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Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of an ERP consultant. Feel free to use our ERP consultant job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as an ERP consultant.

 

Who is an ERP Consultant?

Big organizations and businesses require a tremendous amount of planning for daily organizational tasks. This is what Enterprise Resource Planning refers to. As such, ERP consultants are crucial to the growth of firms and enterprises. ERP refers to a suite of software that institutes and businesses use to manage day-to-day activities. These activities range from accounting, budgeting, procurement, and project management to risk management, compliance, and supply chain operations. ERP systems can be in the cloud, on the company premises, or a combination of the two. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is business process management software that allows an organization to use integrated applications that automate many functions related to technology, services, and human resources thus freeing up the company workplace. ERP was created to solve the management needs of all business processes. The systems work together to process business data and are crucial in the management of thousands of businesses across all industries.

 

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) consultant is either a contract employee or an employee who is part of a company that is hired to implement, upgrade, or support an ERP system. The main function of the ERP consultant is to help organizations move to ERP software. A successful ERP consultant can understand a client’s business process to determine where ERP systems would be most useful. An organization knows it has a good ERP consultant when it is capable of communicating with users at all levels of the organization. The ERP consultant has an in-depth knowledge of the different solutions. They understand the technical and functional aspects of ERP and can modify and customize the solution to meet the customer’s needs and are responsible for the successful integration of the software in the company. Their primary role is to ensure their ERP software runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible and develop and oversee solutions for any shortcomings. Hence, an ERP consultant is paramount to the success of a good business or corporation’s digital transformation. They develop and oversee business analysis and are vital to the ERP system of an organization. An Enterprise Resource Planning consultant identifies the strength and weaknesses of an ERP product and provides suggestions to improve them.

An ERP consultant saves you time and money in several different ways. Since one of their main goals is to simplify business processes, they can help save an organization a tremendous amount of time. Another way they save your business time is by increasing the productivity and ease of work for your team which creates space to dedicate to other activities. An ERP consultant also has a vast knowledge of the different software available and an overall comprehensive vision of the market. They can advise and guide you while making sure that you dominate and capitalize on sectors and fields. Keeping that in mind, a good Enterprise Resource Planning consultant will keep the ERP project on track by following the path of methodology, understanding, guiding the client, and mitigating project risks. In most cases, the ERP consultant offers a complete solution covering all aspects of your business process and analyzes how it will fit your company best, installing, and integrating it and providing technical support. An Enterprise Resource Planning consultant is there as an advisor and a good consultant should in essence give advice. Good consultants value their expertise and demand high standards. They also recognize and avoid pitfalls such as scope creep, inadequate testing, and poor data cleansing. An ERP functional consultant is required to know about the business environment flow and processes of a company including the betterment of all business processes.

 

ERP Consultant Job Description

The ERP consultant will be primarily responsible for implementing and providing support for ERP systems for businesses that require software to handle their daily planning and tasks. They will analyze the systems and work directly with clients and management to define system requirements. Here are some of the duties and responsibilities of the Enterprise Resource Planning consultant;

• System analysis: For organizations with no ERP system in place, the consultant will analyze their business processes and gather the requirements to implement the software, and make sure it works in harmony with the business. For organizations that already have ERP software in place, the first job of the ERP consultant will be to examine the current system to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses before they can develop ways to optimize.
• Plan for the future: An ERP consultant learns the company’s hopes for the future of their business. During this process, they look for any areas in need of improvement or streamlining. Though they offer their insights and suggestions on potential solutions, they also take suggestions from those with a good understanding of the company’s current workforce and processes to better understand the solutions that would most benefit the company.
• Design and implementation: After learning the company’s goals and what needs improvement, Enterprise Resource Planning consultants use their expert knowledge of ERP systems to create a system designed to meet company goals. They help design an employee training program for the new system. They manage the system’s installation and implementation and sometimes oversee functionality testing.
• User training and support: After the software and the solution implementation, the consultant needs to educate the company members on how to utilize it in its most effective way. Without this critical skill, your team members can be left unaware of how to use the software and consequently make your business lose time and money.
• Technical support and upgrades: The ERP consultant will be responsible for performing daily maintenance on the ERP system and installing new upgrades and testing for bugs. System configuration and data migration will be part of the responsibilities as well.
• Project development and presentation: The ERP consultant will coordinate with other company branches to ensure that any upgrades to the system satisfy their needs. They will then prepare a demonstration to make sure the relevant company management understands what has been done.

