Responsibilities and motivation of an ERP consultant

Application consultant, Functional consultant—the job title differs from one company to another, but whatever the title is, the application consultant is considered as a middle man between the ERP and the customer, where the application consultant is specialized in the ERP application and is able to understand the business requirements and adopt it to the ERP software. The application consultant can start their career after graduating from university; they can major in business administration, finance, or information systems, if it covers subjects related to business.

Alternatively, the application consultant can start working in other fields. Some people start out as an accountant, procurement agent, commercial agent, or even sales representative. I do not consider it a career shift; I consider it as an advance in one's career path. In other words, it is capitalizing on previous experiences.

Traditionally, consulting skills are divided into two main areas: the business side, which is known as a functional consultant, and the technical side, which is known as a technical consultant. Then, there is a more general soft skills set that all application consultants need, as they spend most of their time in discussions, workshops, and training, related to business.

Some of the key skills a company should look for in an application consultant are highlighted in the following diagram:

The application consultants have a very important role in the implementation of the project, as they are involved in implementation tasks and activities. Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step has defined the application consultant role during implementation phases. It is a long and broad list of tasks, and this range of tasks is what I believe keeps most application consultants motivated and satisfied with their jobs. The challenges are always changing and the career path offers many opportunities to develop new skills.