Best SAP Modules to Choose for a Right Career

For Freshers getting into SAP and want to have a good career, They always wonder as to which is the best SAP Modules.

Well, what’s your area of expertise? This will help you in get steered correctly into SAP. Because, SAP is a vast area and finding the right SAP Modules to see is another big problem.  Everyone get into doing Programming, Administration, Material Management, Sales and Distribution, Finance, Warehousing…! Every business process is one big area. So, ask yourself where do you fit in.

I would rather say, if you have any programming experience… go into SAP ABAP. If not, try working out in any of the functional areas and then make your move into that SAP Domain.

Here is a brief overview of most of the modules and there processes in SAP. This should give you a brief outline of what each module is about and also makes you understand as to what each module does.

Materials Management (MM)

The grouping of management functions supporting the complete cycle of material flow, from the purchase and internal control of production materials to the planning and control of work in process to the warehousing, shipping, and distribution of the finished product.

Sales and Distribution (SD)

This module includes the business processes used to sell and deliver products and services to customers and business partners. Information about the product and customers (both of which are stored in the master data) is used in SD.

Production Planning (PP)

This module supports functions for the overall level of manufacturing output and other activities to best satisfy the current planned levels of sales (sales plan or forecasts), while meeting general business objectives of profitability, competitive customer lead times as expressed in the overall business plan. One of its primary purposes is to establish production rates that will achieve management’s objective of satisfying customer demand, by maintaining, raising or lowering inventories or backlogs, while usually attempting to keep the workforce relatively stable.

Plant Maintenance (PM)

Supports the planning, processing, and completion of plant maintenance tasks and allows for planners to schedule routine maintenance in a way that is least disruptive for manufacturing and sales requirements.

Quality Management (QM)

Supports the quality inspection aspects of the business, including purchasing, research, and sales. Allows for buyers and manufacturing personnel to track inspection lots and test results

Financial Accounting (FI)

Designed for automated management and external reporting of General Ledger (GL), Accounts Receivable (AR), Accounts Payable (AP), and Asset Management (AM) with a user-defined chart of accounts. External reporting, such as income statement and balance sheet Represents cost and revenue flows throughout the organization. Aids in organizational decision making and supports internal reporting such as cost center reports.

Asset Accounting (AA)

Asset accounting provides tools to acquire, depreciate, evaluate, and retire assets. The kinds of assets covered are fixed, low value, leased, and real estate. Low value assets depreciate in the year they are bought and are often aggregated as a single asset master record. Depreciation often needs to be tracked (for more than one reason), so SAP R/3 allows you to depreciate the same piece of equipment in several parallel ways.

Human Resources (HR)

Takes care of payroll, time recording, applicant administration, and organization data. It supports the planning and control of personnel activities.

Industry Solutions (IS)

These industry solutions is scaleable and flexible, and can be tailored to the specific needs of each business. Examples are:

• SAP Aerospace and Defense
• SAP Automotive
• SAP Banking
• SAP Chemicals
• SAP Consumer Products
• SAP Engineering and Construction
• SAP Telecommunication
• SAP Utilities
• SAP Service Provider

Work Flow (WF)

Links the integrated SAP R/3 application modules with cross-application technologies, tools, and services, including e-mail. Work flow allows you to set up the followings:

• Maintain your company’s organization structure according to responsibility.
• Link the predefined standard tasks with the authorized agents in your company.
• Activate existing event receiver links between triggering events and consuming workflow tasks.
• Name a technical person responsible for each standard workflow template.

Project System (PS)

Helps you to plan, manage, control, and figure the cost of Research and development projects, and so on. The common tasks revolve around allocation of people, resources, and money within the framework of schedule and task relationships.

Environmental Health & Safety

EH&S has the following sub-modules:

• Product Safety
• Dangerous Goods
• Waste
• Industrial Hygiene
• Occupational Health.

AM Asset Management
Involved in managing and supervising the fixed assets. Purchasing, Depreciation and Investment of Assets.

PS Project System
Designed to support the planning, control and monitoring of long-term, highly complex projects with defined goals.

FS Insurance
SAP for Insurance enables insurance companies to handle customer and market requirements and simultaneously control profitability and economic viability.

• FS-CD Collections and disbursements
• FS-CM Claims management
• FS-CS Commissions management
• FS-PM Policy management
• FS-RI Reinsurance management
• FS-PE Payment Engine (Banking Payments Solution still in development)

HR Human Resource Management

HR has the following Modules

• HR-OM Organizational Management
• HR-PA Personnel Administration
• HR-PB Recruitment
• HR-PD Personnel Development
• HR-PT Time Management
• HR-PY Payroll Management
• HR-TEM Training and Event Management

HCM Human Capital Management
Stock of productive skills and technical knowledge embodied in labor.

LE Logistics Execution
The Logistics Execution System (LES), a major component of the supply chain management (SCM) application from SAP, allows an adminstrator to manage the information and processes involved in all stages of the supply chain, from procuring raw materials to distributing finished products. LES connects SCM processes involved in procurement, order processing, production, storage, inventory management, shipping, and sales.

PLM Product Lifecycle Management
Product life cycle management is the process of managing the entire life cycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal.

QM Quality Management

A quality control and information system supporting quality planning, inspection, and control for manufacturing and procurement.

SCM Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the operations of the supply chain as efficiently as possible. Supply Chain Management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption.

SRM Supplier Relationship Management
Supplier relationship management is a comprehensive approach to managing an enterprise’s interactions with the organizations that supply the goods and services it uses. The goal of supplier relationship management (SRM) is to streamline and make more effective the processes between an enterprise and its suppliers just as customer relationship management is intended to streamline and make more effective the processes between an enterprise and its customers.

BW Business Information Warehouse
Business Intelligence, analytical, reporting and Data Warehousing (DW) solution.

SEM Strategic Enterprise Management
Management techniques, metrics and related tools that companies can use to make strategic decisions.

WM Warehouse Management
Subdivides the “Storage Location”, which is used in the MM Module to define inventory values by location, into “Storage Types” and then into “Storage Bins”. Control of stock to a physical level down to a warehouse bin. Placement and removal rules can be configured, stock counts can be done.

HUM Handling Unit Management
Used as a unique ID for each pallet of stock held in the warehouse.

F&R Advanced Forecasting & Replenishment
Forecasting stocking levels of material, planning the purchases etc.

Considering the Right SAP Modules

Big list isn’t it. So, Just think where your profile fits it and make the correct career move.  But remember, you need to find the correct domain area where you have the experience in, before you jump into choosing the correct SAP Modules.