SAP is the short form of Systems, Applications and Products. SAP is not simply the name of worlds 1 of the widest software development corporation but too the name of the software product developed by this enterprise. SAP AG, the authorized name of the organisation since it was shaped in Germany, earlier thought of providing customers with a tool with which they can interact with a single master info base for each and every application needed across the organisation.

The idea of the tool become practical in the form of a financial accounting system identified SAP R/1, the first version of SAPs iconic enterprise software. The improved version of this application, SAP R/2, was set up towards the end of 1970s, which was mainframe based business application software. Afterwards, SAP AG launched a client -server version of the software named SAP R/3, after the advent of distributed customer -server computing.

SAP R/3 Functionality:

SAP applications, made around their current R/3 system allows R/3 to treat all performance and management tasks throughout the organization. That implies, SAP R/3 provide the users with the tool to supervise financial, asset, and cost accounting, production processes and materials, personnel, plants, and archived documents. It operates on Advance Business Application Programming (ABAP), which is a 4th generation programming language. The R/3 system is compatible with various platforms including Windows 2000 and applies the client/server model.

SAP R/3 Modules:

SAP R/3 is made up of whatsoever individual operational software modules. These modules combine to execute the functional and management tasks of any enterprise. Each individual working module manages particular activities on it's own, but is related to the others where applicable. The most wide used modules are - Logistics, Accounting and Human Resources.

Logistic Module:

Logistics is the way of supplementary a process from starting to finish on request e.g. delivering a product at its desirable location, on request. Different tasks needed in this process are Sales and Distribution, Production Planning, Materials Management, Plant Maintenance and Quality Management etc among others, each of which are integrated by Logistic module. The varied components of this module and illustration of their functions are:

Logistic Module

Sales and Distribution module: Presales support, customer enquiry processing, quotation processing, sales order processing, delivery working, billing and sales information system.

Material Management module: Purchasing processes, warehouse management, inventory, invoicing etc.

Production Planning module: Planning & organizing production operation e.g. transport and storage of raw materials, by-products and waste etc.

Plant Maintenance module: Repair of buildings, maintenance of tools used in the production operation, information about machine usage and possible downtime etc.

Quality Management module: Every operations linked to the quality assurance of the product.

Accounting Modules:

This module does every last financial and accounting actions or in another words this module plays every financial and accounting needs of the corporation. It is self-activating to cater management and reporting of ledger, receivables & payments etc. which in turn allows balance sheets and Profit & Loss (P&L) accounts to be self updated, ceaselessly. Consequently, the fundamental reward of this module is that the book reflects the real situation. The several factors of this module are:

Accounting Module Examples

Financial Accounting: Accounting functions example balance sheet, Profit & Loss statements, Compliance with accounting regulations etc.

Controlling: Controls cost as well as corporations targets, Provides information needed for decision making and future preparation.

Enterprise Controlling: Collates internal information with market info to bring out matters in marketing strategies.

Treasury: Corporate banking, Money, budget management etc.

Capital Investment Management: Aids finance corporations in their capital investments and tracking.

Project System: Project Management I, Project budgeting, Project execution/integration, Information system, Operative structures, Project planning etc.

Human Resources Modules

As the words itself defines, Human Resource Modules allows a complete HR management system, dealing fields such as personnel preparation and enlisting, personnel and salary administration, payroll and personnel development.

Beginning, SAP executions as well as its preparation were arranged on module lines. For example, in a training class on Logistics, you would read many things about SD such as SD-MD, SD-GF, SD-SLS etc but not much about the remaining of the SAP system and how SD fits into it. So, the integration 'tween modules was completely absent. This applied to lead to that, the solutions were optimise on the modules, but lacked in integration. Hence, to accomplish that integration, programs are now being organized along the procedure 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)

With adjustment of procedure lines alternatively of modules for solutions, SAP now are moving away from describing their system as a set of modules, and now are applying the term results. These Fresh Dimension Products can stand exclusively or be integrated with R/3. Its profits include elimination of duplication, discontinuity and redundancy in data and growths the return on investment made on IT implementations. It delivers quality information designed for the Enterprise as a completely Faster and cheaper which in turn presents quality info to make a quality corporation. These results are:

Financials

Human Resources

Customer Relationship Management

Supplier Relationship Management

Product Lifecycle Management

Supply Chain Management

Business Intelligence

Conclusion:

SAP is an Company Wide Business Answer. This stands for that organizations functioning SAP can in effect integrate all of its business actions taking on finance, purchasing, sales, human resources etc. This integration enables each business proceedings in an organisation are available to each fields of that enterprise and there is no duplicate of information in separate systems.