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 person doing this job around financial and ERP software is considered as the middleman between the application and the technology, as well as having the key role of driving the adoption of a new technology by the business. The application consultant can start their career after graduation from university; they can major in business administration, finance, or information systems, if it covers a subject 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 your career path. In other words, it is capitalizing on previous experience.

Traditionally, consulting skills are divided into two main areas: the business side, which is related to business aspects, and the technical side, which is related to the technicality of ERP. 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 that a company should look for in an application consultant, broken down into business side, technical side, and soft skills, are highlighted in the following diagram:

Application consultants have a very important role in the ERP implementation 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.