  

Qualifications

Businesses require a long list of processes and functions to both complete daily tasks and achieve long-term company goals. ERP consultants specialize in creating and designing software systems to streamline those processes so the company can focus on those tasks and goals. Understanding the qualifications of an ERP consultant can help you decide whether this is the right career for you or if your company could benefit from hiring one. Thus, the requirements for an ERP consultant include;

• Education: To become an ERP consultant, you will generally require a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in a computer-related field such as computer science or information technology. Many Enterprise Resource Planning consultants may hold a degree in business management and administration as well. Generally, technical ERP consultants will need to decide which ERP they want to specialize in. Each ERP has a different technology stack; so once you decide if you will focus on Oracle or SAP, you can think of getting further certifications.
• A minimum of two years of experience as an Enterprise Resource Planning consultant in a similar industry is an added advantage.
• Extensive knowledge of business processes, ERP development tools, and coding language is another employability requirement for ERP consultants.
• Certification: Certification is important for an ERP consultant. Employers and recruiters favor certified ERP consultants over uncertified ones. The following certifications can suffice;

1. 1. Oracle’s SaaS ERP Certification paths.
   2. SAP ERP Business Process Integration Certifications
   3. SAP ERP Management Accounting Certifications.

 

Essential Skills

An ideal candidate for the ERP consultant position will be a technical-minded person who can understand the complex system and juggle multiple systems at the same time. They will be flexible and will need to incorporate multiple perspectives and needs into a cohesive whole. As the field evolves fast, the job changes frequently and requires a fast-thinking individual. In addition, some specific skills are needed such as;

• Technical/coding skills: The job of an ERP consultant is based on troubleshooting and upgrading the ERP software. As such, an individual needs extensive knowledge of software and coding and a readiness to learn new programs as they are introduced and incorporated.
• Teamwork and leadership: The ERP consultant is responsible for coordinating the needs of each of the company’s divisions. They must be able to lead meetings to collect information and then unite these visions into a cohesive whole for the entire company.
• Problem-solving skills: An ERP consultant will be on call to handle any issues with the Enterprise Resource Planning software. They will need to think creatively and resolve problems to ensure the smoothest possible experience for users of the ERP software.
• Communication and presentation skills: The ERP consultant is responsible for presenting a full plan to management as well as for teaching the ins and outs of the upgraded system to employees. As such, they will need strong communication skills to get complex ideas across in an easy-to-understand fashion.

 

How to Become an ERP Consultant

There is no one specific career path to becoming an ERP consultant. Individuals with the right skills and enough knowledge of both computer systems and business practices may become ERP consultants when given the right training. However, if you are hoping to become an ERP consultant, there are a few common steps you can take to achieve your career goals. When choosing to become an Enterprise Resource Planning consultant, consider the following steps;

• Earn a relevant bachelor’s degree: While there are no specific educational requirements for ERP consultants, many employers prefer to hire those with a bachelor’s degree. This displays a strong background in the skills and knowledge required to complete the job effectively. When becoming an ERP consultant, consider a degree in a relevant field such as computer science, information technology, business, or finance.
• Choose a specialty in your field: As an ERP consultant, you may be required to choose a specialty within your field. Determine which part of the ERP consultant field you feel strongest in and continue taking active steps toward growing in your chosen ERP consultant specialty.
• Learn additional skills: With a degree in information technology or similar, it may be helpful to supplement your knowledge of computers with experience or capabilities in the business world. Consider an internship in a business setting to learn how businesses work and grow your skillset to include those useful for understanding the details of a business’s daily operations
• Get an entry-level position as an ERP consultant: Once you have acquired a bachelor’s degree, you will typically begin your career as an entry-level ERP consultant. Depending on the type of ERP consultant role you’re pursuing, you may want to explore certification
• Earn an ERP certification: ERP certifications may not be necessary for finding a job as a consultant, but they can help improve your resume when applying for the position. ERP certifications are available in many areas of ERP including specific modules for their implementation. Certification usually requires completing several weeks of coursework before passing an examination and you can complete many of these certifications online. Accredited universities and institutes offer certifications as well as independent companies unaffiliated with any accreditation.
• Advance in your ERP consultant career: Following entry-level, there are several ERP consultant career path levels to advance into. It can take two years for an entry-level ERP consultant to progress to the next seniority level. The consultant position requires approximately five years of experience at each level to advance. It may be necessary to receive additional education such as a master’s degree in a related field.

                        

Where to work

Big organizations and businesses require a tremendous amount of planning for daily organization tasks. At a certain point, these organizations need to implement a way to handle all their planning and daily tasks neatly and effectively to enable them to have more time to do other important tasks. Hence, they hire Enterprise Resource Planning consultants to implement and customize ERP software to benefit their business. Computer firms, Information Technology companies, and communication agencies are some of the corporations or industries that hire ERP consultants. In addition, an ERP consultant can work independently as a freelancer. However, most freelance ERP consultants often need to complete advanced degrees, get certified, and accumulate years of experience.

                        

ERP Consultant Salary Scale

The annual salary that a junior-level ERP consultant can expect is around $55,000 annually. ERP consultants with a few years of experience can see this amount go up to almost $83,000 per year while those at the peak of their careers earn an average of $124,000 yearly. Of course, these numbers are heavily influenced by deciding factors such as experience, the size of the company, and also the region. Relatively, the average freelancer hourly rate for an Enterprise Resource Planning consultant is $147 per hour.

Consulting and Strategy

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