Intro to ERP SAP

Question 1

What is a Supply chain?

Answer 1

a system of organizations, people, activities,
information, and resources involved in moving
a product or service from supplier to customer.

Question 2

What are Supply chain activities?

Answer 2

involve the transformation of natural resources, raw materials, and components into a finished product that is delivered to the end customer.

Question 3

What is Supply chain management?

Answer 3

encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third party service providers,
and customers.

Question 4

What is ERP?

Answer 4

ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning
* “It attempts to integrate all departments and
functions across a company onto a single
computer system that can serve all the different
departments’ particular needs.”
* The key is the integrated view of resources
(products, materials, capacity, orders, cash, etc.)
at the enterprise level

Question 5

Information Technology (IT)

Answer 5

• IT facilitates the operations and coordination of a
  supply chain
• It includes hardware and software used
  throughout the supply chain to gather, analyze
  and deliver information
• Effective use of IT has a significant impact on
  supply chain performance nowadays – this is
  why we study ERP/SAP

Question 6

SCM and ERP

Answer 6

• ERP: enterprise-wide resource planning
• SCM: the whole supply chain which covers
  many organizations
• ERP systems can improve data availability and
  integrity within a supply chain, and hence
  improve SCM decision making

Question 7

SAP ERP

Answer 7

• Enables a company to link their business processes
• Ties together disparate business functions (integrated business solution)
• Helps the organization run smoothly
• Real-time environment
• Scalable and flexible

Question 8

SAP ERP: Core Applications

Answer 8

Logistics
* Sales & Distribution
* Enterprise Asset Management (Formerly Plant Maintenance)
* Materials Management
* Production Planning
* Quality Management
Accounting
* Financial Accounting
* Controlling
* Asset Management
* Treasury
Human Capital Management (HR)
* Personnel Management
* Benefits
* Payroll

Question 9

Enterprise Resource Planning (SAP
ERP)

Answer 9

 Enables a company to support and optimize its business processes
 Helps the organization run smoothly
 Real-time environment, Scalable and flexible
 Collections of logically related transactions within
identifiable business functions

Question 10

Data Types
* Master Data

Answer 10

Data that is relatively stable
* Materials, Customers, Vendors

Question 11

• Transaction Data

Answer 11

– Data that is relatively temporary
– Stored at various stages of a business process
* Customer orders, purchase orders, production orders,
customer payments

Question 12

Advantages of SAP ERP

Answer 12

• Integration
• Standardized processes based on successful
  experiences
• Business process re-engineering
• Non-redundant data
• Automatic international conversions
• Complete audit trail
• Open system
• Sophisticated management and monitoring capabilities
• Workflow capabilities

Question 13

Disadvantages of SAP ERP

Answer 13

• Expensive
• Complex
• Demands highly trained staff
• Very lengthy implementation times
• With transactions, not many “delete” options, so
  make sure things look good!