How To Select The Proper SAP Module For Your Business

January 7th, 2009
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 various individual functional software modules. These modules mix to execute every of the functional and management tasks of any company. All personalized working module addresses particular activities on it’s own, but is associated 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 processing, 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 equipment used in the production operation, data about machine usage and possible downtime etc.

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

Accounting Modules:

This module executes every last financial and accounting actions or in other words this module meets every last financial and accounting needs of the company. It is automated to offer management and reporting of ledger, receivables & payments etc. which in turn allows balance sheets and Profit & Loss (P&L) accounts to be self updated, continuously. Thus, the elementary advantage of this module is that the book reflects the real situation. The several elements of this module are:

Accounting Module Examples

Financial Accounting: Accounting functions like 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 data to bring out issues in marketing strategies.

Treasury: Corporate banking, Money, budget management etc.

Capital Investment Management: Helps finance organizations 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 defines, Human Resource Modules allows a complete HR management system, dealing fields such as personnel preparation and enlisting, 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 adjustment of procedure lines alternatively of modules for solutions, SAP now are moving away from describing their system as a set of modules, and now are applying the term results. These Fresh Dimension Products can stand exclusively or be integrated with R/3. Its profits include elimination of duplication, discontinuity and redundancy in data and growths the return on investment made on IT implementations. It delivers quality information designed for the Enterprise as a completely Faster and cheaper which in turn presents quality info to make a quality corporation. These results 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.

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