ERP Functional Consultants – Is it the right career choice for you?

At Agile Solutions Pvt. Ltd., we are constantly in search of skilled and enthusiastic resources – in other words – ‘agile’ candidates. The word ‘Consultants’, although a bit misleading, does not mean a part-time job or an outsourced position and is still a full-time job opportunity with organizational benefits.

In this blog, we will be discussing what it takes to become a Functional ERP Consultant, what their roles are, and your career path as a functional consultant, and many more.

What does it take to be a Functional ERP consultant?

A Functional ERP consultant is someone with deep knowledge of the various components of an ERP system and with the ability to understand business processes and align the system to them. The consultant must be able to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the system and should also be adept at improving the processes and solutions to improve organizational efficiency. An ERP consultant is responsible for the implementation of the system. They help in identifying various issues that arise during the process of implementation. Implementation of an ERP system can help businesses streamline processes and improve efficiency while maintaining growth in both the long-term and short-term. It is extremely important for a functional consultant to understand the various departments and processes involved and act as a catalyst in strengthening an organization’s operations. An experienced and functional ERP consultant can help develop a sound strategy of implementation to ensure that not only does the system work seamlessly, but also is fully accessible to its users.

What do Functional ERP consultants do? What are their roles and responsibilities?

It is a question that we hear often, especially from our candidates. First and foremost, we understand that this is a new term for you and an exciting new career opportunity as well. ERP consultants are categorized into two as technical and functional consultants. To become a functional consultant, you must have a strong grasp of your roles and responsibilities. We have listed down a few that you must know to excel in this field:

Management

One of the major duties of an ERP functional consultant is to manage the complete life cycle of an ERP implementation from start to delivery. Here, the consultant is required to understand the business process and comply in completing the task. The roles and responsibilities of functional consultants starts from understanding the business to the project management and managing different phases of ERP implementation. Functional consultant manages the task including customizations, integrations, support, understanding of fields, forms, workflows, etc.

ERP support

After an ERP system is completely implemented, there comes an important role of a functional consultant. Support is a vital and sensitive aspect in any ERP system. Once the system is deployed, the vendor must ensure that clients get the support they need in terms of bug fixes, system errors, and unprecedented disasters. This is where the functional consultants come in – they are required to ensure that the organization implements a complete solution that meets their requirements. They are also responsible for leading the project through the development and the support phase where they will be dealing with the difficulties an organization faces in the system.

Enhance Business Processes

ERP consultants are required to ensure the business processes used by an organization are optimized for better growth. As a functional consultant, an individual should  be skilled at requirements analysis, defining the objectives of ERP, and transforming organizational processes. One of the primary expectations from a functional consultant is that they must be proficient at evaluating a business, its pain points, and capable of suggesting an optimum solution that solves these challenges for the organization. Along with that, the functional consultants should also be able to handle the complex issues that may arise during the time of implementation. Of course, functional consultants are required to constantly liaise with client representatives and subject matter experts throughout the implementation process to improve their understanding of the scope of the project.

Training

A system is not considered effective unless its users know how to benefit from it. After the complete implementation of an ERP system, a functional consultant should also train the business employees to use the system. This may involve preparing documentation, user manuals, and conducting online or in-person training sessions for the users. Since the solution may be completely new for the business and its employees, it becomes crucial for you to help them understand every module and feature. Here, as a functional consultant, it falls under your responsibility to train staff based on their tasks.

Documentation

One of the main post-implementation responsibilities of a functional ERP consultant is documentation. A functional consultant should document every aspect of their work from a client meeting, requirements gathering, requirement analysis, implementation, to the post-implementation training sessions and support. Since the system is your brainchild, you are the knowledge base of the entire system. These documents, once created and validated, will be beneficial for future references and can also be shared or promoted as collaterals.

Are there any requirements regarding Academic qualification for the job?

Yes, a functional ERP consultant is expected to have at least a bachelor’s degree in management stream or similar fields of study.

Along with academic qualifications, we expect candidates to have basic computer skills and accounting knowledge. Since functional consultants are required to fill in communication gaps between clients and the development team, strong soft skills and communication skills are highly preferred. Also, a basic understanding of government rules regarding taxation is preferred.

What are my career opportunities as a functional ERP consultant?

Starting from a trainee, you will be able to pave your path in the field of ERP as a Senior functional Consultant, and even as a global consultant. As the functional consultant is directly in touch with the businesses, you will have great networking opportunities, development of problem-solving abilities, and have an opportunity to understand the business models across different industries and sectors.

Also, the demand for a functional consultant is growing day by day as there are many companies joining their ecosystem, so the knowledge and skill that you have as a functional consultant will serve you well in long term.

Not to mention the fact that having a functional consultant with strong business and technical knowledge in the team increases the company’s credibility as a vendor and helps build trust among customers with the message that their growth is in the right hands.

How will Agile Solutions help me in my career path?

At Agile, we provide 15 days training package for freshers where our Senior consultant share their expertise.

As a mandatory orientation, this prepares newly hired Technical and Functional Consultants to take on client projects with confidence. It covers:

• Interactive training from experienced mentors
• Weekly Assessments to evaluate your performance
• Competitive tasks & assignments
• Workshops to enhance your research skills

A newly hired employee is designated as a trainee for the period of 3 months where they will practice the fundamentals of consulting. In this 3 months’ time duration, you will learn various modules including Working with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and User Interface, Financial Management, Sales Module, Purchase Module, Warehouse Management Configuration & Setup Localization.

At Agile, we have devised a range of team-building efforts such as these. No wonder our reputation is built on the back of our strong, responsive, and ‘agile’ team members who work relentlessly to serve customers with industry-leading business solutions.

As a leading business solution provider company, our primary focus is on offering consulting, implementation, and support services of ERP, CRM, and BI to companies from small and mid-scale businesses to large corporations. We are a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in ERP, which means that we are awarded one of Microsoft’s highest recognitions for the quality and consistency of our services. Join our standout team to become a part of an international-standard workforce. Take your first step by applying for our opening positions!

If you wish to know more about Agile and our services, explore our website. Click here.