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ERP Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why learn ERP?

A. ERP is "a quick ticket to a six-figure income" (Computerworld Magazine), interesting jobs and exciting opportunities. Take the ticket and start the trip: read further.

Q. OK, but what is ERP?

A. Real programmers don’t care about business peoples’ acronyms as long as they are paid $100/hr. True, but you should know this one: ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. "Enterprise Resource Planning is a collection of software programs which ties together all of an enterprise's various functions--HR, finance, manufacturing, sales, etc. This software also lets management conduct analysis of this data to plan production, forecast sales, analyze quality, conduct E-business transactions and so on."

If you want to go beyond "so on" in that official definition by PeopleSoft Corp., let us explain what is not ERP. "Not-ERP" are old computer systems, custom-designed for each company in 1970s and 80s (mainframe, legacy systems, written in COBOL, Assembler).

What do they do? They process, store information, and create reports. They have automated certain business processes like bank transactions in a way similar to an old electric typewriter jumping to a new line by itself when it reaches the page border. Good, but not effective enough! Compare it with modern word-processing software that automatically does spell checking, grammar checking, and removes duplicate words like "the the". In a similar fashion, the new ERP management systems don’t just process information, but optimize business process flows and help to manage the enterprise. These software packages utilize "best practices" in some business processes that are common for many companies (human resources, payroll, supply chain management, corporate finance) or for a certain industry (banking, insurance, manufacturing production).

 A. Think about the typewriter example above: you have to assemble a typewriter yourself before using, and then type on it (old systems) , or you can use the latest Microsoft Word software installed on your PC (ERP). Which do you choose? No wonder that many companies all over the world have embraced the concept of ERP software supporting their business processes, bought and installed new packages, even changed their organizational structures in order to adhere to the functional design of ERP systems. Those companies have achieved a significant increase in productivity and effectiveness as well as savings in payroll expenses. However, the majority systems used by American companies are still old. Therefore annual growth of 30-40% in new ERP installations is expected over the next 10 - 15 years.

 A. So you want to find out more about big piles of money waiting for you. They are right here: without doubt, an extensive growth in new ERP installations creates tremendous employment opportunities. Companies that have used ERP achieved significant savings in payroll expenses by terminating large number of clerks, accountants and technicians. However, these firms require many "new breed" employees to support and run ERP - people who know business processes and have good technical programming skills. They need even more consultants to install, customize, and roll out new releases of ERP packages. Projected total five-year growth in ERP consulting services is 483% (Computerworld magazine).

A. YOU ARE! Success in working with ERP software requires extensive knowledge of business processes as well good programming skills.

Who are those experienced "ERP guys and gals" earning $200 - $500 thousand a year? Neither former rocket scientists nor brain surgeons, but professionals - accountants and engineers who learned computer programming, or computer programmers who learned business processes and functions. Our pledge: a list of BMW dealerships will be immediately mailed to you upon graduation.

Q. What if I don’t have any professional skills? Can I learn ERP?

 A. It requires hard work, but the answer is a definite YES! Five years ago none of those "ERP people" had even heard about ERP. Computer languages used by ERP software packages are very similar to COBOL or Visual Basic, and all programmers need to know business processes they work with. Among "ERP guys and gals" you can find numerous people in their twenties: they are college graduates who learned ERP right out of school, without any work experience. Many of them, as well as older ERP consultants with previous unrelated experience, proudly hold academic degrees in literature, arts, or psychology. Yes, they have worked hard and had less time to party than some of their former classmates and colleagues, but hey, now they can enjoy much more expensive beer!

 A. SAP is yet another acronym for very long and unpronounceable German words. Only experienced SAP programmers can spell it: that is why they are so well paid. Remember, however, to pronounce the acronym as "ESS-EY-PEE", not "sap", or you won’t even get an entry-level job.

SAP is an ERP software package made by a large German company founded by four former IBM employees in 1972. The name of the company is SAP, or (take a deep breath) "Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung".

SAP is a definite market leader: its share in the ERP software market grew to 35% in 1998 with $3.5 billion of annual sales. The fourth largest software company in the world (after Microsoft, IBM and Oracle), SAP ensures continuation of its explosive growth by allocating 20% of revenues and 25% of employees to research and development. The largest market share means the best employment opportunities and higher incomes for SAP professionals.

A. Go for it! It’s much easier to pronounce than the full SAP name!PeopleSoft is a software and IT services company that produces ERP software with the same name for core business functions including human resources management, project management, treasure management, performance measurement, accounting and control, supply chain management, and industry-specific solutions. PeopleSoft holds the third largest ERP market share after SAP and Oracle, but is aggressively (despite the "soft" name) trying to grow its market share by offering new and improved ERP solutions while decreasing software price. PeopleSoft’s market share in Chicagoland is higher than its nationwide average.

Q. What is E-Business?

A. Electronic business. (Time to throw away you mailbox and file drawers?)

A way of conducting business electronically, leveraging technology initiatives such as e-commerce, electronic data interchange (EDI), and electronic funds transfer (EFT). Electronic storefronts, self-service Web applications, and Web-based supply chain integration are a few examples of new e-business opportunities utilized in Enterprise Resource Management.

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