ERP definition :

It is a company-wide computer software system used to manage and coordinate all the resources, information, and functions of a business from shared data stores. ERP relates to the integrated software infrastructure that supports the entire company business process. ERP refers to a view of a company and all its parts as connected whole, rather than small silos of activity

The term of ERP is originally derived from Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP). MRP evolves into ERP when capacity planning activity and routing become a part of the standard software activity.

NEED OF ERP? The implementation of ERP systems has helped small and mid sized companies, significantly improve their business metrics by process optimization, improving the entire supply chain process, better inventory control, better reporting to take decisions, integration across functionalities and increasing transparency across the company. Purchase department can see the sales department data, Sales department can see inventory data, and top management can see any data on a click of single button.

Role of a Functional Consultant in an End To End Implementation

The functional consultant has to understand the modules they are implementing and the set up and configuration options available, the key skill is being able to map the requirements of the customer to the capabilities of the ERP system. A mistake often made is to try and configure or customize the ERP system to match exactly an existing business process, rather than look to improve the processes.
1. "A functional consultant is expected to generate knowledge about the current business process, design current business flows, study current business processes and its complication - in all we can say that this is getting through with the current business setup. Flow diagrams and DFDs are prepared, all this forms the part of the AS IS document." 2. "Everything configured has to be documented according to their categories in the form of predefined templates; these then have to be approved by the team leads or who ever the consultant is reporting to." 3. "Mapping and GAP analysis is done for each module."

4. "Before starting configuring future business processes in SAP, the DFDs/ERDs are prepared, this documentation is called TO BE, which can be also said as the result of mapping and gap analysis." 5. "Sometimes Functional consultants are also expected to prepare test scripts for testing the configured scenarios. Testing may also include Unit testing, System Integration Testing, Performance Testing, User Acceptance Testing, Regression Testing or any client specific software testing." 6. A configuration document showing all the setting done by the consultant is also comes under the area of role & responsibilities of consultant. 7. "End user manual and user training is also expected from Functional Consultants." 8. There will also be interaction with other modules consultants. 9. Updation of project status to Project Manager & other concerned persons. 10.Interaction with core team members, end users & other team members (consultants) 11.A Functional consultant has to be a good communicator he has to communicate with Customer ERP core team, implementing team, Technical consultant and his project leader.Written communication skill is to be demonstrate by a functional consultant to e-mail to different groups, documentation about the erp, reports generation. Verbal communication is to understand the requirement , interact with customer, to explain and convince the customer.

Role of a Support Consultant

1. Primarily responsible for Handling tickets/tasks and application support to the end-users. 2. When an issue comes to diagnose, analyze and solve it. 3. Also responsible for enhancements. 4. Writing functional specifications and interacting with "ABAPers" to develop any user exits. 5. Raising CRNs and preparing Test Data & its testing. 6. Interaction with client/end users & updating the status. 7. Training the end users and preparing end user training material. 8. There will also be interaction with other modules consultants. 9. Creation of process documents & its updation

Difference between functional and technical consulting

Functional Consultant is the one who has expertise in functional area.Like a Production engineer can offer in expertise in MM(Material Management) or Manufacturing Module has thorough knowledge of Production Processes one who undersatnd the business process of the client and Map the requirement to meet his requirement by tuning the software i.e Module.

Who offer the change requuest management.undertake customization.for Example making use of different table in SAP. Technical consultant is one who actually looking at the things technical part of the software For example connectivity required to update the stock at different application.how stock can be updated by the user is it with IP addresses etc. Technical SAP consultants are generally either programmers or systems administrators.Functional consultants bring value by combining particular business process knowledge, such as financial knowledge, with the "know-how" of configuring the aspect of SAP that pertains to that process knowledge. So for example, a functional SAP FI consultant generally has a financials background, and understands how to configure the FI tables in accordance with a user's business processes Technical Consultant has to deal with reports, Z-programs, smartforms, all coding requirements. But a Functional Consultant has to deal with the modules like MM, FI, PP, SD, PM, HR, etc.

