Purpose
Provide comprehensive ERP domain knowledge for analyzing requirements in enterprise resource planning systems across core business functions.
ERP Core Modules
1. Finance & Accounting
General Ledger (GL):
- Chart of Accounts (COA) structure
- Journal entries and posting
- Period close and year-end close
- Financial reporting (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow)
- Multi-company and consolidation
- Inter-company transactions
Accounts Payable (AP):
- Vendor master data
- Invoice processing
- 3-way matching (PO, Receipt, Invoice)
- Payment processing (check, EFT, wire)
- Vendor aging reports
- 1099 reporting (US)
Accounts Receivable (AR):
- Customer master data
- Invoice generation
- Credit management
- Payment application
- Collections management
- Customer aging reports
Fixed Assets:
- Asset acquisition and capitalization
- Depreciation calculation (straight-line, declining balance)
- Asset transfers and disposals
- Asset reporting
Key Metrics: Days Payable Outstanding (DPO), Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), Cash Conversion Cycle
2. Human Resources (HR)
Core HR:
- Employee master data
- Organizational structure
- Position management
- Employee lifecycle (hire, transfer, terminate)
- Compliance and reporting
Payroll:
- Pay calculation
- Tax withholding
- Deductions (benefits, garnishments)
- Paycheck/direct deposit
- Tax reporting (W-2, 1099)
Time & Attendance:
- Time entry and tracking
- Overtime calculation
- Leave management (PTO, sick, FMLA)
- Shift scheduling
Benefits Administration:
- Benefit plans and enrollment
- Open enrollment
- Life events processing
- COBRA administration
Recruitment:
- Job requisitions
- Applicant tracking
- Interview scheduling
- Offer management
- Onboarding
Key Metrics: Turnover rate, Time-to-hire, Cost-per-hire, Absence rate
3. Supply Chain Management (SCM)
Procurement:
- Purchase requisitions
- Request for Quote (RFQ)
- Purchase orders
- Vendor selection and management
- Contract management
- Procurement analytics
Inventory Management:
- Inventory tracking (lot, serial, location)
- Stock counts and adjustments
- Inventory valuation (FIFO, LIFO, weighted average)
- Min/max and reorder points
- ABC analysis
- Multi-warehouse management
Warehouse Management:
- Receiving and put-away
- Picking and packing
- Shipping and delivery
- Bin/location management
- Wave planning
Order Management:
- Sales order entry
- Order promising (ATP)
- Order fulfillment
- Backorder management
- Returns and credits
Key Metrics: Inventory turnover, Order fill rate, Perfect order rate, Supplier lead time
4. Manufacturing
Bill of Materials (BOM):
- Product structure
- Component quantities
- Phantom assemblies
- Engineering change management
Work Orders:
- Production scheduling
- Work order creation
- Shop floor control
- Material consumption
- Labor tracking
- Work order completion
Routing:
- Operations sequence
- Work centers
- Standard times
- Setup and run times
Production Planning:
- Master Production Schedule (MPS)
- Material Requirements Planning (MRP)
- Capacity planning
- Demand forecasting
Quality Management:
- Inspection plans
- Quality checks
- Non-conformance reporting
- Corrective actions
Key Metrics: OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), Cycle time, Yield rate, Scrap rate
5. Project Management
Project Accounting:
- Project setup and budgeting
- Time and expense tracking
- Revenue recognition
- Project billing
- Work breakdown structure (WBS)
Resource Management:
- Resource allocation
- Utilization tracking
- Skill matching
Key Metrics: Project profitability, Utilization rate, Budget variance
ERP Integration Points
Common Integrations
- Banking: Payment files, bank reconciliation
- E-commerce: Orders, inventory sync
- CRM: Customer data, quotes, orders
- EDI: Trading partner transactions
- Tax software: Tax calculation, filing
- BI/Analytics: Reporting, dashboards
- Payroll services: ADP, Paychex
Integration Patterns
- Real-time API: Order entry, inventory checks
- Batch files: Daily/weekly data sync
- EDI/XML: Standard formats (EDIFACT, X12)
- iPaaS: Integration platforms (MuleSoft, Boomi)
ERP Business Processes
Procure-to-Pay (P2P)
Requisition → Approval → PO → Receipt → Invoice → 3-Way Match → Payment
Order-to-Cash (O2C)
Sales Order → Credit Check → Fulfillment → Shipping → Invoice → Collection
Record-to-Report (R2R)
Transactions → Journal Entries → Period Close → Reconciliation → Reporting
Hire-to-Retire (H2R)
Requisition → Recruitment → Hire → Onboard → Develop → Retire/Term
Plan-to-Produce
Forecast → MRP → Production Schedule → Work Order → Production → Completion
Multi-Company Considerations
- Separate legal entities
- Inter-company transactions
- Transfer pricing
- Consolidation reporting
- Chart of accounts mapping
- Multi-currency handling
Compliance & Security
Financial Compliance
- SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley) - US public companies
- GAAP/IFRS accounting standards
- Audit trails and documentation
- Segregation of duties
Data Security
- Role-based access control
- Field-level security
- Data encryption
- Audit logging
Industry Compliance
- HIPAA (healthcare)
- FDA (pharma, food)
- SOC 2 (service organizations)
- GDPR (data privacy)
Questions for Stakeholders
Scope
- Which modules are in scope?
- Multi-company requirements?
- Multi-currency requirements?
- Integration points?
Processes
- What are current pain points?
- What processes need redesign?
- What approvals are required?
- What reports are critical?
Data
- Data migration scope?
- Data quality issues?
- Historical data requirements?
Compliance
- Regulatory requirements?
- Audit requirements?
- Security requirements?
Popular ERP Systems
- SAP S/4HANA: Large enterprise, comprehensive
- Oracle Cloud ERP: Cloud-native, global
- Microsoft Dynamics 365: Mid-market, Microsoft ecosystem
- NetSuite: Cloud SMB/mid-market
- Odoo: Open-source, modular
- Infor: Industry-specific solutions
References
- ERP Implementation Best Practices
- APICS/ASCM Body of Knowledge
- Industry-specific ERP guides