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)

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Requisition → Approval → PO → Receipt → Invoice → 3-Way Match → Payment

Order-to-Cash (O2C)

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Sales Order → Credit Check → Fulfillment → Shipping → Invoice → Collection

Record-to-Report (R2R)

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Transactions → Journal Entries → Period Close → Reconciliation → Reporting

Hire-to-Retire (H2R)

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Requisition → Recruitment → Hire → Onboard → Develop → Retire/Term

Plan-to-Produce

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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