Materials Management. Each module handles specific business tasks on its own, but is linked to the others where applicable.
SAP R/3 functionality is structured using its own proprietary language called ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming). R/3 offers a complete development environment where developers can either modify existing SAP code to modify existing functionality or develop their own functions, whether reports or complete transactional systems within the SAP framework. ABAP’s main interaction with the database system is via open SQL statements. These statements allow a developer to query, update, or delete information from the database.
The most difficult part of SAP R/3 is its implementation when specific needs and resources of the company must be considered. SAP R/3 is never used the same way in any two places. Some companies implement only a few modules of SAP while others may want numerous modules. Due to the complexity of implementation, companies that implement this ERP system recruit highly skilled SAP consultants to do the job.
SAP is table drive customization software. It allows businesses to make rapid changes in their business requirements with a common set of programs. User-exits are provided for business to add in additional source code. Tools such as screen variants are provided to let you set fields attributes whether to hide, display and make them mandatory fields.
The sole purpose of a SAP or any other ERP system is to provide a suite of tightly integrated, large-scale business applications.
iGrid Soft provides training in the SAP R/3 modules:
If you need more information please check SAP Help home page.