{"id":2860,"date":"2015-05-15T11:45:54","date_gmt":"2015-05-15T06:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sketharaman.com\/blog\/?p=2860"},"modified":"2021-11-08T15:17:38","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T09:47:38","slug":"the-more-erp-changes-the-more-it-remains-the-same","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sketharaman.com\/blog\/2015\/05\/15\/the-more-erp-changes-the-more-it-remains-the-same\/","title":{"rendered":"The More ERP Changes, The More It Remains The Same"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"erpctw03\"<\/a>I was recently talking to an SAP consultant who has been in this field for close to a decade and is currently employed with one of the world’s largest SAP implementation partners.<\/p>\n

I was tickled by a few things he told me about the current state-of-affairs in the SAP world:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. As an FI lead, he must be on call 24\/7 during his customer’s monthly closings<\/li>\n
  2. The customer starts their payroll run only after the HR consultant reaches onsite<\/li>\n
  3. Focus is on implementing the core modules SD, MM, FI and PP. CO still gets postponed to the elusive “next phase”<\/li>\n
  4. Process-oriented, cross-module groupings like Order-to-Cash<\/em>, Procure-to-Pay<\/em> and Hire-to-Retire<\/em> are only used for marketing and presales. Actual implementation happens module-wise<\/li>\n
  5. Consultant affiliation – and allocation – are still based on modules. Requests for cross-module expertise are rare. If and when they do arise, they’re fobbed off with the standard response, “that’s not how SAP works”<\/li>\n
  6. Core modules still use Windows – not browser – GUIs and support remote user access via Citrix Metaframe.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For\u00a0all the changes that ERP drives in a customer organization, it looks like the world of ERP itself hasn’t changed much since I entered it two decades ago!<\/p>\n

    If you’re wondering why this is the case, Dilbert may have the answer:<\/p>\n

    \"erpctw02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    On a more serious note, let me simply repeat what the aforementioned consultant told me: “SAP is a business enabler. It can’t change much when the underlying business dynamics continue to be complicated”.<\/p>\n

    Personally, I’m pleased with #3 and #6 because:<\/p>\n