Enterprise Resource Planning - Connecting Companies, Connecting People

This is the era of globalization and technical and economic advancement. Every day you see new companies being set up by entrepreneurs. And every second day, you see more and more companies branching out into sub-organizations and smaller systems. The functions performed by companies and organizations are also multiplying by the hour. This is progress at its best.

But with so much happening all around and that too all at the same time, a system that manages all the data, functions, software, personnel, and hardware and also keeps all the operational units connected at all times is the need of the hour. Such a system is referred to as the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and the person handling and managing this system is known as an Enterprise System Planner.

An Enterprise System Planner has to see to the smooth working, the maintenance, the updating, and the management of the Enterprise Management Planning Software. It is this software that makes connecting all the operations and departments of an organization possible. It links all the sub-systems and all the functions through a common interface. It manages not only the internal resources of a company but also all the external ones.

The work of the Enterprise Resource Planner is the implementation of the ERP in a company. It calls for one to manage all the components of a firm or organization like the human resources (members of the staff and other personnel), the capital and its usage as well as the cash inflow (investment and revenue), the supply chain management, etc.

One must possess excellent programming skills and documentation skills to be able to perform this job well. Ability to interpret data must be sound too. One needs to be great at dealing with people, good negotiation skills are also a requisite to become a successful Enterprise Resource Planner.

With a large number of companies in need of efficient Enterprise Resource Planning nowadays, this has become a very lucrative career option. Each time you are able to successfully implement an Enterprise Resource Planning Software in a company; it gives a large forward thrust to your career in the right direction. But the job is very hectic and the working hours are very long too. One hardly gets any free time or space for themself. It also requires you to stay away from your home often and for long stretches of time.

Enterprise Resource Planners are of two kinds- Functional Consultants who manage the resources and personnel working for a firm and Technical Consultants who see to the management of the database of the firm. Both the kinds can earn anything between 3,00,000 INR and 5,00,000 INR on a yearly basis. The remuneration increases with the increase in time and the increase in your experience.

To work as a Technical Enterprise Resource Planner, one must have sound knowledge of programming and programming languages. Functional consultants are expected to be experienced and good at managing people and information.

There are many institutes that offer courses to those desirous of going into this career like the Edith Cowan University, Australia, the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, the Siemens Information Systems, the Oracle University, the ERP World, Jabalpur, and the Lithan Genovate.