A.I.M. Introduction
August 10, 2007

Oracle A.I.M. Methodology encompasses a project management methodology with documentation templates that support the life cycle of an implementation. The life cycle methodology and documentation templates allow A.I.M. to be a very useful tool for managing implementation projects successfully. The A.I.M. methodology can actually be used for any type IT software implementations however the value of A.I.M is within the documentation template. The software includes the documentation templates, manuals and an html website to manage these templates. This is a depiction of the A.I.M. methodology life cycle:

Oracle AIM Methodology

Oracle AIM Methodology provides the Project Management methodology to be followed while implementing Oracle application. AIM provides the Basic Outline with which the whole Implementation Process needs to be handled after the Contract to Implement the solution is signed with the Customer This has so many steps, documents and Templates and the Implementing Company can decide on which are the steps, documents and Templates to be used There is No Hard and Fast rule you have to use all the documents mentioned in AIM Methodology.

AIM Phases-

AIM projects are conducted in phases. These phases provide quality and control checkpoints to coordinate project activities that have a common goal. During a project phase, your project team will simultaneously be executing tasks from several processes. Definition During Definition, you plan the project, review the organizations business objectives, understand the business processes, and evaluate the feasibility of meeting those objectives under time, resource, and budget constraints. Operation Analysis During Operations Analysis, the project team develops the Business Requirements Scenarios (RD.050) based on deliverables from Definition that are used to assess the level of fit between the detailed business requirements and standard application functionality. Solution Design The purpose of Solution Design is to develop the detailed designs for the new system to meet the future business requirements. During this phase, project team members create detailed Business Procedure Documentation (BP.090). Build The coding and testing of all customizations and other custom software, including application extensions, data conversions, and interfaces, is done during the Build phase. Business system testing is performed to validate that the functionality meets business requirements. Transition During Transition, the project team deploys the new system into the organization. All the elements of the implementation must come together to transition successfully to actual production. The project team trains the users while the technical team configures the Production Environment and converts data. Production Production begins immediately with the production cutover. It marks the last phase of the implementation and the beginning of the system support cycle. A series of refinements and performance measurement steps is included in this final phase.

AIM PROCESSES AIM tasks are organized into processes. Each process represents a related set of objectives, resource skill requirements, inputs, and deliverable outputs. A task can belong to only one process. Project team members are usually assigned to a process according to their specialization and background.

Business Process Architecture Business Process Architecture addresses understanding of the organizations business processes and aligns them with the business requirements and applications to be implemented. Business Requirements Definition Business Requirements Definition defines the business needs that must be met by the implementation project. Document business processes by identifying business events and describing the steps that respond to these events, and then organize processes into scenarios that reflect the business requirements. Business Requirements Mapping Business Requirements Mapping compares the future business requirements to standard application software functionality and identifies gaps that must be addressed to fully meet business needs. Mapping teams are assigned groups of future business processes, usually related by business function. Business Requirements Scenarios (RD.050) is then mapped to application functionality. Application and Technical Architecture During Application and Technical Architecture, you design an information systems architecture that reflects your business vision. Module Design and Build Module Design and Build produces custom application extensions for gaps in functionality identified during Business Requirements Mapping (BR). Custom application extensions include program modules (forms, reports, alerts, and database triggers) that must be designed, built, and tested before they can be incorporated into the new system. Data Conversion Data Conversion defines the tasks and deliverables required to convert legacy data to the Oracle Applications tables. The converted data may be needed for system testing, training, and acceptance testing, as well as for production cutover. Documentation The amount and level of detail of documentation varies by project. The Documentation Requirements and Strategy (DO.010) defines the documentation requirements for the project and establishes which of the optional Documentation tasks are required. Implementation complexity and documentation requirements are closely correlated. Business System Testing Early in the project life-cycle, Business System Testing focuses on linking test requirements back to business requirements and securing project resources needed for testing. It supports utilizing common test information, including data profiles, to promote testing coordination and to minimize duplication of test preparation and execution effort. Performance Testing Performance Testing enables you to define, build, and execute a performance test. It does not

assume a particular scope for the performance test. You can use the same process to define a complex test on an entire system, or a simpler test on a component or subset of the system. You may also initiate the process more than once on a project with differing scope and objectives to test the performance of different aspects of your system. The specific goals of each process and the relative timing within a project may be different, but the method you use may be the same. Adoption and Learning Adoption and Learning establishes a measurement system that provides an evaluation of organizational performance to help make sure that expectations are met during implementation and after production cutover. Production Migration Production Migration moves the company, system, and people to the new enterprise system. Following production cutover, it monitors and refines the production system and plans for the future. The Production Migration process encompasses transition to production readiness, production cutover, and post-production support.