ERP Domain Knowledge

ERP Domain Knowledge Skill

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