SAP Modules Overview
In the past when people were discussing SAP, the conversation very
quickly boiled down to modules, for example:
SAP
• SAP training courses were structured along SAP module lines so
Modules that you would attend SAP MM 101, 102 and 103. While at the
course you would learn many things about MM, but not much
SAP Modules
about the rest of the SAP system and how SAP MM fits into it.
Introduction
• A conversation with a SAP recruiter might go something like this:
SAP SD
Recruiter … “which SAP Modules do you work with?”
SAP FI Candidate … “well, I have a lot of purchasing process
experience”
SAP CO Recruiter … “yes, but which SAP Modules do you work
with?”
SAP HR Candidate … “well, it’s purchasing functionality … so that
would be, umm, SAP MM, SAP FI and SAP CO mainly”
SAP ABAP Recruiter … “great I have just the job for you”
Candidate … “fantastic, is it purchasing?”
Recruiter … “well it says here that they want an MM, FI
SAP MM
and CO person and that’s you, right?”
SAP BW
Not necessarily! A MM, FI, CO role might include Inventory
or Management (MM), Accounts Receivable (FI) and Profitability
Analysis (CO) – none of which a purchasing person is guaranteed
to have
What Is SAP
• Many programme teams were organised along SAP module
or
lines, so that you would have a FI/CO, an MM and a HR team,
for example. Training courses were (therefore) often prepared
Online and delivered along SAP module lines too. The result of this was
SAP Training that solutions were frequently optimised along SAP module lines,
and less often well integrated, and as for users, well, they were
or pretty much trained up in a SAP module and left to get on with it
post go-live. Fortunately those days are mostly passed, and
Monthly more and more programmes (from design to build to training) are
SAP Access being organised along process lines such as:
Order to Cash (including parts of SD, FI-AR and probably TY as well)
Purchase to Pay (including MM-Purchasing and FI-AP)
Record to Report (FI-GL etc)
SAP now are moving away from describing their system as a set of SAP
Modules, and now are using the term ‘solutions’, which is much better, as
follows:
• Financials
• Human Resources
• Customer Relationship Management
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Product Lifecycle Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Business Intelligence
Go here for Online SAP Training,
and if you are interested in having your own SAP
system available to you 24/7
then check this out SAP Access
If you’re still looking for that list of SAP Modules, here
they are:
SAP FI Module - where FI means
Financial Accounting – essentially
this SAP module delivers your
regulatory ‘books of record’,
including
• General ledger
• Book close
• Tax
• Accounts receivable
• Accounts payable
• Asset Management (SAP
AM)
• Consolidation
• Special ledgers
Go here for more details on the
SAP FI Module, or here for a
4 page SAP FI Tutorial
SAP CO Module - The CO stands for Controlling – basically the SAP
Module which allows you to manage your internal cost/management
accounting, including
• Cost elements
• Cost centres
• Profit centres
• Internal orders
• Activity based costing
• Product costing
Go here for more details on the SAP CO Module, or here for a 4 page
SAP CO Tutorial
SAP PS Module - and PS is Project Systems – this SAP Module is where
you can manage your projects, large and small, including
• Make to order
• Plant shut downs (as a project)
• Third party billing (on the back of a project)
SAP HR Module - ah yes, the HR is for Human Resources ... people are
the important part of this SAP module, including
• Employment history
• Payroll
• Training
• Career management
• Succession planning
Go here for more details on the SAP HR Module
SAP PM Module - where Plant Maintenance is the PM – this SAP module
is where you maintain your equipment (e.g. a machine, an oil rig, an
aircraft etc), including
• Labour
• Material
• Down time and outages
SAP MM Module - one of the most important SAP Modules where MM is
Materials Management - underpins the supply chain, including
• Requisitions
• Purchase orders
• Goods receipts
• Accounts payable
• Inventory management
• BOM’s
• Master raw materials, finished goods etc
Go here for more details on the SAP MM Module
SAP QM Module - and QM stands for Quality Management in this SAP
module – improve the quality of your goods, including
• Planning
• Execution
• Inspections
• Certificates
SAP PP Module - one of the really big SAP modules is Production
Planning – manages your production process, including
• Capacity planning
• Master production scheduling
• Material requirements planning
• Shop floor
SAP SD Module - another one of the large SAP modules is Sales and
Distribution – from order to delivery, including
• RFQ
• Sales orders
• Pricing
• Picking (and other warehouse processes)
• Packing
• Shipping
Go here for more details on the SAP SD Module
SAP BW Module - where BW stands for Business (Data) Warehouse
which includes the following main functions:
• Data extraction from source systems
• Some technical and functional transformation of the data
• Storage of the data in what are called Infoproviders
• Reporting (which uses Infoproviders)
Go here for more details on the SAP BW Module, or here for a 10
page SAP BW Tutorial
SAP ABAP - is not really a module - it stands for Advanced Business
Application Programming and this is the is the structured programming
language for custom development including reports. Go here for more
details on SAP ABAP, or here for some SAP ABAP Tutorials
Go here to see over 200 pages of our best SAP Tutorials, including one
on the SAP FI Module and one on the SAP CO Module. If you need more
go here to find over 450 more pages of free SAP Articles. Go here for
Online SAP Training, and if you are interested in having your own SAP
system available to you 24/7 then check this out SAP Access
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article on the SAP Modules. If
you are interested in learning more, check out the online SAP training
courses offered by Michael Management Corporation
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